Wuhan Hospital, China
Images of a timelapse were spread all over social media and news outlets in February 2020 as China built a new hospital facility in around 2 weeks 'from scratch'. News outlets reported that the facility has around a 1,000-bed capacity and was designed, procured and built-in this timescale.
It is more likely that the hospital facility is part of a larger state-run emergency action plan which has been sitting designed on a shelf especially for such an event after the last SARs virus outbreak in China.
Regardless if the modular unit construction or design is included in the timescale, it is still an amazing feat to build such a scale of off-site modular building in such a short space of time, and questions are now being asked about why this is not being implemented across the construction industry. The concept is not new, and the Egan Report and Latham report both attempted to resolve issues with wastage in the construction industry.
Further studies will no doubt be carried out on the back of these buildings construction timescales to see what lessons can be learned to improve construction timescales globally.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Cancer Centre at Guy's Hospital
- Conserving Ruchill Hospital water tower
- Fountaine Hospital Almshouse
- How a Complex Hospital Building for Orthopaedic Services was Constructed in Less Than Four Months
- How to Develop the Most Constrained Hospital Sites to Reduce Waiting Times and Improve Patient Care
- Khoo Teck Puat Hospital
- North Middlesex University Hospital Maternity Unit
- Researching the history of Fountaine Hospital Almshouse
- Sea Sand Tower Hospital Queen Elizabeth, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Featured articles and news
BSRIA Statutory Compliance Inspection Checklist
BG80/2025 now significantly updated to include requirements related to important changes in legislation.
Shortlist for the 2025 Roofscape Design Awards
Talent and innovation showcase announcement from the trussed rafter industry.
OpenUSD possibilities: Look before you leap
Being ready for the OpenUSD solutions set to transform architecture and design.
Global Asbestos Awareness Week 2025
Highlighting the continuing threat to trades persons.
Retrofit of Buildings, a CIOB Technical Publication
Now available in Arabic and Chinese aswell as English.
The context, schemes, standards, roles and relevance of the Building Safety Act.
Retrofit 25 – What's Stopping Us?
Exhibition Opens at The Building Centre.
Types of work to existing buildings
A simple circular economy wiki breakdown with further links.
A threat to the creativity that makes London special.
How can digital twins boost profitability within construction?
The smart construction dashboard, as-built data and site changes forming an accurate digital twin.
Unlocking surplus public defence land and more to speed up the delivery of housing.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill
An outline of the bill with a mix of reactions on potential impacts from IHBC, CIEEM, CIC, ACE and EIC.
Farnborough College Unveils its Half-house for Sustainable Construction Training.
Spring Statement 2025 with reactions from industry
Confirming previously announced funding, and welfare changes amid adjusted growth forecast.
Scottish Government responds to Grenfell report
As fund for unsafe cladding assessments is launched.
CLC and BSR process map for HRB approvals
One of the initial outputs of their weekly BSR meetings.
Building Safety Levy technical consultation response
Details of the planned levy now due in 2026.
Great British Energy install solar on school and NHS sites
200 schools and 200 NHS sites to get solar systems, as first project of the newly formed government initiative.
600 million for 60,000 more skilled construction workers
Announced by Treasury ahead of the Spring Statement.