Calgary firm builds 2-storey medical interior in 3 days

CALGARY – DIRTT and its Middle East partner NMG Solutions installed a two-story state-of-the-art medical interior in just three days for Arab Health Congress and Exhibition in Dubai, with a construction method that eases some of the Middle East’s most pressing building challenges.

“The cost of building a healthcare facility is enormous, especially when you consider the amount of time conventional builds take,” says DIRTT CEO Mogens Smed. “By the time construction is finished you’re left with something out of date before you even move in. We’re demonstrating a higher-quality, faster, more efficient way to build that leaves the client with a long-term solution that’s also sustainable.”

With interactive 3D design and specification technology at its core, DIRTT’s approach streamlines planning and design through to manufacturing, installation and beyond. For the Middle East, where raw construction materials must often be imported while labor shortages and cost overruns pose a growing threat, the benefits of manufactured construction are felt in mitigated labor and faster build schedules. Off-site manufacturing also provides consistent and high-quality results in spaces that remain flexible over time.

“The business case here is you’re spending less on material, less on labor, and getting a more sophisticated and highly functional healthcare interior in a compressed timeframe – and it’s flexible to meet changing needs in the long term,” says Smed. “When someone says sustainability doesn’t make sense from a financial point of view, there’s no greater illustration against it than what DIRTT’s doing.”

Guests to the NMG and DIRTT display at Arab Health saw a freestanding two-story structure that blends modern manufacturing with customization and craftsmanship. Features include DIRTT’s timber frame, touch-triggered cabinetry, wall-integrated technology and medical gases, Corning Willow Glass with custom graphics, and intricate laser-cut metal railings. Many elements from last year’s exhibit have been re-used or repurposed into the new display.

Guests could also try virtual reality (VR) technology that operates with manufacturing intelligence. DIRTT takes the realism of VR and combines it with their ICE software, creating a direct link between a client’s VR experience and the manufacturing factory.

DIRTT and NMG view Arab Health as an opportunity to demonstrate the speed, quality and functionality of its healthcare solutions in front of a global audience of prominent healthcare industry leaders. The medical expo is the largest of its kind in the Middle East and second largest in the world.

NMG and DIRTT have completed more than 70 healthcare projects in the Middle East to date. DIRTT recently opened a Green Learning Center in London, building on existing business operations in India, Singapore, the United States and Canada.

DIRTT’s medical sites in Canada and the United States include The Burnaby Hospital Optimization Clinic, a center of excellence for the arthroplasty program; an ED observation centre at the Detroit Medical Center; and a new state-of-the-art primary care clinic in Madison, Wisconsin.

DIRTT’s solutions are built to exact specifications in one of its controlled manufacturing facilities. They arrive on-site finished, tested, inspected and ready for installation. In the factory, components are cut to the perfect size and other elements such as plumbing and modular power are pre-installed in the wall cavity.

No materials are altered on site, greatly reducing dust, debris, schedule delays and space required for material and tool storage, the company said.

According to DIRTT, conventional builders spend approximately 70 percent of your budget on labor, contingencies, fees and conditions, with the remaining 30 percent on materials. DIRTT reverses this spending model. On its projects, approximately 70 percent of your budget goes toward materials and 30 percent is spent on labor.

The bottom line is you a higher quality and highly functional space that will adapt to change, in a quicker timeframe.

About DIRTT

DIRTT Environmental Solutions (Doing it Right This Time) uses its proprietary 3D software to design, manufacture and install fully customized prefabricated interiors. The company’s customers in the corporate, government, education and healthcare sectors benefit from DIRTT’s precise design and costing; rapid lead times with the highest levels of customization and flexibility; and faster, cleaner construction. DIRTT’s manufacturing facilities are in Phoenix, Savannah, Kelowna and Calgary. DIRTT’s team supports nearly 100 sales distribution partners throughout North America, the Middle East and Asia. DIRTT trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “DRT.” For more information visit www.dirtt.net.