Lights Cameras Piling

Integer's building team had just 12 weeks last summer in which to transform a bare patch of grass beside the entrance of the Building Research Establishment in Garston into a fully-furnished home so the Russell family could move in.

The BBC's production schedule determined the six-week pre-contract period and 12-week construction time. Because of the tight programme, design and procurement had to run concurrently - specification and details were agreed as work progressed. In the event, the team met their target comfortably using innovative building methods that involved going a lot further than simply taking traditional wet trades such as bricklaying out of the project.

As much of the building work as possible was carried out in the warm, dry and quality controlled environment of the factory, especially those of four key manufacturers: foundations company Roger Bullivant, timber frame specialist Guildway, glasshouse company Queensbury Structures, and prefabricated building manufacturer Volumetric. Then all the builders had to do was to assemble these parts as they were delivered in a quick, dry-fix process - on paper, that is!