29 July 2014
Foremans Delivers Office Accommodation at Princess Royal University Hospital in Just Six Weeks
Foremans Relocatable Building Systems, the UK's largest supplier of refurbished Portakabin buildings, has constructed an office building in just six weeks at the Princess Royal University Hospital in Kent. The new facility has freed up space for clinical services by providing additional office accommodation.
The building was required for up to 60 staff working in infection control and administration after it was announced that King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust would be taking over management of the Princess Royal University Hospital. Administrative teams also had to be relocated because existing offices were to be used for clinical services.
Designed by architects Architon, the two-storey building has a lobby, two open-plan offices, kitchenette, store rooms, and toilets with disabled access. The facility was built using 10 refurbished steel-framed modules which Foremans delivered to a tight programme of just six weeks from receipt of order to handover. The reduced construction time enabled the Trust to increase capacity as soon as possible, to the benefit of patient care.
The project was procured using the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) framework for the supply of modular buildings to the public sector. This ensured rapid, cost-effective procurement and avoided the need for a costly and time-consuming tender process.
Lee Thomas of the Trust's design consultants Architon, said, "The Foremans approach has delivered a highly cost-effective and very versatile solution when space on this busy hospital site was at an absolute premium. We were very pleased with the fast completion of the building which impacted positively on patient services by freeing up space in other areas. We were also able to maximise the footprint available and found it easy to adapt and modify the building to meet the Trust's changing requirements, post completion."
"Foremans' performance was excellent and we had a good relationship with their team throughout. We would definitely recommend their approach to modular building to other NHS Trusts."
The project challenges included maintaining access for emergency vehicles at all times and pedestrian walkways also had to be safely managed, involving detailed planning and logistics.
The building has been reconfigured since completion, demonstrating the flexibility of modular construction, to create a number of cellular offices on the upper floor for staff working requiring a higher degree of privacy and confidentiality.
Foremans delivered the modules to site around around 80 per cent complete with M&E services, carpets, doors, windows, and intruder alarms already in place. A climate control system was also installed to maintain a comfortable working environment.
Foremans provides permanent and interim solutions for a wide range of healthcare applications including ward accommodation, dialysis suites, health clinics, offices and ancilliary buildings.
The refurbishment of relocatable buildings is one of the most environmentally friendly methods of construction - helping to reduce carbon emissions, waste sent to landfill, and improving a building's carbon footprint, with no compromise on quality or design flexibility.
For further information about refurbished Portakabin buildings for the healthcare sector, visit www.foremansbuildings.info, email info@foremansbuildings.co.uk, or call 01964 544344.
Editor's Notes
1. The advantages of refurbished Portakabin buildings include:
- Programme times for high quality interim or permanent accommodation are reduced by up to 70 per cent
- A highly cost-effective alternative to new build
- High quality steel-framed modular buildings that are built to last and require fewer ground works than traditional site-based construction - further reducing cost, disruption and programme times
- Ease of expansion, reconfiguring or removal for complete flexibility should local requirements change.
2. Foremans is part of the Portakabin Group.
3. Foremans, Portakabin and Portakabin Group are registered trademarks. Portakabin is a registered trademark which must only be used to refer to modular buildings that are known to have been manufactured by the Portakabin Group. Please note, Portakabin is not a generic term.
