Platform Housing Group has revealed the line up of the panel they’ll be hosting for a crucial debate about the true cost of offsite at this year’s UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) summit.
Leading figures from affordable housing, lobbying bodies, architects and the development sector have been selected for the discussion about how the sector is investing in modern methods of construction and sustainability.
Platform is one of the largest housing associations in the UK and the biggest in the Midlands, managing over 47,000 homes and projecting 1,600 start-on-sites this year.
The Chair will be Director of Building Better, Trina Chakravarti and she’ll be joined by Head of MMC Delivery for HLM Architects Anne Daw. Alongside them will be Managing Director of offsite manufacturer Starship Modular, Karl Ventre, then Platform’s own Head of Business Development and Innovation Katie Gilmartin completes the panel.
Katie said: “The subject of what the cost of MMC is versus the value it can have for the housing sector in the future is one that needs highlighting. I’m grateful to the whole panel for joining us and offering their key insight and to Trina for being our Chair.”
Building Better framework is an alliance of social housing providers that was set up in 2018 as part of the National Housing Federation’s Greenhouse innovation scheme. Trina Chakravarti commented: “I’m looking forward to chairing this important debate, which should offer the audience some interesting facts about MMC that may differ from their current perceptions. The panel will be perfect to talk the audience through what has changed in the last few years in the offsite space.”
HLM architects were one of six finalists in the Government’s ‘Homes of 2030’ competition where they proposed a scheme of homes built with interchangeable parts. Anne said: “Offsite is a fantastic way to increase the quality of our built environment. In order to meet our environmental sustainability targets, we really need to look past the buzz words and adopt offsite construction. I’m looking forward to discussing the sustainability, efficiency, safety and longevity of offsite construction — and the true cost if we do not adopt this approach more widely.’
Starship are a place led developer and offsite manufacturer who are passionate about low carbon living, working on schemes in the UK and Europe. Karl commented: “I am really excited to be taking part in this event to help promote the benefits of MMC, by discussing the success we have had with our own projects for clients across the UK.”
The session takes place on the Wednesday of this year’s UKREiiF event at 9.30 on the Newsroom Stage. The three day event runs from May 16th-18th in Leeds.
