Customer: Diamond Light Source Ltd, Rutherford Appleton Laboratories

Location: Didcot, Oxfordshire

Requirement:  Diamond Light Source is a major scientific company, currently building a massive £235m research facility near Oxford. It includes a microscope the size of a football pitch to investigate materials such as metals and plastics, using an electron gun that fires electrons at nearly the speed of light.

When it became clear that a planned building would not be ready in time, the company needed temporary accommodation for 40 administrative and technical staff who had already been hired but had nowhere to work. Portakabin was brought in at very short notice to provide open-plan offices.

Solution: Diamond Light wanted to challenge any preconceived ideas among its staff that relocatable buildings are too cold in winter and too hot in summer. So Portakabin provided a 280 sq m Duplex modular building with climate control.

The climate control system comprised seven MSH24 units - the largest available - sited above windows to maximise the use of floor space, which was a requirement specified by Diamond Light. The units are controlled centrally at a fixed temperature and are turned on and off by timers.

 “Portakabin did a great job in such a short time. Climate control helped sell staff on the idea of working in a temporary building. Now they don’t want to leave!“

“We were worried that we wouldn’t be able to get everything ready in the eight weeks we had available. We only had a vague idea about the difference between air-conditioning and climate control, but it was important to make the offices as comfortable as possible all year round.“

Sally Tosh, Office Services Co-ordinator, Diamond Light Source Ltd