The North West firm that designed and engineered the NHS Nightingale London and Manchester hospitals has released an IKEA-style manual on how to build or convert structures into one of the Covid-19 emergency units.
BDP is helping the 海角视频 national effort to combat the coronavirus pandemic with a key role in the challenge of helping convert large event venues into emergency hospitals.
Working under main contractor Vinci, the BDP studio has designed the conversion of a famous Manchester landmark into a 633-bed temporary hospital for Covid-19 patients.
Today, the Manchester-based firm has released a free, online manual hoped to help other emergency hospital projects in the 海角视频 and worldwide.
Latest Covid-19 news
It lays out four steps from 'scope out' to 'kit out', suggesting materials and processes that may be used for the build - as well as vital items needed in the hospital.
The London facility at the ExCel Centre in East London will house up to 4,000 beds for Covid-19 patients, while the Manchester structure will provide treatment for 750.
The London structure took just nine days to build.
NHS Nightingale is the first of several major crisis centres planned around the 海角视频, designed to deal with an expected surge of patients suffering from coronavirus.
Most Read
BDP architect principal, Ged Couser, said: “We worked closely with clinicians to ensure that every bed can be fitted with all the equipment required to treat Covid-19 patients.
"Delivering emergency hospital facilities in conference and exhibition centres is unprecedented, so we have been drawing on our previous experience of designing large-scale healthcare facilities in hospitals like Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool.
“The biggest challenge on the project has been responding to an evolving brief while delivering the services at the same time, and all within two weeks, from the very start to the project handover.
"The scale of the task has been absolutely unprecedented, and it has taken an incredible collaborative team effort between the client, the design team, the contractor and the army.”
The NHS Nightingale Hospital North West is located in the grade II star listed G-Mex, part of Manchester Central’s Exhibition and Conference complex.
The former railway station opened in 1880 as the terminus for trains to London and closed in 1969.
It opened as an events venue in 1982.
Don’t miss
The main hall has been divided into 18 wards, which are located underneath a 64m wrought-iron single-span arched roof, one of the widest unsupported iron arches in the world.
Want more business news straight to your inbox?
BusinessLive is your home for business news from around the country - and you can stay in touch with all the latest news through our email alerts.
You can sign up to receive morning news bulletins from every region we cover and to weekly email bulletins covering key economic sectors from manufacturing to technology and enterprise. And we'll send out breaking news alerts for any stories we think you can't miss.
Visit our email preference centre to sign up to all the latest news from BusinessLive.
BDP collaborated with clinicians, consultants, contractors, Manchester Central and the British Army to meet a two-week deadline for completion, ready for admitting patients on Easter Monday.
A modular panel cladding system was used to form bed-heads and service corridors.
The existing electrical system was expanded and a large-scale new gas system for providing patients with oxygen has been installed.