Owen Consultancy specialises in:

• Innovative and Sustainable Housing through partnership with Social Landlords and Contractors.
• As Architects and through Technical Project Management a number of innovative schemes have been completed over the last 10years.
• Current Projects  will use a number of construction methods which bring new methods of construction to traditional housing, pushing the boundaries, to achieve low energy sustainable housing within the financial constrains of housing association developers and contractors.
• Completed Schemes have used lightweight steel framed construction, traditional block-work with super insulation, paneled timber frames off site fabricated,  and onsite fabricated timber "stick" construction.

Partnering

Procurement Methods have for many years relied on relatively crude competitive tendering, which can lead to an adversarial process preventing innovation and leading to poor communication between builders and clients. The Egan Report into the construction industry has been recognised as showing a way forward by both commercial and public sector clients. Partnering encourages dialog between designers, clients and builders.

Themes within partnering include:

• Open Book Accounting

• Control & Development of the supply chain

• Demonstrating Value for Money

• Recognition and Apportionment of Risk

• Innovation and sustainability

• Early involvement of Building Contractors in the design process

All leading to successful projects of higher quality with lower defects, less waste, and repeat business for the participating partners.

Innovation

One of our first projects was named Innovation Close in Brent, London. Following this project we instigated one of the first Housing Forum Demonstration Projects at Wilton Road, Reading which addressed and researched as range of building innovations and lead to the construction of one of the most highly insulated lightweight steel framed housing schemes in the U.K. Through early partnering with the supplier and main contractor the scheme adopted innovative construction methods, through all the building elements whilst retaining a traditional brick appearance.

Innovations have included:

• Wide cavities in brick and block

• Prefabricated Steel and Timber frames

• On-site Timber frame construction

• Hot water heat pumps.

• Prefabricated concrete foundations

• Green Water Re-cycling

Leading to projects demonstrating improved sustainability.

Sustainability

For housing this can best be summarised through the subjects covered by the Code for Sustainable Homes Our schemes carefully consider the environmental impact they will have.

Eco Homes balances environmental performance with the need for a high quality of life and a safe and healthy internal environment.

• Energy and CO2

• Pollution

• Water

• Health and Wellbeing

• Materials

• Sustainable Drainage

• Ecology