DfMA transforms town hall site into new apartments

Henley Construct, a division of the Henley Homes Group, has completed the transformation of a former council office site in Wembley, building 248 new apartments and retail space using offsite construction.The new apartments and 560m2 of retail space including a Sainsbury’s Local sit on the site of what was a 1960s council building called Brent House.The new mixed-use developments includes two linear buildings of five main blocks ranging from seven to 10 storeys high. Henley Construct used design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) principles to build steel frames off-site in its own lightweight steel factory, Intelligent Steel Solutions.Henley controls up to 40% of its supply chain and uses the light weight steel frames on its own developments as well as for its clients, including the social housing sector, claiming that they are most cost-efficient costs without compromising on design, quality and sustainability.The firm said off-site manufacturing also helped reduce its carbon footprint by minimising site waste removals, reducing traffic movements and using recyclable materials in construction.