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FOCUS: SMART BUILDINGS How modular building can benefit office


spaces in a postCOVID world Dan Smith, corporate business development executive


Coronavirus has had a dramac eect on the tradional layout and space requirements of the oce, with social distancing and working from home pushing many oces to capacity quotas. While many businesses have reopened their oces on a reduced capacity, the impact of social distancing requirements is likely to connue for some me.


large parts of the construction can be done offsite, and with the ability to be installed quickly, the modular market is well-placed to help get people back into the office.


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Below we explore in more detail why the modular building market is an ideal alternative to traditional methods of construction.


Driving a Green Recovery


Before the pandemic hit, the global modular build market was set to be worth over £165bn by the middle of the next decade. Now with businesses looking to return to some kind of normality, while expanding existing space requirements, the modular building market is poised to really take off. This is primarily because it offers easy, cost- effective, more environmentally friendly and more rapid expansion to meet the needs of a market impacted by social distancing. Here we look at why modular could be a key vehicle to help the growing demand for office space to support a sustainable Green Recovery.


Support for the long running Climate challenge


It’s not just the pandemic that is acting as a driver for the growth in the modular buildings space. As citizens become more climate conscious and we are being exposed to greater awareness of our carbon footprint on a near daily basis, traditional construction has already been coming under the spotlight. Cement alone is a source of about 8% of the world’s CO2 emissions, accounting for nearly 6% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. Cement has such a large carbon footprint, if it were a country, it would be the third largest emissions producer, behind China and the US. In comparison, the modular building market is much more efficient. Modular buildings are constructed offsite which means they can reduce 90% of the waste generated from traditional construction methods, while using 67% less energy to produce a modular building. Modular buildings are also built to the higher sustainability standards such as BREEAM, or PassivHaus.


ising to meet the challenge of socially distanced offices is a growing method of construction –


modular building. As


A rapid solution


The virtue of being built off-site and then assembled when ready means that construction time is significantly reduced, often by as much as 50%. This means that everything from the heating, cooling and ventilation systems, to the lighting requirements and the windows can all be installed in modules off-site, ready to be fitted together once required. It can all be done to deliver a more energy efficient building as well.


This means that modular buildings being built to expand restaurants or hotels can be readily equipped with the most advanced technologies whether that is air conditioning with the latest, lower global warming potential refrigerants (R32), renewable heating through modern air source heat pumps such as the advanced Ecodan range, or heat recovery ventilation units such as the Lossnay system to deliver energy efficient fresh air.


A high quality, long term solution


Modular buildings can address a lot of concerns in the current environment and offer a viable, sustainable long- term future, especially as offices struggle to return to pre-COVID-19 levels of occupancy.


Modular buildings adhere to the same building regulations and standards as traditionally constructed buildings. This means adhering to building regulations such as thermal performance (U Value), fire safety, sustainability and acoustics. Being built off-site means the modular panels are constructed in a covered, controlled


environment which brings precision and quality control.


Conclusion


The way the world works has changed dramatically over the last few months, not least when it comes to how people socialise and enjoy leisure time. While there has been a lot of change, one thing is for certain, things won’t go back to the way they were for the foreseeable future. With the UK population pushing for a green focused economic recovery from the pandemic, modular buildings go a long way to helping achieve that reality. Modular is also well positioned to quickly and conveniently create the additional space that businesses require to adhere to social distancing. The strengths are clear to see. Isn’t it time to start making modular mainstream?


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While there has been a lot of change, one thing is for certain, things won’t go back to the way they were for the foreseeable future.


’ Call to Action – For further information on the advanced range of heating, cooling and ventilation systems available for modular construction visit https://les.mitsubishielectric.co.uk/end-users/application-by-sector/modular-buildings 28 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER FEBRUARY 2021 Read the latest at: www.bsee.co.uk


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