Pioneering offsite ‘pod’ manufacturer, Elements Europe, is helping the housing industry to hit government targets on two fronts, with its latest quick-build eco-home solutions. Launching at Interbuild 2008, the company’s newly developed affordable housing product, Ty Unnos™, is constructed from sustainable Welsh timber and can be erected on site in a matter of hours.

Translating literally from Welsh as ‘House Overnight’, the volumetric modular design achieves Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes and can be manufactured at Elements’ Oswestry base in just five days, thereby delivering significant labour and cost savings over traditional construction. The product will be showcased at this year’s Interbuild exhibition (26-30 October at Birmingham’s NEC) within a new feature, The Village – a self-contained area housing sustainable building solutions for today’s demanding commercial, residential and leisure markets. Here visitors will receive a sneak preview of Ty Unnos™, alongside Roompod™, Elements’ revolutionary stand-alone room module, which is already taking off across the hotel, care and student accommodation sectors.

Accompanying this showcase of affordable housing technology will be a launch of the company’s newest pod ‘eco’ features - including greywater recycling, aerated showers and sensor operated lighting – which have all been developed as part of an ongoing research and development programme. Darren Richards, Chief Operating Officer for Elements Europe explains: “Affordable housing and eco-technologies go hand in hand – low cost of ownership necessitates a reduction in energy use and carbon impact, and so it has been a natural step for us to concentrate on delivering these complementary products at the same time. Ty Unnos™, Roompod™ and our newest environmentally friendly initiatives are representative of the investment Elements Europe makes year on year in delivering innovation into the pod market and we’re looking forward to presenting visitors to Interbuild with a sneak preview of their potential.”

Elements Europe has been delivering award-winning pod bathrooms and kitchens into the student accommodation, care, hotel and housing sectors for several years. Alongside its Interbuild presence in The Village, the company will be exhibiting a comprehensive selection of pods from its wider range in a sizeable stand-alone space nearby. Its original Solopod™ and Copod™ concepts will be joined by relative newcomer Strucmet™ and the just-launched Strucpod™, each offering specific benefits for both residential and commercial builds.

“Offsite housing technology has moved on a long way from the ‘pre-fab’ perceptions of yesteryear,” says Darren Richards, “The high quality fixtures, fittings and sturdiness of today’s modular builds often far exceed expectations, and with their speed of manufacture they are fantastically suited to the affordable housing market.”

Elements Europe is unique within the UK offsite construction market in that it will build a full scale prototype pod as part of its design process, ready for viewing within days. For further information go to the website or visit Stand L159/M160 in Hall 5 at Interbuild 2008.