Construction Innovation Hub invites firms to help develop new ‘kit of parts’ to transform sector

Construction’s largest ever government-backed initiative is offering innovative businesses the chance to be part of a programme which will create the next generation of new build projects.

The Platform Design Programme, announced today through an Open Call at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, is a centrepiece of the Construction Innovation Hub, an initiative born out of the UK Government’s Construction Sector Deal and launched in November of last year.

Successful applicants to the Open Call will get detailed support from manufacturing, performance and digital experts from across the three centres of the Hub to develop and refine their products, technologies or services.

These will then be installed and widely showcased on a proof-of-concept building, which will demonstrate how these solutions can be applied across a wide range of UK government projects for vital new buildings like schools, hospitals and prisons.

The Hub aims to bring forward and help develop the best from UK industry. Building on the Infrastructure & Projects Authority’s recent call for evidence on a Proposal for a New Approach to Building, the Hub will follow a Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) approach, allowing new buildings to be configured from a pre-defined ‘kit of parts’, which are proven to demonstrate greater whole-life value, better safety and quality and which will improve the overall performance of buildings.

Launched in November 2018, with £72 million from UK Research and Innovation’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, the Construction Innovation Hub brings together world-class expertise from the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), BRE and the Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB). The Hub works in close partnership with the Active Building Centre (ABC) and Network Plus, as part the wider Transforming Construction Challenge.

Construction Innovation Hub Programme Director Keith Waller, said:

Today we’ve reached a key milestone in our four-year programme and much will hinge on getting this next critical phase right. Through our Platform Design Programme, we will be demonstrating the art of the possible.

We’ll be looking to draw together the very best ideas and practices, demonstrating not only how we can build better, but also how we can deliver greater value from how we create new buildings.

This is an exciting opportunity for businesses big and small to be part of a substantial, long term and game-changing programme, which will deliver real benefits, not just for the construction sector, but for our environment and society more broadly.”

Further information 

• To contact the Construction Innovation Hub’s press office, please email pressoffice@constructioninnovationhub.org.uk.
• The Platform Design open call announced today, will formally open for applications on 29 August 2019.
• The Transforming Construction Challenge, Innovate UK – the government’s innovation funding agency – will be launching two funding competitions to help businesses bring innovative construction solutions to market and to demonstrate them on live projects. Details will be announced on 5 August at: https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/search