Our “fabric first” design approach in choice of materials produces mission critical infrastructure with industry leading thermal transmittance and air permeability performance and reduces the quantity of materials required by selecting ones that are more appropriate for a factory assembly process. Some examples of our approach are the steel we use for our superstructures that contains at least 25% recycled content, sourced from local steel fabricators, and the floor protection and HDPE boat wrap used for transport are closed loop recycling products meaning all waste generated from these sources will be fully recycled and will be used as the raw materials for these products again and again.

‘Factory first’ is our off-site, product-based method for manufacturing up to 90% of our infrastructure technology in our tightly controlled manufacturing centre. It maximises the principle of off-site construction. The process mitigates the risks and issues associated with more conventional construction: we use less materials and create less waste; we can re-use and recycle more, diverting unused materials or offcuts from landfill; we avoid damage and delays caused by weather; and we reduce project transport emissions by minimising the materials and tradespeople heading to site.

Our infrastructure technology is designed to operate as efficiently as possible. BladeRoom data centres are designed to maximise the use of fresh air cooling and minimise the use of potable water, with a hyperscale data centre using up to 34,000x less water per year than one person in the UK. Our ModuleCo healthcare facilities are designed with air permeability and thermal transmittance performance beyond the requirements of building control, minimising the heating and cooling requirements throughout the year, as well being specified with energy efficient products as standard. Altogether this helps to minimise the carbon emissions generated through the operation of our infrastructure technology.

Our buildings are designed to be relocated and re-used. When they are no longer required, instead of being demolished, they can be decanted and transported to another site to be installed and used once again. Some of our buildings have been decanted and transported to a new site several times, proving that our approach to design and off-site construction can prolong the useable life of a building and help minimise its impact on the environment.

We avoid using materials that cannot be easily recycled, such as concrete, favouring recyclable construction materials like steel that can be fully recycled at the end of their usable life. Our deliberate choice of recyclable materials means the building fabric becomes part of the materials we use to manufacture our new infrastructure technology instead of ending up in landfill.