Vision Modular Systems - Chapter Living
Project Details
Client - GS Sherwood Court
Architect - Weston Williamson & Partners
Structural Engineer - Barrett Mahoney
M&E / Sustainability Engineer - Vector Design
Planning Consultant - Indigo Planning
Project Manager / Cost Consultant - Boxclever Consultants
Contractor - Tide Construction Ltd
Project Overview
Chapter Living Lewisham, Thurston Road provides much needed, highend, student housing in the area. The project brief included building complete for letting for 2016/17 academic year - a major goal of the investors, optimising the quality & number of student rooms across 2 towers of 11 storeys, provide engaging communal areas; a critical element to achieving higher rents & full occupancy from a demanding student population and achieving BREAM Excellent rating.
Lewisham Council provided planning consent in Nov 2015 & all key project milestones were achieved, principally the concrete core completing mid Jan following which modules were installed with practical completion in Aug 2016. The fastrack programme was only achievable with the use of modular construction where all the accommodation areas including access corridors were manufactured offsite & assembled onsite. Each module is uniquely designed structurally given its location in the structure. Component parts & connection details are subject to structural analysis. Key to the project's success was the 'front loading' of design activity to allow manufacture design & procurement to progress quicker than traditional construction. The design process involved iterations of the layouts once 'modularised' until the layouts were optimised primarily from the developer's perspective & then from a modular delivery perspective. The structural design & modular design proceeded in parallel with progressive layers of detail added to the modules once final fitout & product selection details were agreed. This completed 2 months before module manufacture started.
The Vision site team safely installed the modules which weighed from 12t to 23t due to extent of fitout & module fabric. The skilled install teams worked to exacting tolerances & quality control procedures (all connection details are inspected & recorded), that are required for multi storey buildings where modules comprise the building structure. This Vision volumetric solution offered many advantages in speed of construction & reductions in defects compared to traditional methods. The system uses hot-rolled steel frames, with a concrete floor for structural stability, good acoustic & fire performance. Chapter Living Lewisham is an exemplar for how construction in the 21st century should evolve. Investors & end occupiers have the comfort that the building materials are tried, tested, & the Vision way represents innovation in how materials are assembled & deployed.
