Guardtech’s Isopod Rapid Cleanrooms are designed to be quick-assembly controlled environment systems developed to provide flexible cleanroom solutions without permanent structural alterations.
Guardtech
The self-supporting systems are constructed around a stainless-steel framework and are designed to operate without drilled floor tracks, ceiling suspension or modifications to the host building. This makes them suitable for installation in leased facilities, laboratories and manufacturing environments where permanent construction may not be viable.
Isopods are available in hardwall (Shell), softwall (Flexi) and Hybrid configurations, with classifications ranging from ISO 8 to ISO 5. Systems can be linked, expanded or reconfigured, and are designed to be relocated if operational requirements change.
Installations have been completed internationally, including projects with Cellevate, Pharmatronica and Hatteland via Guardtech Nordic.
Units range from compact 3m x 2m pods to larger multi-module cleanroom systems incorporating personnel and material airlocks. The modular format allows organisations to scale cleanroom capacity in line with research, manufacturing or business growth.
Associate commercial director Joe Shackley said: “Isopods are systems that have been intelligently engineered to adapt to their surroundings, rather than forcing the host budling to adapt to them.
“Whether you’re a start-up scaling rapidly or an established manufacturer creating additional lab space, Isopods evolve with you. That adaptability and flexibility, to rapidly change as your application evolves, gives Isopod a USP that makes it stand alone – which is quite literally the case thanks to its stainless steel framework!”
One example of this approach can be seen at Northumbria University, where a bespoke Hybrid Isopod was installed across two separate rooms. The system incorporated both hardwall panels and softwall PVC strip curtains, along with an emergency breakout mechanism, while achieving ISO 5 classification and up to 200 air changes per hour via GT Flow Plus fan filter units. The installation was completed without structural alterations to the building.
“It’s that freedom from structural limitation that makes Isopod special,” Shackley said. “You gain high-performance filtration, premium Guardtech components and full compliance – but without the permanence or disruption of traditional builds.”
With ongoing pressures around space, compliance and timelines in laboratory and manufacturing settings, modular systems such as Isopod are increasingly being considered as an alternative to traditional fixed cleanroom builds.