Site offices, accommodation cells and command posts

Overview

The Office and Living family covers the cabins that crews actually live and work in. The base unit is a single 20 ft footprint at 6058 x 2438 x 2800 mm external, built around an EN 1090-1 EXC2 steel frame with PIR sandwich panel walls and roof. The same shell is fitted out as a site office, a two-bed accommodation cell, a command-and-control room or a multi-unit stacked dormitory, depending on the internal layout, the window and door positions, and the services package.

Office and Living cabins are designed to stack and join. Two cabins can be combined laterally by removing a long-wall panel and dressing the join, or vertically into a two-storey block on the same forged corner castings used on our ISO Standard production line. Tanax has delivered staff accommodation in the two-storey configuration to MELIDA at Špindlerův Mlýn (22 cabins) and leisure-season units to TMR at Tatralandia and Priehyba. The command-post variant is in service at the ITCC Police Training Centre in Pezinok.

Every unit is cut, welded, blasted, painted and fitted out in our hall in Bánovce nad Bebravou. The welding line runs under EN ISO 3834-2 production-level qualification, which feeds the EN 1090-1 EXC2 chain. The fit-out cell handles the electrical, HVAC, plumbing rough-in and internal cladding before the unit leaves the building.

Construction and materials

• Frame: hot-rolled steel, EXC2 to EN 1090-1, welded to EN ISO 3834-2. Eight forged ISO 1CC corner castings per unit for crane lifting, stacking and lashing.
• Walls: PIR sandwich panel, typically 80 mm core, steel skin both faces. Thermal conductivity in the 0.022 to 0.023 W/(m·K) band, which gives a typical wall U-value around 0.28 W/(m²·K).
• Roof: PIR sandwich panel, typically 100 mm core, sealed perimeter and central drain to corner downpipes. Roof U-value around 0.22 W/(m²·K).
• Floor: hot-rolled steel cross members on the base frame, 100 mm mineral wool or PIR core, 22 mm OSB or 19 mm plywood substrate, vinyl or laminate finish on request.
• Internal cladding: white melamine-faced board or laminated steel sheet, selectable per face.
• Doors: external steel personnel door with multi-point lock, EPDM gasket, drip rail and aluminium threshold. Internal doors are hollow-core to standard interior spec.
• Windows: double-glazed PVC frame, tilt-and-turn, integrated roller shutters on request. Bars and laminated glass for high-security variants.
• Paint: surface prepared to ISO 8501 Sa 2.5 in our blast booth. Two-coat C3 system to EN ISO 12944. Standard livery RAL 7016 anthracite or RAL 5010 gentian blue. Any RAL code on request.

Dimensions and tolerances

| | Standard cabin | Stretched cabin (custom) | | --- | --- | --- | | External length | 6058 mm | 6055 to 7500 mm | | External width | 2438 mm | 2438 to 2990 mm | | External height | 2800 mm | 2800 to 3000 mm | | Internal clear height | approx. 2500 mm | up to 2700 mm | | Door opening (single leaf) | 875 x 2000 mm | per layout | | Window aperture (typical) | 900 x 1200 mm | per layout | | Empty mass (typical) | 2500 to 2900 kg | per build | | Crane lift points | 4 forged ISO 1CC corners | 4 forged ISO 1CC corners | | Stack rating | up to two storeys, four high transport stack | as engineered |

Dimensional checks are taken on the FARO Arm Prime 10 in our QA area before paint. The custom envelope band is the range we have produced. Outside that range we run a project review before quoting.

Certifications and norms

• EN 1090-1 EXC2 (execution class for steel structures)
• EN ISO 3834-2 (welding, production-level qualification)
• ISO 9001 (quality management)
• ISO 14001 (environmental management)
• ISO 8501 Sa 2.5 (surface preparation)
• EN ISO 12944 C3 (anti-corrosion coating)
• PN-HD 60364 (low-voltage electrical installation)
• AQAP 2110:2017 (NATO quality assurance, available on defence builds)
• EN 13501-1 reaction-to-fire classification for the panel system on request
• EI 30 fire-rated variant available on request, with the panel assembly tested and certified for the full build, not the foam alone

Typical use cases

1. Site office on a construction or infrastructure project. Single cabin with two desks, a small meeting table, electric panel heater, two double sockets per long wall, LED ceiling lighting. Joined laterally with a sanitary cabin from our Sanitary and Septic family when crew size grows.
2. Two-bed accommodation cell. Two single beds, a wardrobe, an electric panel heater and a 2.6 kW split AC unit per cell. The MELIDA staff-accommodation programme at Špindlerův Mlýn uses this layout in a 22-cabin two-storey arrangement with an internal clear height of 2500 mm.
3. Command and control module. The ITCC Police Training Centre in Pezinok runs this variant. Architectural fit-out, dedicated HVAC, electrical and camera prep, with the internal layout designed around the operator console rather than around residential bays.
4. Leisure-season cabin. TMR Tatralandia and Priehyba ran a 6055 x 2435 mm leisure cabin with 100 mm wall, 140 mm roof and 100 mm floor mineral wool insulation, configured for short-stay seasonal use.
5. Field deployment under a defence framework. Office and Living cabins are part of the ARMADA programme call-off mix delivered under the €16.22 M Ministry of Defence framework 2025-2028, alongside ISO Standard and Sanitary cabins. Defence builds carry AQAP 2110:2017 documentation.
6. Base unit for stacked staff dormitories. Two storeys high, with internal stairs and a connecting walkway, sized to a 22-cabin block in the MELIDA reference deployment.

