With the healthcare sector facing unprecedented challenges, exacerbated by virus scares and ageing populations, the construction and renovation of healthcare infrastructure is more important than ever. It’s an incontestable fact, however, that conventional construction work in - or even near - healthcare facilities constitutes an enormous nuisance for patients, care personnel and local residents. One way to reduce this nuisance in the future, while reducing construction costs and times, is off-site prefabrication of the elements used in construction and renovation. With this method, construction modules are produced in extra-urban sites and then assembled on site. This minimizes the inconveniences typically associated with urban construction sites, and it’s an effective and sustainable way to modernize hospitals and healthcare infrastructure.
The strain under which the healthcare sector operates, and the urgent need to re-think our healthcare infrastructure, were cruelly exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. In France, where some 3000 healthcare facilities struggle with ageing buildings and investment shortages, the need to renovate and expand is palpable. Given the extent of the challenge, off-site prefabrication is a promising and attractive alternative both for users of the infrastructure and for the urban environment in general.
