Modular construction on a Sydney infill site

We are based in Sydney and deliver across metropolitan and regional New South Wales. A lot of metropolitan work is infill: a lot in an established street, with houses on both sides and cars parked out the front.

Infill sites suit modular well, but they ask different questions of the project than an open greenfield site does.

The street

The truck carrying a module has to reach the site, and the crane that lifts it has to stand somewhere. On many established streets that somewhere is the road itself.

A crane or truck standing on a local road needs approval from the council, which may set hours, traffic control and parking restrictions for the day. On a state road, works affecting traffic generally need a road occupancy licence from Transport for NSW. Both take time to obtain and both have to be in hand before the lift is booked.

The delivery is usually timed around traffic, and the day is planned so the truck arrives as the crane is ready to lift, without a loaded truck waiting in the street.

The width of the street, the turning space at each end and the cars parked along it all decide how the truck gets in. Those checks belong in the route assessment, as set out in [site constraints that decide modular viability](/blog/site-constraints-that-decide-modular-viability).

The neighbours

A crane that swings a module over a neighbouring lot needs the agreement of that owner. Where agreement is not available, the lift plan has to keep the load and the jib inside the site and the street, which can change the crane size and its position.

The neighbours also notice the difference in the programme. Most of the building is made in the factory, so the on-site work is shorter, and the busiest day is concentrated into the installation rather than spread across months of trades.

Trees, heritage and the streetscape

Sydney councils protect many trees, including some on the street verge and in neighbouring yards. A protected tree can limit where the crane stands, where the truck parks and how the jib swings.

Many inner and middle-ring Sydney suburbs also include heritage conservation areas. There, the finished building has to suit the street, which is one reason a module is clad in brick or other permanent materials and reads as a permanent home.

Overhead power lines

Overhead lines run along most established Sydney streets. They are managed by the local network operator, Ausgrid or Endeavour Energy depending on the area, and a crane working near them needs clearances and sometimes a shutdown or line protection arranged in advance.

Overhead hazards are part of every lift plan, described in [crane selection and lift planning](/blog/crane-selection-and-lift-planning).

Council, early

Many of these questions are answered faster with the council involved early. A pre-lodgement meeting can confirm the planning pathway and flag tree, heritage and traffic concerns before the design is fixed, as explained in [pre-lodgement engagement with council](/blog/pre-lodgement-engagement-with-council).

What it means for feasibility

None of these items is unusual on its own. The risk is finding them late, after the design is set around a crane position that turns out not to be available.

So an infill site is tested for the lift at feasibility, alongside the planning pathway and the ground. When the street, the neighbours, the trees and the power lines are understood first, an infill project runs much like any other.

MADEmodular / MADEbetter.

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