- A family home has been built in 10 days as the University of Sheffield demonstrates its ‘factory-in-a-box’ system, bringing a mobile, weather-shielded production line directly to building sites
- By blending the precision of factory manufacturing with the flexibility of on-site builds, the system significantly reduces logistical hurdles, time and costs compared to both traditional builds and off-site modular housing
- Funded by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), the project demonstrates a scalable solution to help the UK Government achieve its goal of building 1.5 million new homes
- Watch a time-lapse video of the factory-in-a-box system in action, constructing a home from ground to shell in all weathers
A family home has been built from scratch in all weathers in 10 days as University of Sheffield experts demonstrate a revolutionary ‘factory-in-a-box’ system designed to address the UK housing crisis.
Funded by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), researchers have demonstrated the speed and simplicity with which a quality home can be built to help the UK Government achieve its housebuilding target of 1.5 million new homes by the end of the current parliament.
In most UK and global housing developments, construction is carried out entirely on-site. While this offers flexibility and can be adapted to local needs, it often results in unpredictable schedules, inconsistent quality and inefficient use of labour and materials. Bad weather also frequently causes expensive delays to traditional builds.
As a response to these challenges, off-site modular housing - where homes are pre-fabricated in sections within a factory and then transported to a site for assembly - has become an increasingly popular solution.
In partnership with Seismic Group Ltd, the University’s factory-in-a-box system builds on this by transporting their kit of parts directly to the construction site. Unlike traditional off-site modular housing, which ships large pre-fabricated components from distant locations, this approach deploys a rapidly assembled manufacturing facility, or factory, under a temporary, weather-shielded canopy. By building directly on-site, the system eliminates logistical hurdles while protecting the entire construction process from the elements.
This temporary canopy can be rapidly moved as each new home is completed, minimising weather-related disruption and supporting high precision fabrication similar to that used in permanent modular factories.
Ben Hughes, a Professor of Energy Engineering at the University of Sheffield’s Energy Innovation Centre, said: “Our factory-in-a-box demonstrator is designed to deliver high-quality, sustainable homes in all weathers in a matter of weeks - that can be deployed at pace and scale.
“This demonstration shows that by coupling advanced manufacturing methods with on-site production systems it is possible to build the affordable, quality homes the country desperately needs, while improving efficiency and reducing costly delays.
“The Energy Innovation Centre’s location and proximity to the world-leading expertise and facilities at the University’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) puts us in a unique position to help the government meet its ambitious housing targets, using South Yorkshire expertise as a manufacturing and training hub supporting a national roll-out.”
Paul Johnson, Strategic Lead – Investment Zone at South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, said: “This project shows how we can develop safe, high‑quality, affordable homes that allow people to stay near and go far.
“By supporting the University’s factory‑in‑a‑box system, we’re demonstrating how world‑leading research, innovative business and public investment can come together to build the homes our communities need.”
Richard Crosby, Director of Seismic Group Ltd, said: “Industrialised Construction is the only viable route forward to meet the government's ambitious targets and end the national housing crisis. Dealing with new and emerging skills requirements demands a joined up approach which the Sheffield Innovation District has successfully demonstrated for many years.”
Runway Park, the evolution of the University of Sheffield’s Innovation District, is a 100-acre development that links the University’s world-class research with the real-world challenges faced by a wide range of businesses, from growing companies to household name multinationals.
The next steps are to work with local partners, local authorities and housing associations to develop a local supply chain capable of delivering at scale using precision engineered production techniques to meet national demand.
