Pipework is assembled in its frame off-site.
An Assembly e.g.MEP cassettes, which efficiently combine key components and processes.
Individual spaces e.g.a patient room, which has certain needs, regulations.Group of spaces e.g.
complex departments such as operating theatres, where all aspects of the room are dependent on each other to work properly.Whole asset e.g.
when a Reference Design can be repeated as a fixed design c.f.
MoJ houseblocks.The project was quite far advanced when the pandemic hit, and the timing was particularly pertinent, occurring just as hospital construction began recognising the need to look at other processes, such as offsite construction, standardisation and moving to scale of production.
The project research focused on an interesting sectoral comparison between the clean room environment of operating theatres in hospitals, and the modules of a spacecraft.As spacecraft are created offsite and have similar ventilation issues to operating theatres, there were learnings to be made from the way material procurement is handled in the space industry.
The project has since influenced further work with London’s Moorfields hospital.. Construction nomenclature and standards: from Modern Methods of Construction to BIM and Platform Design, it’s all in the name..Professor Glass points out that as the construction industry has begun to progress forward in recent years, new terms like Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and platform construction (P-DfMA) have burgeoned into existence.
(Editor: Mini Laptops)