Volumetric unit

Offsite residential construction, Glossary of terms, published by Buildoffsite in 2018, suggests that the terms ‘volumetric building modules and systems’, ‘volumetric modular construction’ and ‘volumetric unit’ are usually used to describe:

• volumetric units that enclose useable space, but are installed inside or on top of a building (ie pods)
• volumetric units that enclose useable space and are joined together onsite to form the whole building without the need for any extra support structure.

Units may be manufactured from many different materials including, steel, concrete and timber, with smaller pod units also available in GRP. Units are invariably fully finished internally in the factory with external finishes, often brickwork, applied onsite or sometimes also externally factory-finished.

Faster, Smarter, More Efficient: Building Skills for Offsite Construction, published by CITB in April 2017, suggests that a volumetric unit: ‘Can be a pod or can be room-sized units that are joined together onsite to create the whole building with no additional structural support or frame.’

See also. Modular buildings.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Cassette.
• Floor cassettes.
• Hybrid building.
• Kit house.
• Modern methods of construction.
• Modular.
• Off-site construction.
• Pod.
• Pre-cast concrete.
• Prefabrication.
• Structural insulated panels.
• Volumetric.
• Volumetric modular construction.