Client: PPP – SISK
DBFL is providing civil, transportation, and structural engineering consulting services on this multi-site OPW Rapid Build Modular Housing Program to provide emergency accommodation for Ukrainian refugees. The program aims to provide accommodation for 2,000 Ukrainians through the delivery of 700 modular homes across the country using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC).
DBFL have provided civil, traffic, and structural engineering services over the course of this project including foul and water infrastructure design, road safety guidance, timber canopy and foundation design, and the design for single and multi-storey 3D modular unit foundations. The single-storey, rigid frame modular units arrive to site fully complete to land onto foundations and the multi-storey units arrive as two individual elements that are fitted together on site to satisfy the project requirements for structural robustness and stability alongside the requirement for quality and speed of production. The units are capable of withstanding loads exerted during lifting, transportation, installation, and permanent design conditions, with a 60-year design life.
This project provides emergency accommodation for approximately 2000 Ukrainian refugees and therefore, the main challenge was speed of design and construction. Working collaboratively alongside the design team and several modular manufacturers allowed DBFL to create a unified design approach that was able to be executed across a number of different sites throughout the country. Each location brought with it, it’s own intricacies such as archaeological finds, shallow rock, steep grade changes, etc. However working diligently, we were able to address these finds as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The Modular Housing (URMH) Project was delivered using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). The holistic design approach considers structural robustness and stability alongside the requirement for quality and speed of production. This construction method allows for the units to be fabricated off site and installed in their current intended locations with the scope to relocate the units if required later during their design life. These sustainable initiatives consider the full life cycle of the unit and how it may be relocated throughout its lifespan.
This project spanned multiple sites across Ireland, each with unique ground conditions. To address this variability, we implemented a unified Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) strategy across all locations, incorporating swales and tree pits as standard features. Where conditions permitted, we incorporated features that allowed infiltration to ground. This approach ensured that interception storage was built into the surface water drainage design, effectively minimising sediment and pollutant discharge into downstream drainage networks and natural watercourses.
This multi-phase project includes sites across Ireland. Phase 1 sites, in Cavan, Cork, Mayo, Sligo, and Tipperary, reached completion in May 2023, with sites in Phase 2, in Laois and Offaly, reaching completion in November 2023. This brought the total number of units being occupied to 310. Phase 3 and 4, in Cork, Galway, and Dublin, are currently underway, with a new final Phase 5 site in Tipperary starting June 2024.
This multi-site project involved extensive positive collaboration between the entire design team, the OPW, the contractor Sisk, and the off-site manufacturers. Coordination and consistency across all sites are both key elements in the successful delivery of these projects within the constraints of a tight program.
Project Director
