St Modwen, the regeneration specialist behind the new £450 million Swansea University Bay Campus, signed another development agreement to provide an additional £50m of student accommodation and student facilities at the site.
The accommodation agreement will see the development of 545 additional student apartments for occupation during the first quarter of 2016. The main building contractor, Galliford Try, was appointed to the contract in 2014 and work commenced on the land, formerly a BP distribution hub, in the autumn.
FP McCann successfully tendered for the supply and install contract on student accommodation buildings 15 & 16 and commenced deliveries of the precast concrete modular system late 2014. Based on a process where walls, floor and ceiling slabs are linked together to form a unique crosswall construction, the precast panels are factory formed to suit design requirements.
In total, some 2400 individual precast units are being installed, consisting of walls, floors, stairs and landings. Gable walls and party walls are 160mm thick, with each room floor slab 175mm thick.
Window and door openings have been accommodated and each bedroom has four conduits cast into the walls for electrics and communications networks.
All horizontal and vertical sections are designed for ease of build, linking together with hidden tie rods. Joints are finished with a high-strength non-shrink grout, fully conforming to building regulations. Walls and ceilings are to a quality fair face finish allowing for a simple gypsum wash prior to final decoration. In total, 541 individual bathroom pods are also being installed as part of the build.
The modular system offers excellent acoustic and thermal mass properties as well as fire resistant qualities associated with precast concrete.
To date, over 33,000 precast concrete rooms have been manufactured by FP McCann and erected on a variety of projects, with one of the most prestigious being the 788 room University of East London Campus at the Royal Albert Docks.
Over 30 student accommodation projects have been completed nationwide, providing nearly 19,000 rooms. On-going contracts include Southampton University and the student accommodation on part of the huge £1billion North West Cambridge development.
The new Swansea Campus is a major highlight of St. Modwen’s ongoing 3,500 acre regeneration programme across South Wales.
The on-going development of the University will create a world-class educational establishment that will benefit students, staff and the local community for generations to come.
