However with accelerating interest in Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) and Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), it sometimes seems that on-site construction is falling out of favour..
Different countries and regions have different regulations and bureaucracies.One of the reasons why there’s a big focus on projects in the US (other than technology development) is the relative lightness of the permitting and approval process.
The UK is seen as relatively straightforward; however, the system is often slowed by multiple objections.In other countries (for instance, Spain) the permitting process is very long.. Getting power to site is another key factor.. Power in Europe is supplied by a monopoly.Often state-run, these organisations suffer no commercial loss from being slow or late in delivering agreed power infrastructure.
This can typically take 12 to 18 months.. To contend with some of these challenges, developers are pushing the boundaries of their operations and getting directly involved in the delivery of electrical distribution infrastructure by contracting private companies to carry out the work.This approach is growing significantly in Asia.
Private companies like Octopus in the UK are looking at expanding their remit and starting to invest in distribution of power..
The regulatory hurdles are not lessening.While it’s positive they all have the same net zero goal, they offer different guidance.
RIBA represents architecture and CIBSE represents engineers.Then there’s the London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI) and networks like Architects Declare and Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN).
The latter are more voluntary organisations, aiming to demystify some of the complexity around net-zero.They’re trying to push things from a legislation perspective.