In groups or pairs, take a 30 minute walk around either your local school or college environment or your neighbourhood. Do you like what you see and feel around you?

Discussion

Built environment – the buildings and other structures constructed by humans.

Aesthetics – the appreciation of beauty or the appearance of something.

Sustainability – meeting the needs of our future generations by preserving the resources that are available.

Key terms

The work of the construction industry

Introduction The construction industry is a worldwide industry, so the range of construction activities is vast. These activities include design and planning, construction and maintenance of a building throughout its lifecycle. These construction activities contribute to our society economically and socially. If you think about the built environment around you, you will see that buildings that are attractive and well-designed contribute to our sense of wellbeing.

Designing structures and buildings Buildings can improve the quality of our lives and enhance our built environment. We can create functional buildings that are also amazing and attractive. This is achieved by:

• designing for appearance and aesthetics – creating an attractive, innovative and outstanding design for the external and internal spaces of a building

• designing for sustainability – using green technology and materials to reduce the harmful impact of a building on the environment

Designing for sustainability can be expensive but may save future maintenance costs like electricity bills.

• designing for functionality – creating a lasting environment that will not need major changes or refurbishments to extend its useful life for its occupants

• designing for occupant and public safety – allowing safe access for everyone who uses the building and its facilities.

6 BTEC First Construction and the Built Environment

Learning aim A TOPIC A1

Proof

Infrastructure – the basic structures needed for the operation of a society, including roads, buildings and power supply.

Key term

The summer of 2012 was the wettest summer in 100 years, and this caused a lot of � ooding. Do you live in a � ood risk area? Have a look at local � ood management in the area closest to you and see what is being done to help areas most at risk.

Take it further

The contribution to infrastructure There are many different ways in which the construction industry contributes to our society. Not only does it provide us with well-designed buildings, but it also creates and maintains the infrastructure required by modern society.

The Shard in London was a bold venture, constructed by Irvine Seller and designed by Renzo Piano on the back of a menu during lunch. It represents a shard of glass rising out from the City of London and is entirely clad in external glazing. During its planning and design, many hurdles had to be overcome before it was allowed to be constructed.

Research the construction of the Shard and then discuss the following questions:

1 What makes this unique building an icon?

2 What effect has the Shard had on its surroundings?

3 What features make the building sustainable?

4 What features within the internal design offer a variety of functions for the occupants?

5 How has the design ensured that the building is safe for all occupants?

Case study

This can include:

• transport networks – such as road, rail, airports and motorways

• drainage – the provision of waste connections to houses, of� ces and other commercial buildings like shops

• provision of services – the supply of water, gas, electricity and communications to our houses and towns

• � ood defences – provision of defences to protect our buildings from � ooding by rivers and rising sea levels.

7

UNIT 2 Construction and Design

What examples of transport networks can you see?

Pick one of the elements of infrastructure listed above and think of 5 ways in which it impacts on your daily life.

Activity 2.1 Infrastructure in everyday life

Proof

Discuss what might happen if the community was not involved in a project to build a new housing estate on the outskirts of a busy town.

Discussion

Community involvement starts at the design stage, shaping the planning, shape, form and layout of a project. The needs of the community can in� uence the following elements of a development:

• housing – including low-cost affordable homes within the overall number of planned homes.

• green spaces – including social green spaces in construction projects. These spaces provide space for socialising and play, as well as improving the community’s sense of wellbeing.

What are the bene� ts of including green space in a new development?

How can involving the community improve a development’s sustainability?

• transport hubs – these are points where several modes of transport such as buses and trains meet. Well-planned transport hubs allow the community to travel to work easily and ef� ciently.

• employment – the construction industry itself provides a range of opportunities, from professional positions to on-site general operative roles. It also provides the of� ces and buildings needed by other companies and their employees.

• security – designing better layouts like open green spaces and including facilities like adequate lighting means that the community can live in a safe, comfortable environment. Using good quality components such as secure windows and doors also adds to the community’s security.

