15 Prefab Offices and a Steel Canopy at Accra International Airport

Project overview

GIWU supplied and installed 15 prefabricated container offices for ARG1 Africa at Accra International Airport. Over the units, GIWU built a steel roof canopy that shades the offices from direct sun and shelters their roofs and doorways from rain.

The result is a working office block that could be put in place quickly on a live airport site, without the time and disruption of building permanent offices.

• Client: ARG1 Africa
• Location: Accra International Airport, Accra
• Units: 15 prefabricated container offices
• GIWU scope: supply, delivery and installation of the units, plus design, fabrication and erection of the steel roof canopy

What GIWU delivered

• 15 prefabricated container offices: units fitted out with windows, doors, flooring, lighting and air-conditioning, so the team could move in once they were placed
• Steel roof canopy: a steel frame and roof sheeting spanning the row of units
• Delivery and installation: transport to site, positioning and levelling of the units

Why build a canopy over container offices

Container offices are steel boxes, and in Accra's sun a bare steel roof heats up fast. A canopy over the units does several jobs at once:

• Shade: the canopy takes the direct sun, so the unit roofs stay cooler and the air-conditioning has less heat to remove
• Rain protection: roofs, door openings and the walkway in front of the units stay dry in heavy rain
• A covered walkway: staff can move between offices under cover
• A finished look: a row of units under one roof reads as a single office building rather than separate containers

Working on an airport site

Airport sites come with strict access, security and safety rules, so deliveries and installation have to be planned around them. Prefabricated units suit this kind of site well: most of the work happens before the units arrive, which keeps time on site short and limits disruption to airport operations.

Prefab and steel from one team

This project combined two GIWU services: prefabricated units, now supplied through GIWU Prefab Systems, and steel fabrication and installation. Having one team handle both meant the canopy was designed around the actual layout of the units. For larger covered spaces, see our pre-engineered steel buildings.

Planning container offices for your site

If you are considering a similar setup, these are the points to settle early:

• How many units you need and how they will be laid out (in a row, back to back, or stacked)
• Fit-out for each unit: offices, meeting rooms, washrooms or storage
• Power supply and air-conditioning load
• Ground preparation and levelling under the units
• Whether a canopy or roof over the units is worth adding for heat and rain
• Delivery access to the site, including any security or permit requirements