Chamfer Houses are three, new build, detached, family houses in Brighton overlooking sea views. The construction of these houses were achieved through a timber modular system – Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). We successfully created a new site with three new low-energy dwellings.
MMC is an exciting form of construction with the frames of all the houses fabricated off-site, transported, and fitted onto site. As green ethos and design-led architects this became an important project for us.
Photos by Oliver Perrott
Initially the site was a tired, detached house on a 290 sqm plot of land. It is located on a sloping hill, on a road with many new contemporary residential developments. The design created three new houses with a similar design aesthetic and material palette. The heights of the houses mediate between the neighbouring properties, with a new sunken front driveway, garages, and rising private terraced gardens to the rear, in keeping with the existing ground levels.
Having worked with the client previously they approached us to take the designs through the detailed phases and on site. The clients had been in discussions with modular (MMC) companies and wanted to progress with this construction method due to the time saving on site. The modules could be built at the same time the extensive ground works were being undertaken, essentially telescoping down the two time frames.
Onsite the sunken front driveway and basement garages required a lot of chalk to be excavated and removed. Retaining walls were formed and substructure built onsite ready for the timber frames to be fitted. Meanwhile the house frames and sections were designed and built off-site in a factory in Southampton by a specialist pre-fabrication company.
There are significant environmental benefits to be gained from using MMC in construction. 80% less waste material means less resources used and fewer emissions produced. This is especially important given that the construction industry is the UK’s biggest consumer of natural resources. Every year, construction uses an estimated 450 million tonnes of material. Much of this has large emissions associated with its production or transportation. This, coupled with the waste produced by the construction industry, makes for some pretty grim environmental figures.
MMC on the other hand can be completed much faster than traditional construction methods. This can be a huge advantage for homebuilders who are trying to meet deadlines. Another pro is that modular construction can be less expensive than traditional construction methods, since there is less waste and fewer labour costs.
