University challenge

When terms such as 'pod' and 'prototype' are used, someone could be forgiven for thinking they have stumbled on to Cape Canaveral or the set of a sci-fi movie. However, at Britspace Modular Buildings' facility in Gilberdyke near Hull, in Yorkshire's picturesque East Riding, the terms 'pod' and 'prototype' are not only used frequently, they are used as a matter of course - particularly in the case of 60 steel-framed modules that Britspace manufactured for Nottingham University.

Designed to hold 94 new en-suite student bedrooms and three tutors' flats, the contract was worth £2m for the Yorkshire-based manufacturer and consisted of two three-storey structures that were later constructed on the university's main campus.

Britspace invited client representatives, the architect and other specialist contractors involved in the project to view a prototype module and to discuss last minute changes to the interior of the pod.

Among the client representatives were three of Nottingham University's student hall managers whose responsibility it is to maintain student accommodation.

"I am interested to see how modular building stands up to traditional building," says Donna Pritchett, hall manager with Nottingham University.

One of the biggest advantages of modular construction is that the university only has a small window of opportunity when it comes to programming in new build.

"What with exams and events like graduation day, you don't want builders on site in term time," continues Pritchett. "We only have a short space of opportunity for building new accommodation."

Since completion of the project had been scheduled for the start of the 2002/3 academic year, production of the modules began at the end of April, while their installation on site took place during the summer holidays.

The buildings are arranged as a college quadrangle and look out on to raised grass courts. The stairs and lifts are enclosed in a glazed central core to increase the amount of natural sunlight entering each building, and the exteriors are finished in terracotta rainscreen cladding and render.

"Each individual module took eight days to produce from start to finish," says David Harris, Britspace's manufacturing director. "Typically, we had three to four completed modules coming off the production line each day."

Comprising a bedroom and bathroom that includes a desk, cupboard and floor-to-ceiling shelf space, each module is heated by electric storage heating, while ventilation is provided by a double glazed window containing a trickle vent and top opening with a restrictor.

Each student unit is calculated to have cost approximately £20,000. "This includes the cost of the structure's roof, lift, stairwell and new roads," explains Harris. "As well as accommodation for 94 students, there will be three tutor flats. In contrast to the students' units, these will have a bedroom, combined kitchen and living area as well as a bathroom."

The architect on the project is Cartwright Pickard Architects and - as the consultant which originally advised the client to opt for modular building - it is keen to emphasise the benefits to be gained.

According to Peter Cartwright, project director at Cartwright Pickard: "Off-site construction can enable clients to develop attractive, modern architecture more quickly, efficiently and with reduced running costs."

Having successfully persuaded Nottingham University to go down the modular building route, it only remained for the client to air its views over the finishes inside the pod.

"That's the beauty of a prototype," adds Stephen McConnell of Cartwright Pickard. "With a traditionally built structure you only see what it's like once it is finished."

Once the three-storey student accommodation is in place, whose responsibility will it be to maintain it?

"While we wouldn't want Britspace to walk away from the project, day-to-day maintenance like replacing door handles will be carried out by our own maintenance department," explains Richard Wigginton, project officer with Nottingham University's estate office.

There is little likelihood of Britspace walking away from a promising market sector like university accommodation.

According to Britspace's manufacturing director David Harris, university accommodation is a growing sector and currently figures in the one fifth of the company's turnover that makes up the ratio of multi-user clients.

So while it is evident that the production of modular units is not rocket science (despite the use of terms like 'prototype' and 'pod'), it is obvious that the trend for prefabricated, production line building is on the increase.

And to the manufacturer's credit, it is making inroads into sectors that have hitherto been closed to it, for instance, airport terminal buildings.

Perhaps the fact that students at Nottingham University will spend some of their university career being accommodated in modular units will encourage the next generation to think there is nothing unusual in living in a pod. n