The Affordable Housing Range offers a mix of 16 house types that it said is designed to meet local housing need while maintaining delivery efficiency. The portfolio includes one, two, three and four-bedroom homes arranged in terraced, semi-detached and detached formats.

Each architect-designed house type has been developed around Donaldson Timber Systems’ Sigma II closed panel timber frame system, which is backed by third party accreditations including BOPAS+, BBA and STA Gold.

As part of the ‘Smarter Inside’ approach, fabric performance is designed and built in, delivering low-energy living, long-term durability and compliance with current and future regulatory standards. The housing range also allows the frames to be windproof and watertight on site in one day.

The specified components are consistent, using a limited range of window sizes and uniform bathroom and WC setting-out to ensure the efficient procurement of materials from a variety of manufacturers, while reducing embodied energy usage through material optimisation and repeatability.

The homes are also land-efficient, with the width of each floorplan reduced to ensure roads, footpaths and services are minimised, and a consistent depth of floorplan, enabling seamless terracing and efficient master planning.

While standardisation is key, each home incorporates individual design flexibility to factor in local need, planning context and long-term adaptability, such as identified space for future showers in ground floor bathrooms; additional kitchen storage; and space for air source heat pump hot water cylinders.

The house range is supported with a suite of information, including architectural drawings and schedules, Revit files and embodied carbon calculations and a PMV assessment. The housing range is previewing to select affordable housing providers and local councils.

John Smith, technical director at Donaldson Timber Systems, said: “This housing range has been specifically developed to respond to the pressures facing the affordable housing sector; delivering more affordable homes, faster and at lower cost, without compromising on quality, performance or compliance.

“Offsite timber frame construction is uniquely positioned to respond to this challenge. By moving elements of the build process into a controlled manufacturing environment, we reduce on-site labour requirements, improve quality consistency and accelerate programme delivery, while exceeding required performance standards and delivering quality homes that people want to live in.

“The result is a smarter delivery model that helps affordable housing providers build more homes, more efficiently, with greater confidence in cost, compliance, suitability and long-term performance.”