Construction Today, Vol 20 Iss- 3 Final Book | Page 33

______________________________________________________________________________________ Mobile structures
Greener , faster , smarter
Many people believe that modular construction is a newer way of building , but it ’ s a construction method that dates to Ancient Rome . That said , the first modular building officially on record was built by Henry Manning in the 1800s . Manning ’ s son was part of a small group of settlers arriving from Britain to make a new home in West Australia on the banks of the Swan River . Tents and flimsy huts built from local materials were no match for the harsh environment and conditions brought on by the weather . With survival on the line , Manning built a small , well-constructed wooden house in sections back in England and then it was packed for export and assembled with ease on site . The little wooden house caught on with the other settlers and locals and became instrumental in protecting families from the weather and theft . These little wooden houses could hold up in the harsh environment because they were not built in it . The materials from which they were constructed were of a higher quality than could be sourced locally , and the environment they were constructed in was more predictable and fair-weathered than West Australia .
Andrew Seelye , President of G-Pod Americas , considers why modular only makes up less than 10 percent of the construction industry and points out that the only way to smash the stigmas is to appeal to the end users of modular buildings . “ The end user has the potential to be the industry ’ s biggest advocate ,” he says . “ It ’ s up to us to influence that marketplace and point out why we ’ re better and why we ’ re doing something more interesting . We can make the case that we can deliver something that ’ s distinct and has clear value for the end user . Even though we ’ re not directly engaged in a transaction with the end user , we ’ ve still got a way to showcase what we ’ re doing in terms of delivering value to them ,” he further explains . G-Pod Americas is trying to do just that with eye-catching designs and modern dwellings built for the future of residential housing , lodging , and hospitality .
The advantages and efficiencies of modular construction can be summed up in three words : greener , faster , and smarter . The factory-controlled process generates less waste , creates fewer site disturbances and allows for tighter construction . Construction of modular buildings occurs simultaneously with site work , allowing projects to be completed in half the time of traditional construction . Modular buildings are built with the same materials and to the same building codes and architectural specifications as traditional construction . Once assembled , they are virtually indistinguishable from their site-built counterparts .
Timely solutions
National Sales Manager at Sunbelt Modular , Inc ., Jay Vanvlerah , brings up flexibility of modular concept and speed of design as two major additional advantages of modular construction . “ As long as you have a good modular-minded architect , there ’ s a lot you can do . Equally , once all the engineering is done , you can take a building and repeat it .”
Because modular construction happens offsite , another notable benefit is that buildings are more structurally sound . They are designed and engineered to withstand transport to the site , commonly along highways traveling upwards of 60 miles per hour . Sealed to be weathertight , when it arrives on site , Jay argues that the benefit of a modular building lies in this weathertight requirement alone .
The advantages of modular construction were made evidently clear during the COVID-19 Pandemic . Over the past few years , Pacific Mobile Structures saw an uptick in the number of both relocatable and permanent health clinics and medical centers it was providing . Its modular construction solutions
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