Thinking of construction’s future with SCC Design Build

The Director of specialist construction firm SCC Design Build says pre-fabrication – and pre-built – could soon become a pivotal part of building skyscrapers and infrastructure, as his business looks firmly ahead to the future of construction.

Eamonn O’Donnell says developers are looking past traditional construction methods, as SCC Design Build are seeing increasing demand for its own pre-cast concrete solutions.

His comments follow estimations from construction goliath Laing O’Rourke that the next generation of skyscrapers may well be put together almost entirely from off-site product lines.

Eamonn comments: “Lack of space in the major cities, particularly London, for traditional site compounds coupled with increasing awareness of off-site techniques could see more developers take up this construction method.

“Restrictions on lorry loads coming into London, emissions targets and targets on reducing people movement all point towards a shift in how we build skyscrapers and off-site construction offers a solution to these problems.”

The method involves manufacturing things off-site and lifting it off with a crane. London’s Leadenhall Tower, better known as ‘the Cheesegrater’, is an example of a building constructed in this manner. Up to 85% of the skyscraper was built using some form of off-site production.

SCC Design Build offers a complete design, manufacture and installation service and builds the whole pre-cast concrete solution off-site, enabling projects to be delivered to reduced timescales, in comparison to more traditional methods of construction.

They can count Pomona Island in Salford; Sweet Street, Leeds and the University of Sheffield amongst just a few of the varied projects that they have worked on.

Eamonn comments quicker building times have been a major attraction for clients to their services and the company has seen a growing demand for its pre-cast concrete solutions across a range of projects.

He comments: “Our clients are demanding higher standards and higher certainty around cost, schedule and quality, which off-site construction can offer.

“There have been issues surrounding volumes, as many firms don’t have the manufacturing capacity to deliver for full-scale projects. We are in an advantageous position where we do have the capacity and expertise to supply large volumes of pre-cast concrete solutions.”