Laying the Foundations for 2021

What can we expect from construction this year?

Following the turbulence of a worldwide pandemic, it comes as no surprise that trends are changing in order to adapt and innovate going forwards. Hopefully 2021 is the year of recovery, but what can we expect to see happening in the world of construction?

Increased Public Sector and Residential Growth

Public Sector Growth

The public sector is expected to be a major growth driver for construction with public housing predicted to increase 20.6% in 2021. In particular, construction of social housing and schools rate high on the agenda for public spending. There is also the promise of increases in NHS capital funding and more construction projects in that area.

Residential Growth

With the pandemic forcing the majority of office workers to stay at home, we can expect developments such as apartments advertising ‘home office’ space as part of their appeal. In order to meet this demand, it is likely that many MEP contractors will make a shift from commercial projects to residential work in order to meet this demand.

It is also worth considering initiatives within the UK and how these will impact the landscape of construction. The government’s  “Build Build Build” agenda is set to introduce regulations which will give greater freedom for buildings and land to change use without planning permission, creating new homes from the regeneration of vacant and redundant buildings.This will help to give more construction projects the green light. 

The Green Homes Grant will also contribute to this domestic growth. The scheme is a government initiative which will run until March 31st 2022. It is designed to support the installation of energy efficient improvements to an estimated 600,000 households across the UK, further encouraging the optimisation and renovation of domestic buildings. 

Commercial Sector Taking a Back Seat

Commercial sector has taken a hit in the last year, with output by 2022 expected to be 10.3% lower than in 2019. Deloitte’s Real Estate’s crane survey confirms that new office construction has fallen by half, suggesting that a reduction in commercial construction projects may be more than just a temporary pause, with a large portion of office workers continuing to work from home. 

With this in mind, it is likely that investment will switch to refurbs and maintenance of existing buildings. There have been several projects that were due to start in 2020 which have been pushed back or reviewed. For example, the Battersea Power Station, which was due to become Apple’s new headquarters before the covid pandemic, took an impairment charge of about 156 million pounds ($208 million) on the project after social distancing measures and a nationwide lockdown slowed construction.

Other projects, such as Google / Aphabet’s new proposed offices in London, have now resumed but with some changes implemented in order to accommodate social distancing friendly fit out.

The Warehouse Boom

While other sectors have been negatively impacted, we have seen a notable demand for warehouse space and industrial facilities in the last year. The growing shift to online shopping by consumers is evident in high-street stores closing their shop floors in favour of e-commerce. 

Though high-street shopping is becoming a thing of the past, growing demand for online shopping has bolstered tender opportunities in the industrial sector. New logistics and warehouse construction is ever growing in order to meet demand for distribution space. This change is no surprise considering the digitalisation of shopping platforms. However, the pandemic has certainly accelerated this movement and there are no signs of slowing the rate of ecommerce. 

Meeting the demands of 2021

As the industry starts to get back on its feet, it seems apparent that things won’t totally return to the pre-pandemic climate, with more emphasis being placed on home office facilities and existing office fit outs. If you are looking to adapt the space you already have, we can help at Workplace Interior Shop. From partitioning solutions to decorative features, we can help you refresh your workplace for the return of your employees, while ensuring distancing measures are maintained. View our product library to find your perfect fit out solutions.