From the Assembly Hall
Efficiently creating spaces of tomorrow by modular building
Andreas Rieser
Modular building has a huge design potential and capacity to shape the future and is becoming much more significant in terms of both sustainability and quality of execution. The ability of modular building to generate fascinating, intelligent, and creative solutions is demonstrated by such projects as the new Radiology Building that we designed for the Kliniken der Stadt Köln.
The cleverness of modular building
The new central radiology building that has been planned by ATP architects engineers, Nuremberg, for Cologne City Hospitals (KdSK) in Merheim is an outstanding example of this: We conceived this new key clinical facility as a modular building and integrally designed it with Building Information Modeling (BIM) from the very start. The result meets the needs of Cologne City Hospitals as a client and demonstrates how conventions in the building sector can positively change in terms of lean construction times, efficient use of materials, and flexibility. To mention just a few examples:
Off-site modular building allowed the hospital to continue functioning with virtually no interruption. The individual modules were assembled on the already prepared foundations in just eight weeks.
The BIM model enabled all steel profiles or ventilation, sanitary, and electrical lines to be ordered and delivered with the correct length. This meant that there was no cutting on site.
The individual modules can be completely dismantled and broken down into separate materials at a later date.
No, we’re not talking about serially-produced “boxes”
Anyone who thinks that modularity leads to a monotonous world of boring-looking “shoeboxes” is completely wrong. Quite the opposite: Modular building is dynamic, versatile, and full of creative possibilities that fire the imagination. Its potential lies in the fact that each module has its own identity but is also part of a greater whole. Just like in a puzzle: Every individual piece makes an important contribution to the overall picture but still tells its own story. This allows us to base the division of the building into modules on the precise requirements of the project rather than almost falling back on prefabricated modules with fixed dimensions. Hence, there is almost no limit to the design options.
How the individual pieces become the big picture
For us as planners it was fascinating to see how the individual modules were produced by the module manufacturers ADK in Neresheim (Baden-Württemberg), where we could see, for example, openings being prepared as frames and placed in the positions determined in the BIM model. This also enabled us to find possibilities for optimization in individual steps of the process that we can implement in future projects. The transport and the assembly were naturally further highlights: The completed modules were transported the 500 km from the assembly shop in Neresheim to Cologne-Merheim in three convoys. When the individual modules were joined together the big picture was finally ready – and one couldn’t recognize that it consisted of 67 elements.
Why modular building is sustainable
Our vision of making the world a better place with our buildings becomes more tangible than ever thanks to modular building. In terms of executional quality, the future potential of modular building is huge – particularly on the basis of the integrated BIM model. Modularity enables us to combine the functional and social components of a building, create quality of life, and, hence, protect the planet. We are really fascinated by the question of which interesting modular building projects will be next!
