Yorkon News Archives
21/07/2010 – Final Modules Installed for Major New Hospital Building in Colchester
Off-site construction specialist and Portakabin
subsidiary, Yorkon, has just craned the final modules into position on site at
Colchester General Hospital as part of a major ProCure21 project – the largest
development in the hospital’s recent history.
The project is a £20m ProCure21 contract awarded to Principal Supply Chain Partner, Kier Eastern.
Modules for the new paediatrics department,
elective care centre and surgical ward have been manufactured off site and installed by Yorkon in a £10m
sub-contract.
In order to reduce the programme time for the new building by around six months, to the benefit of patient care, Kier took the decision to use an off-site solution. The approach also allowed an existing ward building on the site to remain in use until just days before the first modules arrived on site.
Designed by Tangram Architects, the three-storey building will provide an elective care centre, 68 inpatient beds, consultation and treatment rooms, nurses’ stations, two isolation beds, administrative offices, a school room, children’s dining room, utility room, stores, toilets and ancillary rooms.
Commenting on the
use of off-site construction, Paul Kenworthy, Contracts Manager at Kier
Eastern, said, “A team from Kier visited the Yorkon production centre and one
of their completed projects at the outset, and were impressed with the quality
and approach. Modular construction is providing
a fast track site solution, safer working conditions and a considerable
reduction in waste sent to landfill.”
“The logistics of
the project, particularly for the two module delivery phases, required careful
planning between the Trust, Kier and Yorkon, and I am pleased to report, it went
very well.”
David Johnson,
Director and General Manager of Yorkon, said, “This is one of the most challenging
healthcare projects we have undertaken to date.
The shape of the site demanded a very complex modular layout, this is a
highly constrained site, and there is only a short window for construction.”
148 steel-framed modules up to 14m long and 3.3m wide, and each weighing up to 12 tonnes, were delivered and installed in a total of 17 days. The units were partially fitted out off site, including internal partitioning and first fix M&E services.
The new Yorkon pre-installed concrete floor has been used in all the modules – the first time this award-winning technology has been used for a complete building. It is an innovative off-site solution ideal for high traffic areas and to accommodate sensitive hospital equipment.
The building has
been designed to create an attractive and welcoming environment for staff and
patients, particularly given its prominent location next to the hospital’s main
entrance. It will have deeply
articulated façades finished in a palette of materials, including white render,
vertical bands of rainscreen cladding and curtain walling.
The paediatric department
is arranged around a large central courtyard that will provide a protected play
area and sensory garden. Internally it will feature multi-coloured and
patterned flooring, walls in bright colours, murals and a distinctive design
for the reception and nurses’ station, which as well as creating a cheerful
interior, will assist in way finding.
The new building
will be completed this autumn after just seven months on site.
