A stunning new academy for training engineers and leaders of today and tomorrow has been delivered using cutting-edge modular building methods.

Integra Buildings, one of the UK’s leading modular construction specialists, has completed the development for Severn Trent Water, which serves eight million people across the Midlands.

Staff from both companies came together for a celebratory event to mark the launch of the Severn Trent Academy, which was officially opened by Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier this month.

It provides a purpose-built centre of excellence for technical training on a new flagship campus in Coventry, as part of Severn Trent’s wider £10m investment in skills and training.

The versatile facilities provide a variety of traditional and experimental training environments, from hands-on areas designed to replicate Severn Trent’s working environments, to use of the latest technologies in virtual reality and “network simulation” computer modelling.

The energy-efficient building, which will meet Severn Trent’s present and future training needs, also houses an extensive suite of stylish rooms and breakout areas for hosting conferences and educational events.

It will offer a wide range of development opportunities for Severn Trent’s 7,000 staff, including apprentices, as well as members of the wider community, who will have a chance to gain valuable employability skills and training.

The facilities will also benefit 500 young people to be employed by Severn Trent over the next year under the Government’s Kickstart Scheme, which creates six-month paid work placements for 16-24-year-olds at risk of long-term unemployment.

East Yorkshire-based Integra completed the development in just 12 months from the design stage to handing over the keys, despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic.

The building is a prime example of how modern modular techniques are transforming the construction sector by delivering major projects faster and more efficiently than traditional methods, without compromising on quality.

The Prime Minister took a tour of the new building and described Severn Trent’s training programme as “world class”. He added: “This brilliant academy will support thousands of people in the West Midlands to gain the skills they need to secure long-term jobs and to take a step towards brighter futures.”

Integra Managing Director Gary Parker said: “We’re delighted that the Prime Minister has praised the new academy, which looks superb inside and out. Working closely with Severn Trent, our team has delivered a first-class training environment with cutting-edge facilities.

“It’s a great example of how our innovative approach to bespoke modular building allows us to meet even the most challenging design briefs while delivering faster and more cost-effective results for the client.

“To do that while dealing with the challenges of Covid, especially during the uncertainty of the first lockdown, represents an outstanding achievement by our team, partners and suppliers.”

Severn Trent Construction Project Manager Zoe McPhilbin said: “It was great to work with Integra in helping us create our new academy that will be so valuable in providing skills and opportunities for our people and communities.

“The design aspirations for our academy have been met in full, which clearly demonstrates how Integra shared the same values and ambitions as ourselves on delivering such an amazing space in which to learn.”

East Yorkshire-based Integra designed and manufactured the building, which has a floorspace of 22,600 sq ft (2,100 sq m), at its site near Hull. The facility is made up of 45 modular units, which were transported by articulated lorry to Coventry, before being assembled on Severn Trent’s site on the outskirts of the city.

Working alongside Webb Gray Architects, Integra completed the design phase in just eight weeks.

Key aspects pushed the boundaries of what can be achieved with a modular build. The roof would have been too high to be transported by lorry from the production facilities to site, so the team designed an innovative extendable frame that allowed the height to be extended in situ.

Integra, which is renowned for providing bespoke solutions to clients, laid down robust, waterproof floors in rooms designed to replicate the challenges faced by Severn Trent’s engineers, such as working with pressurised pipes.

Incorporating sustainable features, including an air-source heat pump to provide hot water, ensured the building received an “A” rating for energy performance.

Visitors enter the academy through a warm and welcoming reception, while conference, break-out and office areas have been furnished with a stylish, contemporary look.

As the principal contractor, Integra also completed extensive preparatory works, groundworks and landscaping, including the demolition of existing buildings on site, alongside specialists from Dales Contractors. During the work, consideration was given to some of the area’s smaller residents – special lighting and bat boxes were installed to avoid disturbing a colony of bats.

A close and collaborative working relationship between Integra and Severn Trent was a key factor in the success of the development.

Integra’s on-site team worked hand-in-hand with Severn Trent’s project manager, which meant decisions could be made on the ground in real time, while in the conference suite, installing the hi-tech infrastructure involved extensive coordination with Severn Trent’s IT team.

Mr Parker said: “It’s been a pleasure to work alongside Severn Trent’s team, whose support, encouragement and expertise has made a huge difference to the success of the project.