A1TOPIC

Including the community The plans for any new building project should include the needs of the local community. This means that the buildings constructed ful� l the needs of the community as well as its occupants and owners.

Identify a sustainable housing development company and visit their website. See if you can � nd the information to answer the following questions:

1 How are cars dealt with in their designs?

2 Do their designs make it easy for neighbours to get to know each other?

3 Is the land they build on brown� eld or green� eld?

4 Is green space incorporated into their designs and how is this done?

5 How do they try to make their homes affordable?

Case study

8 BTEC First Construction and the Built Environment

Proof

Buy-to-let – when someone buys a property to rent out rather than to live in themselves.

Affordable housing – low-cost properties that are built within a development that buyers (particularly � rst-time buyers) can afford to purchase or rent.

Key terms

Economic and social benefits of construction The construction industry brings a wide range of economic bene� ts to individuals, companies and nations. For instance, many job opportunities exist in the development of land, the construction of buildings to live and work in, and the maintenance of buildings during their useful life.

Construction also contributes to our society by making our built environment a pleasant place to live in.

Table 2.1 gives some examples of the economic and social bene� ts of construction.

Table 2.1 Economic and social bene� ts of construction

Type of bene� t Speci� c bene� ts

Economic Employment in the construction industry and other related industries – this puts money into the local community through local businesses, taxes and council spending. It also

Creation of wealth and jobs through property development – the growth of buy-to-lets has developed new businesses and created jobs in refurbishment and property maintenance.

Home ownership – the value of homes increases, meaning that homeowners get a good return on their initial purchase.

New developments attract further commercial opportunities – this brings further economic wealth into an area after the initial development is complete.

Economic migration – a booming construction industry attracts workers from other countries. This then allows more construction to take place.

Social Inner city regeneration of run-down areas – unsightly buildings are demolished and replaced, regenerating an area and injecting new growth.

Lower crime – better planning and construction makes an area attractive and safe.

Affordable housing – planners now have to include this type of housing in any new housing development. This allows people to own their own homes more easily.

Reduction in pollution – the inclusion of alternative transport, trams, buses and light railway networks reduces reliance on cars.

9

UNIT 2 Construction and Design

The construction industry in the UK employs just over 2 million people, which is around 6 per cent of the UK’s workforce.

Did you know?

Proof

Take a look at some of the inner-city regeneration projects that have been undertaken in Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. Using the internet, research and then discuss the effect of these projects on the local community. Think about both economic and social bene� ts.

Activity 2.2 Urban regeneration

TOPIC A1

Who benefits? The bene� ts in Table 2.1 affect three different parts of society: the built environment, the local community and the UK as a whole. Sometimes they can contribute to all three.

Benefits to the built environment The bene� ts to the built environment can be enormous. The construction industry regenerates old and run-down urban centres as well as constructing attractive and ef� cient new buildings and developments.

Benefits to the local community The local community bene� ts from the regeneration of the built environment and employment opportunities in the local area. They also bene� t from improved transport networks and the creation of green open spaces. Another bene� t is that an attractive city or an area with good transport networks draws in tourism, which boosts the local economy.

10 BTEC First Construction and the Built Environment

Proof

GDP – this is the value of the total amount of goods and services produced by a nation in one year.

Key term

In a group, look at table 2.1 and decide whether each of the bene� ts it lists is a bene� t to the built environment, the local community or the UK nationally. Remember, these bene� ts might apply to more than one category.

Activity 2.3 Categorising benefi ts

Building services – the services of water, gas, electricity and communications that have to be designed for a building.

Key term

Analysing the activities of the construction industry can be daunting at � rst because there are so many activities. In groups, discuss the following questions:

1 Can you name � ve construction activities in the built environment?

2 Can you classify these activities?

3 How do these activities contribute to society’s wellbeing?

Discussion

Benefits to the UK as a whole The construction industry provides approximately 2 million jobs in the UK. It contributes almost 10 per cent of our gross domestic product (GDP). This creates jobs and encourages spending and growth in the UK’s economy.

