Modular bathroom design from R&M enhances residential projects

Modular bathrooms from R&M, referred to as pods in the construction industry, add significant value to the construction companies in the Oceanic countries. With pods being produced from our factory in Kunshan, 18 local trades on the construction site have been replaced with one single point of contact for developers as well as contractors. Bringing together all required trades in a controlled factory environment reduces the need for delays and reworking that would typically occur on-site.

Converting our modular wet units to be suitable for requirements from the residential market has been a challenging task for our engineers, but has resulted in a unique pod with rigid and durable design, ultra-low door step and a mechanical applied water tight membrane rather than conventional cementitious type used in the industry. To safeguard compliance with Australasian building norms, our site in Kunshan has been audited by SAI Global and achieved Watermark certification as the first pod manufacturer in the business, putting R&M on a unique position in the market.

First awarded job is a landmark project in Liverpool CBD, located 30 minutes by Metro in the outskirts of Sydney, Australia. The project features 297 luxury 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments in two structural towers, spanning 23 respectively 27 stories. The developer, EQ Construction, had a conceptual interior design of a bathroom which was materialized into a pod-prototype during the summer of 2017. For R&M, this means a supply of 553 pods where first pods were being shipped in January and the program will continue until October. The first pods of the lowest floors have already been installed and connected with fresh water, drainage and electrics.

Second awarded job is a three-tower building comprising 114 apartments on a total of 20 levels in the center heart of Wellington, New Zealand. The developer, Arrow International, originally intended to use a local producer of pods, but found R&M’s overall concept and set up as a much better fit for the job. For R&M this means the supply of 228 pods, but more importantly, a great testimony that our developed product and approach is a win. The deliveries will start end of May and continue until end of October 2018.

From commercial negotiations until execution, the complete set-up has been a great statement on R&M’s strengths as a global group. We are enjoying fantastic support from both central functions in Hamburg as well as engineering from Chennai. We are looking forward to the development of our pods business with great excitement!