Temporary buildings are now among the most preferred structural solutions for institutions, businesses, and even individuals. According to the journal “The Phenomenon of Temporary Architecture – Its Background and Potential” by Simona Kolimarova, the era of nomads introduced temporary structures. They made them as simple portable structures.
But temporary buildings became popular when they were used for the great exhibition in 1851 when the British through Joseph Paxton (a greenhouse architect) built the Crystal Palace. It was considered an architectural marvel, although it was purely built using temporary materials.
Fast forward to today, and the concept of the temporary building has become popular, not only for exhibition halls, but for industrial uses, learning, mobile healthcare services, retail outlets, hospitality cafes and bars, logistic warehouses, and construction businesses, among others.
Common Uses of Temporary Buildings Today
You will be surprised to learn that many sectors are now turning to temporary building solutions as opposed to permanent brick and mortar structures. By now, you have a hint of the popular sectors that seek either bespoke or modular structures to suit their needs.
- Logistic and warehousing sector – If you are in the warehousing business, you probably know that space is paramount. Hence, the use of industrial tents, clear span structures, or steel structures is now more popular. Likewise, temporary loading canopies are also common in the sector.
- Education sector – Most learning institutions adopted the use of temporary classrooms after COVID-19 to promote social distance. But it has dawned on them that the structures are not only affordable and fast to construct, but useful and durable spaces. Temporary buildings for schools are usually made of modular panels, steel and fabric, and other materials.
- Health sector – Again, COVID-19 made temporary structures popular in the health sector due to the urgent need for isolation centers and large more space to promote social distancing. The sector also uses tented structures or modular panel temporary buildings.
- Industries and factories – Businesses are no longer building permanent structures but temporary ones to save money and time. It’s no wonder why most temporary structural solutions have large industrial tents and custom-made steel buildings for factories that host large pieces of machinery and production units.
- Retail and hospitality businesses – Both small fashion shops and outdoor cafes or bars commonly rely on temporary buildings to host their operations. These structures have proven to be cost-effective. Most importantly, they are relocatable, just in case an entrepreneur wants to move operations.
- Military and government – For a long time, the military has used tents, and now large temporary buildings are elected in military camps for various uses and operations. Likewise, government bodies are using the structures to provide various mobile services to citizens.
- Agriculture – Temporary structures provide storage for produce on large farms, while small makeshift structures provide shade for farming machines, vehicles, and people while processing products.
Reasons to Use Temporary Buildings
If you wonder why all of these sectors are using temporary buildings, then you need to understand the reasons behind that. All experts in temporary structure solutions, including Smart-Space in the UK, agree that the benefits associated with the use of temporary structures are the main reasons behind their popularity today.
- Fast and easy to construct – The biggest reason why temporary structures have gained popularity today is how fast they are fabricated and erected on site. Modular structures are faster to build than bespoke options, but both options never waste time like a permanent structure. Hence, they are best for responding to emergencies.
- Affordable and cost solution – Another major reason why temporary buildings are popular today is that they are very cost-effective. No matter what your business or organization budget is, you will find temporary structures to suit your needs.
- Customizable and flexible structures – You have probably been wondering why SMBs are going for a temporary structure. It is because they are customizable to give them a competitive benefit and also flexible enough to help them scale up. They can be reused for other purposes as well if the business wants to diversify.
- Environmentally-friendly solution – In an effort to save the mother earth from pollution, everyone is going for environmentally-friendly solutions. Most temporary building structures are made of recycled materials, and they can be reused as well. It’s no wonder why they are preferred by many sectors today.
- Compliant structures – Whether you are in the UK, Canada, USA, or any other part of the world, you can trust reliable service providers to build you temporary buildings that are compliant with construction standards in your state.
- Buy or rent – Lastly, it is worth noting that temporary structures are popular because users can buy or rent them. If you need them for a short time, why buy them if you can rent them? Of course, many users reason this way.
The Takeaway
The use of temporary buildings is on the rise today because of benefits such as cost and time saving, flexibility and customization, and for many other reasons as we have seen. Most of the sectors mentioned above can attest that there is no turning back now that they have the best structural solutions in their hands.
