A SWIFT RESPONSE TO HEALTHCARE NEEDS

Named after the founder of the Royal College of Nursing – Lincolnshire-born Dame Sarah Swift – the 5,500m2  £19million Sarah Swift Building brings two of the University’s largest academic departments together under one roof – the School of Health and Social Care and the School of Psychology. The new academic building accommodates a diverse range of learning and research spaces, including teaching areas, offices, laboratories and nurse training facilities which will support the essential growth in the disciplines and enhance the student learning experience.

Designed with simplicity, quality and sustainability in mind – the Sarah Swift building provides purpose-built, fully adaptable spaces to support the University of Lincoln’s world class research and development programme. The University was committed to creating sustainable buildings that will further scientific research without compromising the environment.

To create a sustainable facility, the engineers focused on delivering simple solutions designed for long term use. As the five-storey building houses laboratories which include vibration-sensitive equipment – the main contractor had to meet certain design specifications. A key element of the brief for this specialist building was to create spaces that have the right environmental conditions, vibration levels and acoustic separation for their different functions, whilst ensuring the building remains simple to commission, build and operate. In order to achieve the most effective design possible, the engineering team developed 3D models of all rooms at an early stage to ensure the users requirements were clearly captured. This resulted in a flat slab structural design that allowed for a straightforward installation of services to permit for greater flexibility of future use. EOS designed and manufactured a robust steel framing infill panel solution for the Sarah Swift project to meet the design and engineering brief. Bespoke zed bars were developed for overhang and intumescent paint clearance. The restrictive site presented access challenges and storage limitations with offsite technology providing the optimum solution. All deliveries were colour coded by floor and craned directly into the correct location.

Through careful design detailing and value engineering, EOS were able to design and manufacture the highest quality steel framing solutions offsite, to deliver an environmentally sustainable project on time and to budget. The advanced high performance, rigid and dimensionally stable offsite steel solution will not suffer from movement created by moisture-related issues. The team at EOS carefully considered the building services strategy to ensure it was energy efficient yet robust, devising an overall environmental approach that maximises the use of daylight and natural ventilation, while incorporating mechanical ventilation to ensure the close control environments required in some areas. Professor Mary Stuart, Vice Chancellor of the University of Lincoln said: “The Sarah Swift Building is another significant addition to our campus which will further bolster our ability to teach the next generation of healthcare professionals. We hope that this new ground-breaking facility will encourage future pioneers to follow in Sarah Swift’s footsteps and the values she represented.”

Last year, the Sarah Swift Building was crowned Healthcare Project of the Year at the Offsite Awards, as well as picking up the trophy for Offsite Project of the Year at the Celebrating Construction Awards for the East Midlands.

Light gauge steel framing systems offer unparalleled freedom to construct faster and more accurately. The combination of strength, durability and precision engineering ensures steel framing systems offer broad parameters to explore innovative solutions and optimise value engineering. This offsite construction project was delivered in half the time that could be achieved using traditional methods, accomplishing a radically reduced build time, leading to less time onsite and ultimately, a faster return on investment. A major benefit is the minimised impact on the environment– light gauge steel is perfectly positioned to play a crucial role in meeting and delivering these targets. Steel is renowned for its longevity and ability to be multi-cycled – providing no onsite waste thus enabling a more sustainable future. Factory controlled manufacturing conditions eradicate the risk of onsite variability, delivering safer construction and improved health and safety onsite – all reducing the risk of unexpected delays and costs during the build.

For more information visit: www.eosframing.co.uk

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