The last of 70 tailor-made prefab units has been assembled as part of the Australian National University’s latest on-campus accommodation in Canberra.

The modern, modular buildings have been factory built and were dispatched to Canberra by ship.

?Construction time was roughly half that of traditional building half and cost-effective installation techniques reduce costs by an average of 20 per cent.

The Laurus Wing at ANU is the first project on Australian soil by Quicksmart homes. The six-storey installation consists of 70 tailor-made units with a mix of studio and one-bedroom apartments.

Each space has been specifically designed with the students’ needs in mind and includes individual kitchen and bathroom facilities as well as internet access and an outdoor balcony.

ANU also chose to incorporate several of Quicksmart’s ancillary design modules to create a common room, laundry and bike storage.

“We’re thrilled to have been chosen by ANU to work on this revolutionary project,” says Quicksmart’s managing director, Rufus Harding.

“Our brief was to create specialized student housing and install it quickly and with minimal impact on the campus. By its very nature, Quicksmart Homes address all of these requirements and we’re very proud of what we’ve achieved so far.”

Every unit on campus incorporates thermal design to reduce standard energy consumption and ongoing lifecycle and maintenance costs.

Stage two of the ANU instillation is scheduled for completion in just over six months and will include a further 120 modules.

“The entire second phase will be built with Quicksmart’s popular studio module, providing a total of 188 new rooms - together with a second laundry — ready to use on the site in less than 12 months,” Harding said.

Quicksmart Homes is currently in negotiation with a number of other educational institutions, and plans to broaden their focus in 2010, moving toward the construction of hotel accommodation and hospitality facilities.

Gemma Battenbough

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