Corus has been awarded a contract to design and manufacture a prototype barrack block that will substantially update accommodations for soldiers in line with modern living standards.

The prototype has been commissioned by Aspire Defence Ltd., a joint venture between Mowlem plc and KBR, as part of the Allenby/Connaught PFI project for the MOD. The venture will provide living and working accommodations for some 18,000 military and civilian personnel in the Salisbury Plain and Aldershot garrisons, including 10,700 single en-suite rooms.

Corus' 36-man accommodation block for junior ranks will be installed at Perham Down, Wiltshire, to enable the customer to evaluate its performance prior to construction of 145 similar blocks over the next eight years.

Each soldier will have his or her own bedroom and fully-tiled en-suite shower room complete with heated towel rail, contained in a five- by three-meter steel-framed unit. In addition, each unit can be delivered to site with fitted wardrobe, study area, lighting, plumbing, carpeting and curtain rail installed. The barrack block will also comprise communal, utility and baggage rooms. A rainwater harvesting system and solar heating panels for pre-heating boiler water may also be included.

A decision on whether to proceed with steel-framed modular construction is expected by the end of this year.

Corus will manufacture 51 units for the order on a brand new, £4million, production line at its Shotton Works near Chester, North Wales. It is part of a new business called Living Solutions which aims to gain market leadership in the supply of factory-assembled housing units using advanced automated assembly techniques commonplace in the automotive industry, but comparatively rare in the UK's building sector.

Modular houses can be erected within a very short time compared to standard building methods and are particularly suited not just to the Services, but to sectors where there is a need for affordable housing. Advantages include cost savings and quality certainty.

Welcoming the order, Scott MacDonald, Division Director, Corus said, “This is fantastic news for Corus and our workforce at Shotton. We are looking to make a step change in the volume of modular housing available in the UK market and this order will help us to demonstrate our capabilities and the quality of our product."

The production technology used by Corus at Shotton is the most advanced in Europe and is capable of manufacturing 3,000 housing units a year.