Bathroom pod manufacturer Offsite Solutions has been awarded its second contract for the UK’s largest listed residential landlord Grainger plc.
The latest deal is to manufacture 567 steel-framed bathroom and shower pods for Exchange Square in Birmingham which is under construction by main contractor McAleer & Rushe. The pod deliveries to site will begin towards the end of 2021 and will be completed by summer 2022 as the building’s structure is constructed.
Exchange Square is developed by Nikal for Grainger plc and will provide 375 homes for rent in a landmark 37-storey tower.
Designed by Stephenson Hamilton Risely Studio, the £68m scheme occupies a prominent location opposite HS2 Curzon Birmingham. Completion is scheduled for summer 2023.
The bathroom pods for Exchange Square will have dark grey, large format porcelain wall and floor tiles with staggered ‘brick bond’ tile joints to the walls. The bathrooms will be fully fitted in the factory with a three-door mirrored cabinet, a solid surface vanity shelf, semi-pedestal wall hung basin, bath with glass hinged shower screen, heated ladder towel rail, and floor mounted toilet. The shower rooms will have a two-door mirrored wall cabinet and a sliding shower door.
Helena Tsiantes Jansson, Senior Forward Fund Development Manager at Grainger plc, said: “We fully support the use of offsite manufacturing and for the bathrooms, it gives us the unique opportunity to check the pods in the factory before going into full production. This allows us to review the design detailing and make any minor changes, which is just not possible on site.
“Following our recent visit to Offsite Solutions’ factory, we were very impressed with the quality of the finishes, particularly the grouting and tiling. The quality was spot on and will result in a better quality product for our residents. Fitting out the bathrooms in a factory which has much more space and light than on site, definitely impacts positively on quality. It is also much easier for us to deal with a single supplier for the bathrooms.”
Offsite Solutions is also manufacturing pods for Enigma Square in Milton Keynes – another Grainger build-to-rent scheme which is under construction by Bowmer and Kirkland.