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Business in the Gulf May be More Attractive for House-Builders & Contractors, Warns UK Expert
At the start of a ten day trade mission to the Arabian Gulf, one of the UKs leading experts in Off-Site Construction has warned that increasingly difficult development constraints in Britain could make it more attractive for House-Builders and Contractors to spend their time and energy working in places like Bahrain, Kuwait and Dubai.
(PRWEB) February 11, 2005 -- Accompanying Wales Trade International as an official delegate on their trade mission to the Gulf from 4 to 16 February 2005¹, the UKs Grandfather of Timber Frame" ², Professor Michael Benfield has been critical of conditions that hold back innovation and building science in the UK.
"The UK Construction Market has refined the lessons learnt from the Scandinavian, Canadian and Australian timber building sectors over the past few years." said Professor Benfield We are now in an enviable and leading position to deliver high performance, energy efficient and long lasting buildings at a time when the rest of the world is striving to meet increasing pressures for sustainable development."
Under these conditions, this Mission could well facilitate the creation of a Welsh / UK consortium to deliver a range of professional services connected with sustainable Off-Site Construction (OSC)" Professor Benfield added. UK House-builders, Contractors and other Professionals are increasingly frustrated by delays, prevarication and over-regulation from UK planning authorities and Government. This prevents them fully satisfying their domestic markets, where they have enormous experience and know-how in producing high quality projects at some of the lowest prices in Europe. I suspect many may find it easier to contribute their knowledge and capability -- especially of MMC (Modern Methods of Construction) - to benefit emerging nations, such as those in the Gulf States."
Following the steady growth of the UK-Gulf export market (British goods exported to the Gulf in 2004 totalled over 5 billion, with 121 million from Wales³), Professor Benfield, who heads Timber Frame Construction company Benfield ATT (Advanced Timber-Frame Technologies), is accompanying a private delegation with interests in developing business and construction relationships with the Gulf states.
Professor Benfield has a demanding itinerary, with several meetings with architects, engineers, construction companies and property developers already scheduled throughout Bahrain, Kuwait and Dubai. As well as his companys own work into Super-Energy conserving houses which are suitable for tropical, desert and arctic climates, it is expected that his work with the University of Wales and collaboration with organisations like TRADA into Earthquake and Hurricane resistant structures, will be a hot conversation topic.
The Department of Civil & Construction Engineering at the University is investigating the application and acceptance of UK building science, developed under Professor Benfields guidance, to meet local conditions and requirements. It is thought that the trip will encourage and establish links for applied research for appropriate local education and other institutions.
There is a lot of interest in our research ideas," said Professor Benfield, We have been developing these for some time and Im confident that this trip will add strength to these."
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