“We enjoyed excellent communication on the ground and at management level, which helped keep the project running smoothly at all times.

“We pride ourselves on building strong relationships with our clients, which helps us to understand their needs and meet and exceed their expectations, so it’s really pleasing to see this approach paying dividends.”

The opening of the academy comes at an exciting time for Integra as it embarks on a major expansion of its base in Paull, near Hull, which is key to the management’s ambitions to double revenues to £60m within three years.

Integra has developed a nationwide reputation for excellence in the design, construction and fit-out of modular buildings for a wide range of uses, including education, sport, leisure, healthcare and commercial operations.

 

www.integrabuildings.co.uk

ABB Robotics advances construction industry automation to enable safer and sustainable building. Credit: ABB Robotics

ABB Robotics is advancing automation in the construction industry

The Swiss company ABB Robotics wants to take advantage of the shortage of skilled workers in the construction sector, which is currently growing rapidly, to grow its robotics business and diversify its operations beyond the automotive industry. ABB sees the construction sector as a new growth market for its robotics business. In the past 18 months, interest in automation in the construction industry has grown.

Its new robotic automation solutions could address key challenges, including the need for more affordable and environmentally friendly housing and to reduce the environmental impact of construction amidst a labor and skills shortage.

In recent years, the Swiss robotics company has been affected by the crisis in the automotive sector, which has traditionally been its main customer. In this context, the construction sector offers new business opportunities for ABB, especially in view of the important infrastructure investment programs it relies on to get the world economy out of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

In a global survey commissioned by ABB of 1,900 large and small construction businesses in Europe, the US, and China, 91% said they face a skills crisis over the next 10 years, with 44% saying they struggle to recruit for construction jobs. Improving health and safety on building sites was a priority for 42%, and the same percentage said the environment is a key driver for industry change.

In the survey, 9 out of 10 construction businesses predict a skills crisis by 2030, with 81% saying they will introduce or increase the use of robotics and automation in the next decade. Only 55% of construction companies say they use robots, compared with 84% in Automotive and 79% in Manufacturing.

Additionally, construction workers account for around 30% of workplace injuries and are up to four times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident than other sectors, with an estimated 108,000 fatalities every year worldwide.

Robots can make construction safer by handling large and heavy loads, working in unsafe spaces, and enabling new, safer methods of construction. Using robots for the repetitive and dangerous tasks that people increasingly don’t want to do means automation can help support the industry’s labor and skills crisis and make construction careers more appealing to young people.

While ABB Robotics’ sales in the automotive market are expected to grow by 3% to 5% in the coming years, Sami Atiya, President of ABB’s Robotics & Discrete Automation Business Area, expects the construction industry to grow by 20% to 30% per year.

ABB is currently working on projects such as the robotic installation of elevators with Schindler Lifts and the robotic automation of Intelligent City’s production of prefabricated modular homes, increasing production efficiency by 15% and speed by speed 38% while reducing waste by 30%. While at Swedish construction company Skanska, ABB robots weld steel structures together to secure buildings.

 

Source: Inceptive Mind

Imagine an entire twenty storey concrete building which can store energy like a giant battery. Thanks to unique research from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, such a vision could someday be a reality. Researchers from the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering recently published an article outlining a new concept for rechargeable batteries – made of cement.

The ever-growing need for sustainable building materials poses great challenges for researchers. Doctor Emma Zhang, formerly of Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, joined Professor Luping Tang’s research group several years ago to search for the building materials of the future. Together they have now succeeded in developing a world-first concept for a rechargeable cement-based battery.

The concept involves first a cement-based mixture, with small amounts of short carbon fibres added to increase the conductivity and flexural toughness. Then, embedded within the mixture is a metal-coated carbon fibre mesh – iron for the anode, and nickel for the cathode. After much experimentation, this is the prototype which the researchers now present.

“Results from earlier studies investigating concrete battery technology showed very low performance, so we realised we had to think out of the box, to come up with another way to produce the electrode. This particular idea that we have developed – which is also rechargeable – has never been explored before. Now we have proof of concept at lab scale,” Emma Zhang explains.

Luping Tang and Emma Zhang’s research has produced a rechargeable cement-based battery with an average energy density of 7 Watthours per square metre (or 0.8 Watthours per litre). Energy density is used to express the capacity of the battery, and a modest estimate is that the performance of the new Chalmers battery could be more than ten times that of earlier attempts at concrete batteries. The energy density is still low in comparison to commercial batteries, but this limitation could be overcome thanks to the huge volume at which the battery could be constructed when used in buildings.

