Traditional new build construction times in the UK are around 7–10 months. Using Modern Methods of Construction, MAKAR has assembled a home to pre-fit out stage in seven days.

MAKAR said it has set out to prove there is a better way to build affordable homes, one that keeps heating costs low, removes the risk of damp and mould, and uses homegrown Scottish timber.

“We need to eradicate the issues of damp, high heating costs, and fuel poverty as conventional new builds continue to fail us,” says CEO Neil Edgar.

“What if we could build healthy and affordable homes that people actually want to live in? It is time Scotland built better homes that provide warmth, protect health and offer true affordability, all in one product. That sounds quite simple, but it takes decades of experience and determination to break through the business-as-usual approaches currently adopted.”

The affordable home solution is priced from £128K each, when purchased as a group of 12 manufactured homes that are delivered and assembled to wind and watertight stage. This prototype home will be used to showcase the future of social housing in Scotland, with ‘breathing walls’ that prevent the risk of damp or mould.

The home is built from natural materials and is designed to tackle fuel poverty with low heating costs modelled at £5-7 a week. The affordable homes will also support rural jobs and local supply chains in forestry, timber processing and construction.

A total of 27 key suppliers supported this project to help highlight the need for better affordable homes. By 10am on Monday 17th November, just two hours after Stoddart’s crane lifted the first panel, all the precision-manufactured wall panels were slotted seamlessly together. By Tuesday afternoon, the attic and roof panels were in position, the crane had left the site, and the external structure was being complete while the internal walls and floors, were being structurally screwed off.

By the end of week one, the team had fully assembled the home to the pre-fit-out stage, including roof coverings, windows and doors installed and solar PVs on the roof. An external organisation will collect data on this prototype over 15 months, to verify energy usage and confirm the costs to keep the home heated through two winters.