Willmott Dixon is to adapt its Sunesis off-the-shelf education building system for the extra care market. The contractor says that Sunesis will offer greater price certainty and faster procurement to local authorities and housing associations as they seek to deliver accommodation for older people with less public subsidy.
Local authorities are looking to house older people in extra care flats rather than residential care, where they can enjoy more independent living but call on care and support when required.
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Sunesis is a joint venture between Willmott Dixon and public sector delivery company Scape. Its extra care format is designed by architect Hunter & Partners and based on a lightweight steel frame. Since launching in 2011, Sunesis has been used for a number of schools, with Oakfield Primary School in Rugby already completed.
The Sunesis system could be adapted for care homes
Debbie Waldron, head of the care sector at Willmott Dixon, said: “For a typical 60-apartment block it takes just 45 weeks to build, and once the client has decided on a design configuration. The building cost would be about £1,000 per sq m.”
Waldron said Willmott Dixon was working with Staffordshire County Council on two sites and at a site with Housing 21. She said it was also exploring the use of Sunesis for nursing homes.
But Sunesis could be joined by a number of other standardised systems in the care market. At the CIOB conference, Dave Smith, managing director of Wates Construction, said the firm was looking to offer its Adapt school building system to the care and residential markets.
Reports are predicting a huge shortage of specialist housing accommodation for older people, as the number of people aged 85 and over doubles by 2030. Jeremy Porteus, director of the Housing Learning and Improvement Network, said that there will be demand for 250,000 good-quality retirement units over the next 20 years. At present, there are about 40,000 units.