A potential key to solving energy storage issues

The fact that the battery is rechargeable is its most important quality, and the possibilities for utilisation if the concept is further developed and commercialised are almost staggering.Energy storage is an obvious possiblity, monitoring is another. The researchers see applications that could range from powering LEDs, providing 4G connections in remote areas, or cathodic protection against corrosion in concrete infrastructure.

“It could also be coupled with solar cell panels for example, to provide electricity and become the energy source for monitoring systems in highways or bridges, where sensors operated by a concrete battery could detect cracking or corrosion,” suggests Emma Zhang.

The concept of using structures and buildings in this way could be revolutionary, because it would offer an alternative solution to the energy crisis, by providing a large volume of energy storage.

Concrete, which is formed by mixing cement with other ingredients, is the world’s most commonly used building material. From a sustainability perspective, it is far from ideal, but the potential to add functionality to it could offer a new dimension. Emma Zhang comments:

“We have a vision that in the future this technology could allow for whole sections of multi-storey buildings made of functional concrete. Considering that any concrete surface could have a layer of this electrode embedded, we are talking about enormous volumes of functional concrete”.

Challenges remain with service-life aspects

The idea is still at a very early stage. The technical questions remaining to be solved before commercialisation of the technique can be a reality include extending the service life of the battery, and the development of recycling techniques.

“Since concrete infrastructure is usually built to last fifty or even a hundred years, the batteries would need to be refined to match this, or to be easier to exchange and recycle when their service life is over. For now, this offers a major challenge from a technical point of view,” says Emma Zhang.

But the researchers are hopeful that their innovation has a lot to offer.

“We are convinced this concept makes for a great contribution to allowing future building materials to have additional functions such as renewable energy sources,” concludes Luping Tang.

 

Read the scientific article, Rechargeable Concrete Battery in the scientific journal Buildings.

 

Announced on May 11th, Amsterdam Schiphol is taking sustainability to the next level by using grass to make its own panels for various building projects at the airport. Used at the airport in ceilings, walls, furniture, and flooring, the grass will come from the airport’s own clippings.

“All the grass that would go to waste now gets a second life by serving as raw material. This is fully in line with our ambition to be a waste-free airport in 2030. We aim to be fully circular in 2050.” -Mirjam de Boer, Director of Asset Management at Royal Schiphol Group

A waste-free airport

Apart from facilities at extreme latitudes and those in deserts, airports are typically abundant in grassland, which surrounds vast expanses of runways and taxiways. This grass must be cut regularly to discourage birds from gathering on this land – which in turn decreases the likelihood of bird strikes.

Partnering with ECORⓇ, Schiphol will integrate its own grass clippings into panels used throughout the airport’s construction. The plan will see 100,000 square meters of panels produced annually, using grass clippings as raw material. The airport has around 10 square kilometers of grassland around its runways.

Processing the grass into panels will see it cleaned and pressed without the use of chemicals. Then, “ceilings, partition walls at construction sites, furniture and flooring” will utilize these panels. The airport notes that an added benefit is that the CO2 stored in the grass remains ‘captured,’ as it remains in its solid form.

Although the announcement was made quite recently, Amsterdam Schiphol and ECORⓇ have been collaborating on developing these panels for the last few years now.

Before large-scale production was undertaken, panels were “extensively tested for practical use at the airport,” with the airport saying that they are “certified, fire-resistant and have the same level of quality as the well-known MDF panels.” MDF stands for medium-density fibreboard and is made from wood.

The airport has pledged to purchase the panels made by ECOR®, signing a contract with its building contractors working on site. The rest of the panels, however, will be sold to other parties in the region.

Production to take place locally

The airport hopes to make things even more sustainable, with an ambition to have the grass processed “at or near Schiphol,” thereby reducing emissions further.

At this time, however, processing and production will commence this fall at the ECORⓇ factory in Venlo – a Dutch city that sits near the German border. Venlo is a two-hour drive and some 187km away from Amsterdam Schiphol.

With airports worldwide also maintaining large expanses of grass on their properties, this sounds like a fantastic project that could be transplanted elsewhere. Indeed, this work will make use of something that would otherwise decompose or be incinerated offsite.

 

Source: Simply Flying