SEISMIC
SEARCHING FOR MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY
Seismic’s platform approach offers a new way for construction, with Sam Stacey, Challenge Director for Transforming Construction at UKRI, saying that it offered: “tangible evidence of what the future of construction looks like.”
1 Delivered by a consortium of seven companies, including offsite experts, manufacturers, and consultants, the results for Seismic are impressive – projects can be delivered up to 75% faster, 70% lower in carbon and 47% better value, when compared with traditional construction. The standardisation even allows it to compete with other modular solutions, with an improvement of around 30% on speed. It makes for a compelling offer, according to the project team. “The direction from UK government is that we need platform-based construction solutions for the industry to achieve the targets outlined in Construction 2025, hit net zero and meet projected demand,” explains Richard Crosby, director at consortium lead blacc. “Seismic is a huge step towards achieving this. The consortium has demonstrated that a platform-based approach is faster, better quality and
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better for the environment. Crucially, this is not theoretical – we have a market ready solution that clients can use now.” A two-part journey Seismic is the culmination of a fouryear project, delivered in two phases. Alongside blacc, the consortium included offsite manufacturers Algeco (formerly known as the Elliott Group) and McAvoy, Tata Steel, the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), the National Composite Centre (NCC) and Specific (part of Swansea University). Phase one focused on the design of a standardised, lightweight steel frame and connector block. Completed in 2020, the natural next step was to look at the design and construction of core components that would work with the frame, starting with wall, floor, ceiling and roof cassettes.
WWW.OFFSITEMAGAZINE.CO.UK | MAY/JUNE 2022
The ambition was an ‘all-in-one’ solution for clients that would be suitable for a range of sectors. In practice, this would allow clients to commission a project that uses the Seismic platform, working directly with the relevant manufacturer to specify the building that they wanted. Modules would be configured to achieve the desired floor space and then, depending on the performance levels desired, the client would select the appropriate floor, ceiling, roof and wall cassettes. For example, the client could choose a thicker wall option to up the thermal mass or want to use more sustainable components within the build, such as the Vitromite floor option which is made from recycled glass. There are a range of aesthetic options too, with multiple cladding alternatives, internal fit out choices, and both flat and pitched roof solutions.
