Prefab bathroom pods continue to make inroads in construction

Offsite construction of plug-n-play units expanding across many building types

Order a house from a catalog? Yep! Sears started offering kit homes in its 1902 big book, so the idea of building modular is more than 100 years old. Stepping up in scale, the Contemporary Hotel at Walt Disney World in Orlando, which opened in 1971, was one of the first commercial structures to use a prefabbed steel chassis on which 500 guest room modules were craned up and hung.

Today, it seems the idea of offsite construction of modular units is beginning to surge. Key markets include: Healthcare, multi-family housing, higher-education housing and hospitality.

The rise may be particularly conducive to maintaining a construction schedule in the face of increasing labor shortages.

The looming Silver Tsunami

In the recent Building Design + Construction (BD+C) article, a construction executive said that many of those working in the trades are retiring – part of the looming Silver Tsunami – and there are fewer workers coming into the skilled trades.

Prefabrication will be increasingly be used to offset the decline in skilled workers, as well as in markets where a large number of projects soak up the shrinking pool or tradespeople.

Bathrooms are a good fit for prefabbing

The BD+C article goes on to say:

In order to receive the full benefits of designing and building with prefabrication techniques, such as bathroom pods, AEC firms should eye projects with repetitive layouts – hotels, student residence halls, inpatient towers, etc. “The more repetition, the more value in prefabricating, said Ray Rigsby, project executive with Gilbane Building Co. “Any building type that has repetitive floor plans lends itself to prefabrication.”

Part of the upswing in prefab pods comes with the rise in BIM, which allows for much greater precision in overall fit – not only within the unit as well as into the overall building structure.

Another gain comes from all players – architect, contractor and pod supplier – performing a BIM conflict analysis to eliminate potential clashes.

Goodbye, boring cookie cutter bathroom design

Taking prefab bathroom design to school

Earlier we mentioned student residence halls as prime, fertile ground for bathroom pods. One example is Wallbridge Construction, which employed pods in its construction of the Munger Graduate Residence at the University of Michigan. The project was recognized with a 2016 Construction and Design Award by the Engineering Society of Detroit.

Walbridge manufactured 730 bathroom units at a site 10 miles west of Ann Arbor, where 34 tradespeople fabricated five different models, including ADA accessible units. Each bathroom has a fully enclosed shower, toilet, sink, quartz top, cabinetry, light fixtures and medicine cabinet.

After flooding the floor of each unit with an inch of water and monitoring it for any leakage for 24 hours, units were drained, completed, shrink wrapped, and transported by truck to the job site on campus.

Our Washroom Systems Division played an integral role in the Munger Hall project by providing the units with Prism™ Solid Surface solutions, including shower surrounds and bases (receptors).

Interested in learning more about bathroom and shower design trends and concepts? Visit our library of industry White Papers that break down a variety of material options, bathroom solutions and design trends.

Our Washroom Systems fortify your washroom against commercial demands with our Prism™ Solid Surface material, which is non-porous and antimicrobial to inhibit the growth of mold and mildew. With customized solutions and reliable material, we keep your washrooms clean and sanitary without constant maintenance. We manufacture a wide array of products, including: shower walls, shower bases, wall panels, shower partitions, toilet partitions, grab bars, and more. 

If you’d like to speak to one of our washroom professionals, call 800-222-5556 or Request a Quote.