One of Britain’s leading budget leisure chains is about to take over a £12.5m new hotel on London’s Royal Albert Docks — made entirely from converted shipping containers.
With the first batch of “fully dressed” containers already being put in place, Holiday Inn Express will take delivery of the 204-bedroomed hotel early next year. Each module contains a fitted and decorated bedroom, complete with furniture and accessories.
The pioneering hotel, close to City Airport and in the heart of an extensive regeneration area, is being built for global industrial and construction giant China International Marine Containers (CIMC) by West Bromwich-based hotel construction specialist Anglo Holt.
“The CIMC modular system is a fantastic innovation and the quality of each container is exceptionally good,” explained Anglo Holt managing director, Andy Elwell.
Each shipping container is converted off-site at a CIMC factory in China with finished plasterboard walls, electrics and bathrooms already in place before being shipped to the UK.
On site in London the bedroom modules are simply bolted together and, once installed at the site, windows are fitted and the interior decorated and furnished. Cladding is also added to the exterior to create an attractive and conventional appearance.
The Holiday Inn development is thought to be the biggest project of its kind in the UK. When it reaches the end of its life, all the containers can be disassembled and transported to a new location if necessary.
“From a construction point of view, it reduces the amount of time on site, assists with quality control, and is considered to be safer, quieter and cleaner than traditional construction methods. Our experience so far would certainly support that,” added Elwell.
CIMC Group is a diversified industrial conglomerate producing sea containers, modular building systems, energy, chemical and food equipment and offshore facilities. It’s UK spokesman, Paul Blackmore, said: “This efficient process is based on flawless design co-operation from both sides, enabling our modules to fit well with the foundation functionally and technically.
“One of the obvious advantages of parallel work is the enhancement of work efficiency and time saving,” he added. “It is also an environmentally friendly option, with on-site waste reduced by around 10 to 15 per cent.”
The first shipping container hotel in the UK was pioneered by Travelodge at Uxbridge in 2008. The group later built others at a Warminster and Heathrow, but London’s new Holiday Inn Express is the biggest hotel so far.
“There is an enormous amount of interest in this system and other hotel operators are considering similar modular systems for the construction of new hotels of various brands in the UK,” said Andy Elwell.
Part of the InterContinental Hotels Group, a Holiday Inn spokesman hinted that if successful the Royal Albert Dock design could well be copied by the mid-price chain elsewhere in Britain.
Love this idea, can’t wait to see the finished designs. We thought at the beginning of this year adaptive reuse would have a large part to play in commercial designs. Here’s our top 2014 trends http://paramountinteriors.com/top-5-design-trends-2014/