Pods - Pod Almighty
Bathroom pod modules originated from the off-shore industry in the 1970's. Pods are now an established technique for constructing kitchens, bathrooms, washrooms and shower rooms. Pods are often used in hotels and student accommodation, where there are a large number of repetitive bathroom layouts, and to a lesser extent in private and social housing. Pods may be constructed from concrete, steel, timber or glass reinforced plastic.
Benefits of pod technology include:
- rapid installation
- predictability of cost and programme
- reduced snagging
- removal of highly serviced areas from critical path
- improved security on-site
- constructed under factory conditions
- tested prior to delivery to site
The existing bathroom pod market in the UK stands at around £220 million and is expected to grow significantly in the future. At present there are a range of UK suppliers providing timber, steel, concrete and GRP pods and hybrid material solutions. A significant volume of bathroom pods are imported from Europe.
Slim-floor, floor-less and ceiling-less pods are currently available, with ongoing developments in the use of pod towers and structurally integrated pods. The use of pods requires design consideration from the conception stage in relation to integration with the fire and acoustic design of the building, and very importantly the integration of building services.
Standardisation and repetition are required to produce economies of scale in manufacturing. Many pod suppliers manufacture using heavy materials such as concrete and hot-rolled steel. The weight of these particular units may make it difficult to integrate within modern lightweight superstructure systems such as timber and light steel frame.
The challenges of designing with and integrating pods will be debated at Pod Almighty.
- VENUE: Thinktank - Millennium Point - Birmingham
- START TIME: 9.15am
- FINISH TIME: 4.00pm
Pod Almighty is sponsored by:
