Modular hotel on site at Trafford City

A Holiday Inn Express is being built near to EventCity, using an off-site construction method developed by Chapman Taylor which will see fully-furnished shipping containers installed to make up the 220-bedroom building.

The modular process means that the steel containers are fitted out with all interior fixtures and fittings, before being delivered to the 1.75-acre site.

Working collaboratively with specialist consultants, Chapman Taylor developed a co-ordinated BIM model to inform the detailed design and enable the off-site works to commence, as part of an accelerated build programme which will see the hotel operational by spring 2017.

The bedroom modules are currently being manufactured, while main contractor Bowmer & Kirkland has started construction of the ground floor and podium slab.

The modules will be individually stacked on top of the podium, meaning all 220 guest rooms are installed in less than a month. Each module is made up of two fully-furnished en-suite rooms, separated by a section of circulation corridor, and all building services. The rooms, which have full height windows, are quality approved before leaving the factory.

The external envelope is then applied once the modules are in place, using prefinished rainscreen cladding and single ply roofing systems.

The project, a joint venture between Mill Lane Estates, Topland Group and Marick, is one of the first of its kind in the North West. Tower Hotel Management, part of the Peel Group, has been awarded the management contract.

The Holiday Inn Express follows the modular process designed by Chapman Taylor as part of the creation of Umbrellahaus project, which the practice has trademarked and launched as its response to the UK’s growing housing crisis. Umbrellahaus aims to be a sustainable and affordable way to deliver houses at scale and speed. Modules range from one bedroom to three bedrooms and can be modified to match market demands.