Playing with the possibilities
Temporary can be a way to test the waters
A temporary structure is the obvious choice if the building has to come down again, because other developments earmarked for the site, or those sticky permissions mean that you can't put a permanent building up. But there can be a lot more to it than that.
She adds: "As far as costs are concerned, it's always cheaper to go with a temporary or semi-permanent option, provided you're not keeping it up longer than say 24 months. When we install a permanent building, you get into stricter building codes, the engineering of the structure gets more in depth, we may have to add maintenance visits into the contract, and so forth."
However, according to Ms Wilson, it seems that temporary structures, beyond being a stop gap, are often a staging post on the way to something else. "More often than not a temporary structure is erected while a permanent building is being built," she says. But it can be used as a trial to test the waters.
When the viability of Mobile port was in question, the first thing the authorities thought of was a permanent building. However, after some thought, the decision was made that testing the port with a temporary structure could lead on to permanent buildings should the market succeed.
"It was in place about six to eight months, and served as the proof of concept. The market test was successful, as Mobile built a terminal and regular departures were then scheduled, and still exist today," says Ms Wilson. The structure itself served as a waiting area for passengers embarking and disembarking, as well as passenger security screenings.
Images for this article - click to enlarge
Unless otherwise stated, all images copyright © Mercator Media 2012. This does not exclude the owner's assertion of copyright over the material.