Customisation options

• Layout: single open-plan, partitioned office and meeting, two-bed cell, four-bed cell, command console, kitchenette plus dining, dressing room plus locker. Sanitary cells with WC, shower or laundry are built in the Sanitary and Septic family and joined to this body if a single envelope is needed.
• Glazing: double-glazed PVC tilt-and-turn as standard. Triple glazing, laminated security glass, integrated roller shutters, bars or grilles on request.
• Doors: standard steel personnel door with multi-point lock and EPDM gasket. EI 30 rated door available for the fire-rated variant. Anti-pry plates and high-security cylinder on defence builds.
• HVAC: electric panel heater as base, split AC unit (2.6 kW per cell typical), wall-mounted air-to-air heat pump, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) for occupied dormitories.
• Electrical: PN-HD 60364 installation with externalised CEE 32 A or 63 A connection, internal CU board, RCBO protection, double Schuko or BS sockets to local market, LED ceiling lighting, emergency luminaires on the EI 30 variant.
• Stacking and joining: lateral merge with panel cut-out and reinforced ring beam, vertical stack to two storeys with internal stairs, transit stack to four high on the corner castings.
• Livery: RAL 7016 anthracite, RAL 5010 gentian blue and RAL 3000 fire red are standard from our paint booth. Other RAL codes and two-tone schemes on request. Hot-dip galvanised structural members are available for severe-environment specs.
• Fire-rated variant: EI 30 panel assembly with rated door and rated penetrations. The Czech 25-040 emergency accommodation bid specified EI 30 panels, EXC2 steel and PIR sandwich roof in this format.

Lead time and delivery

• Catalog cabin (Office and Living, no structural changes): 6 to 10 weeks from order to ex works.
• Custom cabin (layout, fire rating, defence spec, stacked block): 10 to 16 weeks from order to ex works.
• Framework call-off: as agreed in the framework contract. The Slovak Ministry of Defence framework runs on locked pricing and held lead times across multi-year call-offs.
• Default delivery is EXW Bánovce nad Bebravou. DAP and DDP are available on request. CMR, manuals in the buyer's language and as-built documentation are handed over with the unit.

FAQ

What is the standard envelope of an Office and Living cabin? 6058 x 2438 x 2800 mm external. Internal clear height is around 2500 mm after the wall and roof PIR sandwich panel takeoffs. Custom envelopes have been built up to 2990 mm wide and up to 3000 mm tall on a project basis, and the UK 90-unit programme used widths between 2438 and 2990 mm.

Can I join two cabins to make a wider room? Yes. We remove a long-wall panel from each cabin, install a reinforced ring beam at the join, and dress the gap with matching cladding and trim. The same approach scales to three-and four-cabin offices and to the two-storey MELIDA-type accommodation block.

Are these certified for residential use or only for site offices? The base build carries the construction-product certifications appropriate for site offices, command posts and short-stay accommodation. Permanent residential use is a permitting question that belongs to the buyer's local authority. For the MELIDA staff-accommodation deployment the cabins were specified as REI 30 with EXC2 steel and Sa 2.5 preparation to meet the resort operator's requirements.

What insulation values can I expect? With a typical 80 mm PIR wall panel and 100 mm PIR roof panel, wall U-value lands around 0.28 W/(m²·K) and roof U-value around 0.22 W/(m²·K). We can specify thicker panels or alternative cores for severe-climate sites. The thermal envelope is part of the engineering review on every custom build.

Is an EI 30 fire-rated variant available? Yes. The Tanax Special Purpose and Office and Living families both offer EI 30 and REI 30 panel assemblies on request. The rating applies to the full assembly (panels, joints, door, penetrations), not to the foam alone. The Czech 25-040 emergency accommodation bid we submitted in November 2025 specified EI 30 panels and PIR sandwich roof in this configuration.

How are the cabins lifted and moved on site? On the eight forged ISO 1CC corner castings. The same crane and spreader-beam rigging used for an ISO Standard 20 ft cube applies here. We do not recommend telehandler lifting because the lifting points are not designed for fork insertion.

What is the lead time for a small order of two or three cabins? 6 to 10 weeks ex works Bánovce for a catalog layout, 10 to 16 weeks for a custom build. Quotation turnaround is 3 to 5 working days for standard configurations once dimensions, layout, finish and quantity are confirmed. Send a brief to [email protected] and we will respond with a fixed quote and a delivery slot.