Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester
Located on a tight site in central Manchester is a new 600 bedroom hall of residence for the Royal Northern College of Music, which comprises single and double bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, communal kitchens and common rooms within each cluster flat.
The nine-storey building was completely prefabricated off-site using the Ayrframe light gauge modular system. This rapid construction enabled completion within a one-year period, which is half the programmed timescale for traditional construction and therefore has major monetary benefits. It is thought to be one of the tallest and largest prefabricated modular buildings in Europe, and possibly the World.
Outstanding acoustic performance was an important factor for choosing a modular system and performs considerably better than both the building regulation requirements and the more onerous Quiet Homes Specification. Energy running costs were minimised by using up to 150mm thick rock wool insulation in a warm frame construction.
External cladding comprising a mixture of trespa panels with recessed glixtone and pressed metal panels forming a corrugated façade which was factory fitted to the modular units leaving only sealing of vertical joints to be a site fixed item.
