What Do you Do When a Building Must Fit a Small Space with Tricky Access?

Sometimes buildings have to be created in less than ideal locations. A school or healthcare facility may need to be extended when this was never envisaged in the original design. Construction sites can be tight, with minimal room for manoeuvring people, plant, scaffolding or vehicles. There may be limited space for storing materials and restricted access. And sometimes the site is next door to existing buildings that are in use and subject to noise, dust and disruption.

In these circumstances, traditional construction methods are operating close to their limits. Some potential sites may not even be viable for a traditional build. Not so with panelised offsite using SIPs.

The first big advantage of SIPs is that so much of the work happens away from the construction site. With our unique hybrid system, this can even include flooring and foundations made from precast concrete.

The flexibility of the system means that buildings can be designed to need no scaffolding. And because the pre-fabricated panels are shipped to the site in a controlled sequence there is minimal storage needed.

Fewer Onsite Operations

Creating the structure of the building is a case of bolting together large panels rather than building walls, floors and roofs piece by piece on site. The process is not only quicker, but it also causes much less noise, waste and disruption.

Offsite construction typically entails fewer deliveries and vehicle movements. It’s easier to schedule these when the impact on neighbouring buildings and communities will be minimised.

As the pressure to find suitable development land and make better use of existing buildings on the site they are on (particularly in urban areas) increases there will be a need to find increasingly innovative project solutions. The inherent flexibility of the system, coupled with Innovaré’s in-house design expertise, offers new opportunities to customers, main contractors and architects.

Clements School in Suffolk is just one example where the system came into its own. The project had to create four new classrooms on a site never intended for expansion. Space was limited, access was difficult, and the new buildings were needed urgently. The system and Innovaré’s integrated design, manufacture and install capabilities fully proved their worth. Find out more about for Education projects here.