Modular medical construction can improve building quality and design efficiency while also shortening the time between planning and operation. Most components of a modular medical center can be built off-site and shipped to the project’s locations. Construction crews and subcontractors can then install and finish.
Commercial sliding doors can be used in this type of construction to enhance the value it already provides—especially when flexibility and long-term building use are of concern.
Modular design plans flexibility from the outside in
Modular medical construction allows a degree of design flexibility previously unattainable. Not only can prefabricated units be planned to maximize how a project can best utilize a space and optimize construction timelines, they can even be mobile. These qualities can help healthcare settings achieve long-term viability no matter how technology and patient needs change.
Commercial sliding doors further enhance this aspect of modular design by allowing wide and flexible openings that do not require the space to accommodate the swing arc trajectories typical of traditional oversized swing doors. This quality helps ensure that a building is designed with an eye toward potential future uses, reducing the total cost of ownership over the long-term.
Prefabricated bathrooms benefit from commercial sliding doors
Modular design in healthcare can speed up the construction of small, repeated spaces that require multiple trades to complete—such as restrooms. Because these designs can be extremely uniform, they also provide benefits to patients that need routine and regularity.
Commercial sliding doors not only save up to 30 square feet per application, but they can help make patient restrooms more accessible. These systems eliminate swing arcs, which can make access difficult for those with mobility assistive devices or could even block entry if a patient has collapsed. Compatible with barrier-free designs, sliding doors accommodate bed lifts to provide more patients the ability to use patient restrooms.
For example, AD Systems’ ExamSlide™ doors complemented the modular design of the Houston Methodist Hospital’s Paula and Joseph C. “Rusty” Walter III Tower, delivering efficiency, precision and purpose-driven design.
Sliding doors correct real-world imperfections
One of the central benefits of modular medical construction is that prefabrication regulates units for higher and more consistent quality. However, on-site challenges including settlement and connection to preexisting structures may create less-than-perfect conditions.
Select commercial sliding doors include back track systems that are designed to accommodate and correct real world construction. This can further reduce reworks during and after initial construction. This quality helps support efficiency as well as reduce the total cost of ownership—two considerations often at the center of modular design.
A single-source supplier and manufacturer supports modular design
While commercial sliding doors support modular medical construction in general, AD Systems’ sliding doors provide an additional value. Since they come from a single-source, these sliding door systems can further simplify construction logistics, warranty-coverages, production timelines and more. As such, they add value to any project but especially projects stemming from modular design.
Whether a project owner or architecture firm is planning modular design for efficiency, quality, speed, logistics or any combination thereof, sliding doors fit seamlessly into this construction method to deliver buildings that are purpose-driven and occupant-centered both now and in the future.
