Project:                       Cardiff Interchange     
Sector:                        Build-to-rent apartments     
Client:                         Rightacres Property     
Main Contractor:        ISG  
Architect:                    Holder Mathias Architects   
Pod Type:                   Floorless GRP pods    
Number of pods:        400+     

The Project

Cardiff Interchange is an £89m flagship, mixed-use construction project for developer Rightacres Property. The scheme will provide 318 apartments for the build-to-rent sector.

The £1.6m contract for the manufacture and supply of over 400 bathroom and shower pods was awarded to Offsite Solutions by ISG. 

The Bathroom Pod Solution

This project is the first contract for Offsite Solutions’ new enhanced and floorless GRP pods.

The bathrooms and shower rooms are being manufactured and fitted out offsite and installed on each floor as the building structure rises upwards. This solution reduces the build programme and the number of trades required on site and enhances quality.

Continuous Level Floors

A UK industry first, Offsite Solutions’ new floorless GRP pods allow the bathrooms to be installed directly onto the floor slab to achieve continuous level floors throughout each apartment whilst minimising floor build up for each storey. This innovation in pod technology is ideal for build-to-rent schemes.

Strong Aesthetic Appeal

The enhanced GRP pods are designed to have a strong aesthetic to appeal to prospective tenants. At Cardiff Interchange, the pods have a tile-effect finish to the bath and shower areas, an inset feature wall with natural grey porcelain tiles and a recess above the bath with a coloured back panel.

Other design details for the project include:

• Flush mirror-fronted cabinet which runs the full width of the bathrooms
• Wall-mounted toilet and hand basin
• Grey coloured vanity top
• Heated ladder towel rail
• Over-bath shower
• Feature panels behind the toilet and basin finished in arctic grey
• Pre-installed shower trays and baths
• Rain head and handheld showers for shower and bathroom pods.

Unique Panelised Construction

All Offsite Solutions’ GRP bathroom pods have a panelised construction which is unique in the UK. This creates vertical walls and 90° corners to allow easier integration and the use of standard door sets to avoid further work on site. This design also improves aesthetics by avoiding tapered walls which you have with pods created from single GRP moulds.

Comments from the Project Team

Jason Hyett, Director of developers Rightacres Property:

“We needed little persuading of the advantages of applying offsite construction and a manufacturing process for the bathrooms on this development. The floorless option is an innovative solution to ensuring continuous level floors throughout the apartments. From our initial factory visit, we were impressed by the way Offsite Solutions approached the design process and their flexibility to accommodate our precise requirements at every stage. The first pods look great and we look forward to all the units being delivered to site later this year.”

Simon Pritchard, Senior Design Manager, ISG:

“Where there is a high degree of repetition in the bathroom layouts, pods are the ideal solution. The use of offsite construction reduces the number of fit-out trades on site and gives us the benefit of a much faster build programme. We have used Offsite Solutions’ pods on other projects and have found the quality of bathroom manufacture in a factory is consistently improved.”

Rising Demand for Enhanced GRP Pods

Offsite Solutions have had a lot of interest from build-to-rent developers in its new enhanced GRP bathroom pods. It estimates that GRP pods can reduce maintenance costs by over 50 per cent compared to traditionally built bathrooms. The capital costs are around 15 to 20 per cent less than steel-framed bathroom pods. The figures make these new pods a very compelling proposition for developers in the private rental sector.

For further information, see www.offsitesolutions.com/floorlessGRP.