Introduction There are many different activities that are included under the umbrella of the construction industry. In this topic you will learn about the range of activities undertaken by the construction industry.

TOPIC A2

11

UNIT 2 Construction and Design

Construction activities

Thinking about categories Because there are so many different kinds of construction activities, you can group them in different ways. You can think about these groups or categories in terms of:

• the kinds of jobs that people do in the construction industry – this includes jobs in construction, civil engineering, building services or maintenance.

• the kinds of building constructed and their functions – this includes educational buildings like schools and colleges, healthcare buildings such as hospitals and health centres and leisure buildings such as swimming pools and stadiums.

• the kind of activities that take place in the construction industry – this includes the design of buildings and structures, refurbishment of existing buildings, repairs and maintenance, estates management or facilities management.

Proof

Using a web-based interactive map application, zoom in on your local area and look at the different types of construction that are taking place. See if you can classify them using the categories above.

Activity 2.4 Identifying types of construction

TOPIC A2

Construction Construction covers many different types of work, from taking on projects for private individuals through to commercial property development. There are many different types of construction, including:

• industrial – factories, industrial workshops, industrial estates and industrial units

• residential – private houses, � ats, apartments, housing association properties and social housing

• commercial – retail units, shops, of� ces and business parks

• retail – shop refurbishment, public house refurbishment, shopping parks and retail centres

• health – hospitals, community care centres, retirement homes, clinics and medical centre developments

• education – construction of new schools, further education facilities, universities and training centres

• leisure and recreation – cinemas, sports facilities, all-weather facilities and football stadiums.

Civil engineering Another category of construction is civil engineering. Civil engineering covers the construction of public infrastructure like roads and railways. It often involves the use of large volumes of concrete and structural steelwork. Typical civil engineering works may include many of the following activity areas:

• railways – the construction, improvement and maintenance of railways, such as the electri� cation of the East Coast Main Line

• roads – the maintenance and construction of motorways, bypasses, trunk roads and new housing estate side roads

• bridges – the construction of road bridges and railway bridges

• air travel – the construction of runways and airport terminals

• sea defences – the construction of sea and � ood defences such as the Thames Barrier in London

• river and harbour works – the construction of port facilities

• renewable energy projects – the construction of resources such as wind turbines, wave power stations and tidal power plants.

Most civil engineering projects do not contain many architectural elements that would feature in commercial or residential buildings.

12 BTEC First Construction and the Built Environment

Proof

You have been asked to produce a promotional lea� et for the construction industry national conference. Your booklet should be divided into three sections as follows.

1 The � rst section must include details of at least three activity areas within the construction industry in the UK. For each area you should include at least one example of the type of work involved. For example, a construction activity could be house construction.

2 The second section will describe the different ways in which the construction industry contributes to society nationally. You should include one economic contribution and one social contribution.

3 The third section will discuss the impact of out-of-town retail developments on local communities. Focus on both the positive and the negative aspects of this sort of development, and include evidence and examples for the statements you make.

Assessment activity 2.1

Tips • Try to explain the contribution in local terms that construction makes to society, using your own local area to

answer this with examples of real buildings and positive contributions.

• To push yourself even further, you should expand any local contributions to show what construction can offer society nationally. You will need to examine aspects such as the economic contribution of construction, and the bene� ts of inner city improvements, housing estates and employment.

Imagine that you are a member of the local community group that sits on the enterprise board of the local council. You have been asked to evaluate the impact of a proposed out-of-town shopping centre on the local community.

Take it further

1 What type of work would be undertaken by a civil engineering company?

2 In a short paragraph describe what you understand by the word ‘infrastructure’.

3 List 4 kinds of leisure-related building activity.

Just checking

How might climate change affect a civil engineer’s job?

13

UNIT 2 Construction and Design

Proof