Rapid build construction boosts student apartments

Blocks of student apartments are moving towards completion thanks to a ‘rapid build’ construction programme
By The Newsroom
Published 20th Mar 2019, 15:39 BST
Updated 20th Mar 2019, 15:43 BST
Sigmats chief operational officer Marcus Wood with operations manager, John Ritchie.Sigmats chief operational officer Marcus Wood with operations manager, John Ritchie.
Sigmats chief operational officer Marcus Wood with operations manager, John Ritchie.

Offsite construction specialist Sigmat, based in Skipton, is building the apartments at Hull University.

Operations manager, John Ritchie, said: “VINCI Construction UK, part of the multi-billion Euro international VINCI organisation, awarded Sigmat the country’s largest ever load-bearing Light Gauge Steel Frame (LGSF) contract, as part of its £97m project to deliver 1,462 apartments across 12 accommodation blocks at Hull University.

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“It was done via the University Partnerships Programme and four of the eight blocks are now occupied by students with phases two and three handing over between now and September.

“More to the point, our innovative system – Sigmat built the student blocks’ steel ‘skeletons’ - negated the need for scaffolding, took tens of thousands out of building and labour costs, was lighter, but just as strong, and bettered estimated delivery times, knocking spots off traditional construction methods.”

It was Sigmat’s third major project for VINCI Construction UK and is part of a wider £155m development at the university.