Prefabricated healthcare delivery – The Universal Grid

The concept of modular, prefabricated housing has been around for more than a century but it's just now really picking up steam in New York City.

By Cannon Design July 17, 2013

The concept of modular, prefabricated housing has been around for more than a century but it’s just now really picking up steam in New York City. A competition sponsored by New York City Mayor Bloomberg earlier this year asked architects to design the "micro-units" that some believe could cure the city’s housing shortage. The submissions all made use of prefab construction methods, with modules being built then shipped to the site and hoisted into place. The competition has inspired other developments around the city including a Gluck+ architects efforts that champions prefab construction (see video below).
Cannon Design has been driving the concept in the healthcare market with a number of projects based on the Universal Grid. This Universal Grid planning module comprises an optimum set of vertical and horizontal dimensions for the structural bay of a building. The concept assures current and future adaptability and also reduces capital investment through a speed-to-market advantage thanks to its pre-engineered systematic approach.

The Universal Grid concept can be applied to essentially any type of healthcare facility and Cannon Design has introduced it through projects with Kaleida Health and the State University of New York at Buffalo, Indiana University Health and BJC Institute of Health.

In every facility where we’ve introduced the Universal Grid, our clients are realizing capital and operational savings and also equipped with flexible facilities designed to deliver value over the next century. It’s important we continue to explore the idea of prefabricated construction and delivery as it makes a difference for both clients and end users.