Projects
A blast-resistant modular complex engineered around the demands of a live fuel terminal.
A blast-resistant modular building engineered for a complex process safety brief.
Solution: Engineered Solutions
Sector: Oil & Gas | Industrial & Process
Application: Blast-Resistant Buildings | Welfare & Site Accommodation
Project Overview
Client:
Esso Petroleum
Location:
Purfleet Fuels Terminal, Essex
Sector:
Oil & Gas | Industrial & Process
Solution:
Engineered Solutions
Application:
Blast-Resistant Buildings
Building size:
324m²
Time on site:
6 weeks
Role:
Principal Contractor and Principal Designer
Scope:
Blast-resistant modular office and welfare complex
Objective
Blast-resistant modular building | Oil & gas | Live operational site | Office & welfare accommodation | Bespoke engineered solution
At Esso's Purfleet Fuels Terminal, Thurston was tasked with creating office and welfare accommodation that could meet the practical needs of its users while responding to the safety requirements of a live fuel handling environment.
This was more than a standard modular accommodation project.
Thurston designed, manufactured and installed a series of specialist blast-resistant units, brought together to create a 324m² office and welfare complex incorporating reception, open-plan and private offices, meeting space, welfare facilities and a kitchenette.
All of this had to be delivered within an operational site, requiring careful coordination between Thurston, Esso and the project's external civils contractor.
The result demonstrates how modular construction can be engineered around site-specific risk, operational requirements and the people who rely on the building every day.
The Challenge
Delivering new accommodation within a live fuel terminal brings a different set of requirements to a conventional modular building project.
Esso needed an effective working environment for teams at its Purfleet site, but the accommodation also had to meet specific blast-resistance requirements associated with the operational environment.
The brief called for a range of spaces within one integrated facility: a reception and welfare area, large open-plan office, meeting room, kitchenette and three smaller offices.
At the same time, disruption to the wider terminal needed to be kept to a minimum.
Esso's own information describes Purfleet as a terminal operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, underlining the practical importance of delivering work around ongoing site activity.
The challenge therefore extended beyond the building itself: Thurston needed to bring specialist engineering, manufacture, site installation and coordination together around an operation that could not simply stop while the work took place.
The solution
Thurston developed a bespoke modular solution comprising a series of blast-resistant units configured to create one integrated office and welfare complex.
By engineering the facility around the actual accommodation requirement, the project combined specialist protective performance with spaces designed for everyday use.
The completed layout provided a reception and welfare block alongside open-plan and private office accommodation, meeting space and a kitchenette, creating a practical working environment within the wider terminal.
Air conditioning was incorporated into the buildings, while Thurston also worked alongside an external civils contractor during delivery requiring clear coordination between manufacturing, site works and the wider construction programme.
The modular approach enabled the individual units to be manufactured around the required specification and then brought together on site to form the finished complex.
The result
The completed 324m² facility provided Esso with dedicated blast-resistant office and welfare accommodation within its operational Purfleet terminal.
For the people using it, the building provides the practical spaces needed for everyday work from reception and meeting areas to office and welfare accommodation.
For the wider site, it demonstrates how specialist modular buildings can be engineered around the additional demands of hazardous operational environments.
With the site phase completed over six weeks, Thurston combined specialist manufacturing capability with coordinated installation in a live environment.
What this demonstrates
Blast-resistant building capability
A specialist modular complex developed around the blast-resistance requirements of an operational fuel terminal.
Engineering around the application
Rather than adapting a standard building, multiple units were configured to create a facility around Esso's specific office and welfare requirements.
Working in a live environment
Installation took place within an operational site where disruption needed to be carefully managed.
Integrated office and welfare space
The finished complex combines reception, open-plan and private offices, meeting facilities, welfare space and a kitchenette within one 324m² facility.
Collaborative project delivery
Thurston coordinated its work with an external civils contractor, bringing building manufacture and site activity together as part of the wider programme.
Built on experience
The project shows how Thurston applies practical modular manufacturing experience to environments where additional engineering and operational constraints need to be considered from the outset
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