New Project Office Building

The Requirement

A new building was required at the Sellafield Nuclear Plant in Cumbria to accommodate around 170 project staff.

The offices would initially be used for the Silos Direct Encapsulation Project - a waste retrieval scheme, and one of the largest construction projects to be undertaken at Sellafield in recent years.

 
The Solution

Foremans Relocatable Building Systems was awarded the £1m contract by VINCI Construction to provide a fully refurbished three-storey office building.

The use of a recycled and refurbished modular building is highly sustainable, up to 70 per cent faster and provides a cost saving of up to 50 per cent compared to new build.

Delivered to a challenging timescale of just five months from receipt of order, the 2100sqm building will be fully fitted out with new internal fittings and will arrive on site complete with windows, doors, partitions, plumbing and a large proportion of electrics pre-installed.

Constructed from 60 steel-framed modules, the building will provide open plan and cellular office accommodation, a reception area, conference and meeting rooms, kitchens on each floor, toilets and a locker room.


A Sustainable Approach to Construction

The use of recycled modular buildings is one of the most environmentally sound methods of construction. It generates less than 10 per cent of the carbon emissions and uses less than 3 per cent of the energy during construction, compared to a newly manufactured building of equivalent size (source: MPBA/Arup).

It is also highly thermally efficient. In England, tests for air permeability on pre-owned modular buildings are not compulsory. However, in independent tests, Foremans recycled modular buildings have performed up to 80 per cent better than Building Regulations requirements. This means reduced energy consumption, and lower running costs and carbon emissions.


Comments from the Client Team

Bruce Wilson, Programme Delivery Manager, Sellafield Ltd:

"We need to accommodate staff during this major construction project, and were impressed with the Foremans approach. It allows us to benefit from the cost, speed and sustainability advantages of recycling and reconfiguring modular buildings."

"By re-using the building structure, we are reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions, minimising waste sent to landfill, as well as reducing the cost of the accommodation by around half and with no compromise on the quality of the offices because the modules are refurbished."

Andy Butterworth, Project Quantity Surveyor, VINCI Construction UK:

"We visited Foremans' production centre in East Yorkshire and a number of their completed buildings so were confident in their ability to deliver this project.

We are very happy with the finished building.  It provides a high standard of accommodation for this long-term contract.  Open-plan office space is very useful, and the building looks professional and more like a permanent building, than a modular scheme.  You would certainly never know it is recycled!"