Modular Cells
Britspace is predominantly an off-site manufacturer of full volumetric modular buildings. They have a variety of building solutions but typically use structural steel frames that are certified as permanent buildings. They also use alternative materials depending on what the requirements are for the specific project they are working on. Their claim is to use ‘intelligent construction’.
We had been invited by the BTP for a look around their new custody unit and we wanted to find out more about the methods of construction. Modular buildings have been around for some time; however the concept of using them to create a custody suite in an existing warehouse in the middle of a small industrial estate is a new one. We spoke to David Harris the MD of Britspace to find out how his company did the job..
Custodial Review
Q The British Transport Police custody unit site is an interesting development, how did you get involved in the project?
David Harris
A Four years ago we developed a modular steel product that fulfilled the custodial requirements for cell construction. This means we can manufacture finished cells within our factory and then deliver them to site. BTP had a long standing requirement for their own custodial capacity because at certain time s of year, such as carnival time, they had a lot of people being arrested and had to then detain them in custody centres throughout the capital. From an administration point of view it was an extremely costly and inefficient system. To solve these problems they decided to open up a site near the main north London train stations, which would allow them to have their own full custody suite facilities with twenty detention cells.
Q You have called it a ‘clever conversion’, and an ‘innovative use of space’- why? Were you told by BTP what they wanted or were you given the design and told to ‘build this’?
A It’s a clever conversion mainly because it is being built inside an existing warehouse, so it does not require full planning permission, only change of use. This ‘building within a building’ also means that the exterior of the custody suite has already been built. BTP acquired the building and gave us the requirement for the usage, number and type of rooms they wanted. We then developed the design, layout and footprints. BTP had a big involvement with us in this design stage of the development. They proposed some changes and we developed the scheme to suit their exact requirements.
Q Were there any issues with the design and construction of the modular units that make up the custody suite?
A Yes. The Home Office guidelines for Police cell construction are written for masonry buildings. We manufacture in steel so there were certain areas we had to agree changes to. This was to enable us to make it in a steel frame form of construction that would still meet the Home Office regulations. However we had already done a lot of this work as we have provided over 600 of these units during the recent prison expansion programmes.
Q How hard is it to work in compliance with NOMS and MOJ standards, are there any particular needs or requirements you have to work to?
A Yes it is sometimes quite awkward, and there is often a conflict in the client’s requirements of what they actually want. You have to balance it correctly on all sides as remedial work is prohibitively expensive. The specifications change quite often, for instance there is now a requirement for natural light to be available in cells. It’s important to be fully up to date on t he requirements.
Q From a point of view of build speed, how much quicker was it than building traditionally from scratch? How much longer would it have taken to build this custody suite conventionally and how much more expensive would it have been?
A My understanding is that it would have taken over twice as long to build, and from talking to the client I believe we were around twenty percent more cost effective than doing it in ‘the old way’.
Q Was it an existing modern warehouse? Were the cell units built in your factory and then trucked to the site, how much does each of these units weigh? How finished were they, did they have the doors, fittings, lights and mirrors in?
A The warehouse was fairly modern; however it needed a new roof. The modular cells are of an all steel construction. There is a steel frame which is then in-filled with external steel wall panels. These are lined internally with more sheet steel. Then they are boarded out with different finishes which can be timber and impact resistant plasterboard to give the cell the full break-out resistance that is required. It varies but typically they each weigh around ten tonnes. What we usually do is make sure it comes out finished, with the sanitary wear, doors on and services in the duct areas. We typically leave the last coat of decoration for site after the transport and movement of the cell module to the site.
Q There were seven modules that weren’t cells, what were they and how did you build them?
A Its rare that an entire project lends itself perfectly to factory manufacture. We identified the non standard units from the plans. These were the interview, photography, medical, changing and waiting areas, shower rooms and booking in areas. We still designed and built these at the factory; if they were too large to transport complete we built them in ‘Flat Pack’ form and assembled them on site.
Q Above the modular units there is the world supply of plant and pipe! It looks like the engine room on the Titanic! What is the need for all that?
A There are a lot of services needed to run a custody suite and all the  services have to be accessible for maintenance without stopping the use of the cells. The area between the top of the cells and the buildings roof is ideal as a plant room. In addition a lot of what you have seen above the cells are the light tubes that are required to bring natural light into each cell and the booking in areas.
Q Did you use any existing parts of the building as they were or was it all made with modular units?
A At one end of the building there were office areas and some existing walls, rather than knock them down and re-create we refurbished them to create staff toilet areas and office space.
Q There seem to be some fabulous advantages to this method of modular construction and craning the units into an existing building, what are its biggest selling points?
A Speed and cost! Buying a suitable existing building and converting it to suit your requirements by building finished units off site and then craning them in is a very cost effective and flexible method of providing a new facility. It gives organisations the opportunity to buy or rent a commercial warehouse and then adapting it as required. Building it off-site gives labour efficiencies and a far higher accuracy of build. It’s much easier to achieve these in a factory than having to construct from scratch in a city centre location. There is also a lot less time on site. So construction costs are lower, as is any disruption to the locality.
Q Construction may be easier in a factory however you are talking about dropping twenty seven modules, which is 270 tonnes of weight onto an industrial unit floor. Are there any specific requirements for this, is 270 tonnes over that area a lot of weight and is it as simple as that?
A Its not as simple as it sounds as all buildings will need some adaptation to enable services to be installed. In addition a new roof may be required. This was necessary at the BTP site. We have to remove the roof to crane in the modules, so it makes sense to ensure the roof will last as long as the modules will. Floor loading can be an issue and it depends on very much how the building is constructed however most industrial units are constructed with floors that can easily handle the weight. At this particular site there were a number of floor problem areas as it was built on top of an underground tube line and there were certain areas of the floor which had to have more work done to take the weight.
Q What do you say to people who say that this isn’t a ‘proper way’ of building a cell or custody suite?
A We have built over six hundred cells over the last three years for the Prison Service. Which is where the concept started. We have worked in Littlehey, Rochester, Blundeston, Kirklevington, Wealstun and also Gartree. It’s a system that has been tried and tested in the most demanding of environments.
Q When will the contract be finished?
A Due to the unexpected floor issues it’s running a few weeks late- but on budget. However we will have finished all installation and made good the forecourt and surrounding areas by the end of October.
Thank you for talking to the Review.
For more information contact
Emma Cade at Britspace
Tel: 01430 444400
www.britspace.com
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