Off-Site Modular Construction at its Best!

The Colchester student accommodation scheme is demonstrating off-site modular construction at its best as student Room Pods are being lowered into position at a rate of 8-10 per day.

The Pods are being delivered to the site on King Edwards Quay on a strict schedule that sees them arrive just-in-time and in the correct order to be lifted and positioned in the building.

These strict deadlines are made easier by the development being delivered as a turnkey solution by The Pickstock Group, ensuring a full project management that benefits from open lines of communication between the traditional construction programme and the off-site manufacturing timeline.

The end of March will see the start of work on the envelope of the building when bricklayers commence the external walls. Another benefit to off-site modular construction is that it allows other trades to start their work while installation of the Pods continues. Trades can start electrical and mechanical works two floors behind installation making for a fluid and efficient build.

“Colchester is yet another example of how well modular construction is suited to student accommodation, after having started on-site at the end of 2013 we will be ready to house students in 381 rooms in time for the September 2014 intake.” Commented Kate Pickstock, Development Surveyor for the site.

“Using JR Pickstock Ltd’s expertise in traditional construction and combining them with Elements Europe’s modular technology leads to a seamless integration and enables The Pickstock Group to deliver successful turnkey solutions in a time frame which would simply not be possible using traditional construction methods alone.” Kate added.