CONSTRUCTION
hospital into be set within a new parkland environment – creating a 21st century healthcare campus and a possible blueprint for future NHS developments. According to the design team, every design decision has been shaped by a concern for reducing stress and promoting positive effects on health and wellbeing. The result is a unique space for healing. Lisa Cooper, director of Alder
Hey’s Community and Mental Health Services, described the project as ‘an exciting opportunity for our specialist community and mental health services to work together to ensure that our children, young people, and families with complex conditions, can access a range of specialist services in a child friendly environment’. She said: “For our children and young people with mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions, this will ensure that their needs are met in an environment that equally supports both mental and physical health.”
A reward for time and imagination put in David Powell, Development director at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be named the North West’s Building of the Decade. Children, parents, and staff, put a massive amount of effort, time, and – most of all – imagination, into creating the brief for the new Alder Hey in the Park. The designers and builders responded magnificently, and we now have something to be really proud of.’’ Offsite timber construction provided
multi-factor productivity benefits when benchmarked against a traditional onsite building approach. The key five productivity factors were: working hours, size of the installation workforce, time on site, logistics, and health and safety. All were enabled by a digitalised collaborative Design for Manufacture and Assembly process (DfMA), with information exchanged via 3D models between the manufacturer, Stora Enso, B&K Structures, Galliford Try, Scott Hughes, and others. A CLT system requires just one HGV
delivery for every seven involved with concrete. To build these units at Alder Hey as an all-concrete scheme would have taken many more deliveries. This demonstrates that offsite not only brings on-site benefits, but also reductions in transportation carbon, while benefiting
Alex Brock and B&K Structures
B&K Structures is a structural timber frame contractor which specialises in the design, supply, and installation, of engineered timber and hybrid structures. It claims to be ‘one of the market-leaders’ in the sustainable construction sector, ‘bolstered by a heavy focus on research, and aiding the development of industry standard documents surrounding fire, moisture, durability, insurance, and sustainability’. BKS works closely alongside key partners and clients to bring the capabilities of steel-timber structures to the mass market, ‘assisting with innovative and sustainable hybrid developments’.
As Pre-Construction manager, Alex Brock is responsible for creating long-term value and growth for the business, while supporting the development of key clients’ knowledge on mass timber and hybrid structures. He said: “By presenting the benefits of mass timber buildings to construction stakeholders, I believe we’re close to a fundamental change at design and specification stage in the built environment, with carbon-neutral and carbon-negative materials leading the future of building.”
42 AUGUST 2023 | THE NETWORK
Caption here xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx
The 668 m2
of engineered timber for Alder Hey was all delivered with a 100% PEFC-certified full chain of custody.
the project programme, allowing users to access the healthcare facility quicker. The self-finished nature of CLT
avoids the need for plastering or other wet trades, and although the ‘industrial visual’ grade of CLT was selected over the residential grade alternative as a cost consideration, the appearance and smoothness of the surface have been perfect for the application. Meanwhile, precision routing in the factory facilitates the speedy installation of pipes and cables or larger M&E equipment as the fit-out proceeds. Aided by BIM Level 2 modelling and computer-controlled machining to a tolerance of 0.5 to 1.0 mm, the completed structure achieves the highest standards of accuracy.
Collaborative working As an offsite specialist widely experienced in providing packages which combine a variety of different prefabricated systems, BKS worked with several members of its established supply chain to deliver a seamlessly coordinated solution. This included a steel-framed podium at entrance level – including 1,855 m2 steel decking. The engineered timber
of
encompassed 263 tonnes of CLT from Stora Enso, and 15 tonnes of glulam, with Curzon Clarke Engineering undertaking the installation of all three with the assistance of BKS joiners. BKS, partnering with Stora Enso for
the project, has ensured a great level of collaborative working, which is crucial when tackling complex structures. Following many years of experience with the timber supplier on similar schemes, the clear communication between companies translated to smooth operation on site. In process, the early decision to use
structural timber offsite construction unlocked the potential of a Building Information Management/Modelling Design for Manufacture and Assembly process with Early Contractor Involvement. The combination of BIM, DfMA, and ECI, allowed for a collaborative design process informing early decisions. Protecting the planet, all offcuts of CLT
were used to make pellets, including for generating green energy in the CLT plant, with no waste to landfill, compared with an industry standard of throwing away 1.2 tonnes for every £m spent on new construction work (DEFRA and ONS). n
Courtesy of B&K Structures
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