Proposed upgrades to the facility were planned, specifically additional bathrooms that would be attached to individual bedrooms. However, it wasn’t feasible to construct them within the existing building and adding them to the outside was the only real legitimate option.

By specifying Interpod’s modular bathrooms, the team was able to pre-manufacture the pods offsite and quickly install them as they were delivered. Adrian Fedrigo from Grindley Constructions explained that because of the project’s unique external application, which created certain parameters, it was important to get it right from the get-go.

One of the key advantages Fedrigo noted with the use of the prefab pods was the considerably shorter amount of time needed for the renovations and provision of bathrooms. This minimised noisy onsite trades, and construction could be carried out without any major disturbances to the community – an especially important factor for aged care projects.

“The facility we worked in was fully occupied, so there were advantages to limiting the amount of contractors you have running around,” he said. “The quality of the pods could also be controlled a lot better.”

ARV’s project manager Matt Schaefer agreed that the shortened construction time, which also led to overall project cost savings, did not compromise on the quality of the new bathrooms.

Interpod’s bathrooms could be delivered and installed onsite in just three to four weeks. The pods came with structural elements intact, and were easily and quickly stacked on top of one another, creating a self-supporting multi-storey bathroom structure connected to the existing building accommodation.

Minimal disruption to the residents and a shortened construction program, whilst delivering a product of consistent standard due to production in an offsite controlled environment. The gardens also remained healthy and undamaged by the construction process.

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