Terrapin Modular Buildings Pave the Way for the Future

Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, April 11, 2011 --(PR.com)-- With government spending cuts and a rethink in the best way to provide cost-effective housing and educational buildings, modular building is fast becoming the method of choice in the construction industry. A recent partnership with Avanti Architects means the leading offsite company is now able to offer affordable, flexible and sustainable solutions for the housing market to meet growing demands on quality, environmental performance, low wastage, cost efficiency and ease of delivery.

Terrapin has been at the forefront of modular building for over 60 years, originally providing housing and classrooms for the ‘baby boomers’ of the post-war era. Since then, the face of offsite construction has been transformed, and Terrapin now creates aesthetically stunning and environmentally friendly permanent or temporary buildings for a wide variety of sectors, including schools, hospitals, commercial units and housing. Modular building is fast, affordable and sustainable, and seems to be the most practical and sustainable solution to future of modern construction.

Modular Building Methods

The manufacture of Terrapin modular buildings can be done in several different ways, depending on the application, the intended use, the space and access available. Unique and cost-effective buildings can be created using offsite construction in the following ways:

- Flat pack, panelised units which allow flexibility of design, delivery and construction.
- Volumetric modules, built with light-gauge steel frames offsite and delivered to site to provide fast and efficient construction.
- "Skeletal" steel framed units, combining traditional and modular building methods to provide a flexible and fast option for truly unique buildings.

The Benefits of Modular Building

Compared to conventional building methods, modular building solutions can provide enormous savings on time and cost, and generally lead to a smoother and less complicated project. With government spending cuts and environmental attributes being prioritised for modern construction, modular building delivers many benefits, including vastly reduced waste, increased sustainability, more reliable schedules, cost assurance and less disruption to local residents. Almost all Terrapin offsite builds come in on, or ahead of schedule and budget.

For the housing sector, modular building is an ideal solution; providing cost-efficient and fast construction methods without sacrificing quality. The variety of modular options means that units can be made to suite a range of homeowners; from single occupants to growing families, the elderly and non-ambulant. Living space can be maximised by variation, extension and the addition and amendment of ourdoor space, depending on the occupants’ needs.

Applications and Aesthetic Advantages

Despite the long and successful history of offsite construction, many people still have a preconception of modular buildings as being dull, uninspiring "stacks of boxes." Terrapin’s current challenge is to break free from these stereotypes, and show the flexibility and opportunity for unique building design modular building can offer.

The application of Terrapin’s modular techniques are being used in increasingly wider sectors, including healthcare, commercial, educational, developer, government, custodial, military, retail and public projects. The exterior design and interior layout of these buildings are almost limitless with the use of Terrapin’s innovative Hybred technologies.

Modular construction is quickly growing within the building industry, popular with architects, schools, developers and the government as a fast, cost-effective and aesthetically pleasing alternative to traditional building methods.

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