Many care homes have space to expand. They also have the demand to fill the new care places they would create. What possibly holds them back is the thought of the disruption, noise and upheaval of having a construction project onsite, and who could blame them.
Being fair to existing residents - who may be paying a significant amount in care fees - has to be a consideration. A noisy and dusty long-term building project isn't much fun to live alongside. Older people are often highly sensitive to disruption and anything that might cause distress or annoyance is clearly not acceptable.
Offsite construction offers an opportunity to minimise the disruption. Onsite time and operations are greatly reduced. There is a growing awareness among architects and care home owners of the potential offsite offers for building programmes that are significantly less disruptive to the life of an existing care home community.
One offsite option is volumetric modular construction, where complete space-containing units are shipped in and fitted together onsite. Potential issues with this are site access for the large prefabricated units and a lack of flexibility over the design and configuration of the building.
Are Panelised Systems the Answer?
Panelised systems offer complete flexibility over the design and layout of the new building - precision made panels for walls and roofs are manufactured offsite and quickly assembled by a small onsite team. Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) offer the further advantage that the insulation is built into the panels. There is no additional noisy work to be scheduled on site to deliver the thermal performance specified in the design.
Foundations are a daunting prospect for care home owners contemplating an expansion project, bringing a vision of endless noisy and messy concrete pouring. This consideration led Innovaré to develop a hybrid building system specifically for care homes. It features precast concrete floors and i-SIPs for the building structure. This is arguably the least disruptive and most flexible building method available.
All of which sounds great. But the performance of the traditional building industry hasn’t exactly created the trust that ‘things will be just as you say.’ Experience creates the strong suspicion that the promised short, efficient build programme won’t be the reality.
Tight project control is essential, which is why Innovaré delivers the complete build from design to manufacture to installation with i-SIP. We are particularly sensitive to the impact of our work on residents and do everything possible to minimise it.
To find out more about how we can provide exacting standards for rapid build times, minimal post completion defects, thermal efficiency and sustainability solutions to healthcare and assisted living construction projects, go to www.innovaresystems.co.uk.
