星空传媒

Housebuilders and housing associations keen to trial non-traditional build technologies will soon be able to find systems through a single source. The Zethus Centre, the new housebuilding research and innovation centre in Dartford, Kent, is launching a housing systems club as a technology marriage-broker.

"At the moment there is no co-ordinated way of approaching the manufacturing sector," said Simon Palmer of The Palmer Partnership, the housebuilding innovation consultant that co-founded the Zethus Centre. "If you want to look at alternatives to traditional construction, you have to go to a timber frame manufacturer or to its association, and the same applies with steel and other systems. The club will help housing providers find the best solution for them."

The Zethus Centre hopes to open the club this winter. Membership will be free for housing providers, but manufacturers are likely to have to pay.