Two-storey prefab building complex with finished facades and external staircases in El Salvador

El Salvador · 2017

Prefab Building Complex El Salvador

A prefab building complex of over 3,000 m² — two-storey blocks on a light steel frame with finished facades, external staircases and insulated envelopes, erected on site by a local crew.

3,000+ m²Area

2Storeys

2017Delivered

BuildingsUse

Client background

Who the Project Was For

UMMO required a building complex of over 3,000 m² in El Salvador — a scale where the difference between shipping finished modules and shipping a kit is a very large freight number.

Client — UMMO

Project challenge

What Had to Be Solved

Deliver over 3,000 m² of two-storey buildings with finished facades and insulated envelopes across a long sea leg, at a freight cost the project could carry, and erect them with local labour.

Customer pain points

The Pressures on This Project

Freight volume at 3,000 m²

Shipping finished volumetric modules across the Pacific at that area would have dominated the project cost.

Local erection capability

The build had to be within reach of a local crew with ordinary plant.

A finished appearance

The complex had to read as permanent buildings, not as a container compound.

Two-storey coordination

Stairs, circulation and the load path all needed engineering before anything was cut.

Our solution

What We Supplied and Why

The complex was delivered as a panelised numbered kit on a light steel frame — panels and members flat-packed, which cut the shipped volume dramatically against volumetric modules.

Finished facades, external staircases and insulated envelopes were specified so the finished complex reads as permanent two-storey buildings.

Every member and panel was marked to the erection drawings and shipped with a bolt schedule, so a local crew erected the complex working from our documentation.

Flat panels and members packed as a numbered building kit — The complex was delivered as a numbered kit rather than as finished modules.

Structural drawing set issued with the building kit — Erection drawings and bolt schedules let a local crew build in sequence.

Comparable two-storey prefab building on a light steel frame — The same light steel building system delivers offices and accommodation.

Manufacturing process

How It Was Built and Shipped

Engineering

The complex was engineered for local loads, with the erection sequence designed alongside the structure.

CNC fabrication

Members cut and drilled so the bolt holes matched the erection drawings.

Panel production

Insulated envelope panels and facade elements produced to the frame module.

Marking and loading

Members and panels marked to position and loaded to the container plan.

Local erection

A local crew erected the complex from the drawings and bolt schedules.

Supply chain coordination

Getting It There in the Right Order

A kit only works if it is complete. Loading was checked against the bolt and panel schedule before sealing, so the crew was never held up by a missing part on the far side of an ocean.

Quality control

What Was Checked

Material certificates checked against the approved specification
Dimensional check on cut and drilled members against the erection drawings
Panel and facade finish inspection
Completeness check against the bolt and panel schedule before sealing

Final result

What Was Delivered

Over 3,000 m² of two-storey prefab buildings with finished facades, external staircases and insulated envelopes — delivered as a numbered kit and erected on site by a local crew working from our drawings and bolt schedules.

Customer benefit

What It Changed

Panelised delivery kept the freight cost of a 3,000 m² complex within the project budget.
Local labour did the erection, keeping work and money in the destination economy.
Marked members and a bolt schedule meant a crew new to the system could build in sequence.