East Yorkshire-based Premier Modular , one of the UK’s leading offsite construction specialists, has installed the final modules for a new hospital expansion - the largest contract it has ever served in the healthcare sector.
The £21 million 3,450 sq m outpatient services building at King’s College Hospital in London is now in place, marking a major milestone in the build programme, revealed at the start of the year.
Topping anything previously delivered in the company’s 65-year history, it is being delivered with its construction partner Claritas.
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A total of 133 steel-framed modules weighing up to 11.5 tonnes each were manufactured by Premier in Brandesburton, with a 500-tonne crane lifting them from specialist transport in a complex operation.
Dan Allison, divisional director at Premier Modular, said “When you have a hospital site as restricted as this one, it is easy to see how offsite construction really comes into its own. We are reducing the amount of plant, materials, and vehicle movements to site by moving as much work offsite as we can. And by constructing the building structure in the factory while the foundations were progressed on site, these new hospital facilities will be brought into use at an earlier stage, to the benefit of patient care.”
The operation has involved careful logistics planning to maintain access through the hospital campus at all times, with cranage co-ordinated to avoid any disruption to the helipad and air ambulance helicopters.
When complete later this year, the building will provide 48 consulting rooms and eight procedure rooms for a range of outpatient services, including dermatology, rheumatology, neurosciences, as well as other aspects of surgery and therapy.
Jon Wardle, chief executive of Claritas, said: “The whole project team, the Trust and our delivery partners have done a tremendous job of installing this large-scale building on an incredibly constrained site at the heart of this major hospital. Everyone involved worked hard to ensure the installation phase was completed as smoothly as possible.”
Stage two of the construction programme will involve final fitting out and completion of the external facade, including a feature entrance with double height glazing to provide high levels of natural light for the reception and waiting area.
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