Over the past decade, volumetric modular construction looked like the answer to Britain’s housing shortage. Whole homes, or close to it, came out of factories. They went up faster than site-built work, they were made to tight tolerances, and the work was cleaner. Investors backed it heavily. The government supported it through Homes England. Trade…
I spent over two decades inside precast manufacturing. I watched smart people work incredibly hard, and I watched projects bleed margin in entirely preventable ways. The common thread, almost every time, was that we were applying manufacturing logic to a process still rooted in craft-era thinking. This post isn’t about bashing the construction industry. It’s…
Most teams that run into trouble on precast projects make the same mistake at the start: they treat the switch to precast as a specification change. Update the drawings, adjust the programme, and keep the same structural grid. Job done. It isn’t job done. The two systems behave differently at a structural level. If that’s…
Most discussions about precast concrete focus on low-rise housing or single-storey industrial buildings. This 2-minute model walkthrough makes a different point: precast concrete frames work just as well in medium- and high-rise construction, and how the structure fits together is worth understanding. What the Animation Shows The video presents a 3D model of a multi-storey…
The video above shows a 3D structural model of a precast concrete frame designed for a school building. The animation walks around the entire structure, providing a clear view of how the frame comes together before a single element leaves the factory. What the Model Shows The building follows an L-shaped or courtyard-style plan, spread…
