Zenon Named Finalist for International Project of the Year at the 2026 Offsite Awards

Zenon Group has been named a finalist at the 2026 Offsite Awards for our LensCrafters modular MEP program across the USA and Canada, marking our third consecutive year as a finalist in the International Project of the Year category.

The recognition continues a strong run for our Modular & DfMA team following our International Project of the Year win in 2025 for Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. It also represents an important milestone for Zenon as our first award nomination under our new brand.

This year, the nomination recognises a very different application of offsite construction: using prefabricated building services to support the large-scale rollout and retrofit of retail stores across North America.

Rethinking MEP delivery for retail rollout

Zenon supported LensCrafters with research and development and prototype development for horizontal modular MEP systems, creating a solution that could be deployed across new and existing retail locations throughout the USA and Canada. Retail rollout programs present a unique engineering challenge. Individual stores may share a common brand and operational model, but the buildings they occupy can vary considerably in size, layout, structure and existing building services. Retrofit projects also need to be completed efficiently while minimising disruption within active commercial environments.

Rather than approaching every location as an entirely bespoke installation, Zenon worked to develop a repeatable, plug-and-play modular MEP solution that could provide greater consistency while remaining adaptable to different store conditions. The project forms part of Zenon's wider work in Modern Methods of Construction and DfMA, where prefabricated systems are engineered to reduce risk, accelerate delivery and improve quality through greater offsite coordination.

Engineering a flexible modular system

A key focus of the program was the development of horizontal prefabricated MEP racks capable of integrating multiple building services into coordinated assemblies manufactured away from the project site.

Zenon provided both MEP and structural engineering, ensuring the modules could accommodate the required building systems while being appropriately supported and installed within the constraints of existing retail spaces. The challenge was not simply to prefabricate services. The system needed to be sufficiently standardised to provide the efficiencies associated with manufacturing, while remaining flexible enough to work across a broad range of store layouts and existing infrastructure.

This required engineering with fabrication, installation and future rollout in mind from the outset — moving beyond traditional design documentation towards a repeatable system that could be deployed across multiple projects. Zenon’s wider DfMA approach brings together MEP engineering, fabrication-ready design, digital coordination, buildability, spatial planning and coordination with suppliers, trades and fabricators to create systems specifically intended for efficient offsite production and onsite installation.

Designed for repeatability and scale

By shifting significant elements of MEP assembly away from the construction site and into a controlled manufacturing environment, the modular strategy was developed to support:

• Consistent quality across multiple store locations

• Reduced onsite labour and assembly requirements

• Faster and more predictable installation

• Reduced disruption within active retail environments

• Improved coordination between building services and structure

• Greater repeatability across a geographically dispersed program

• Adaptability to both new-build and retrofit conditions

• 
  

The modules were developed to USA standards while supporting LensCrafters' wider North American rollout strategy across both the United States and Canada.

Individual LensCrafters locations delivered through the program include stores in Richmond, Virginia; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Corpus Christi, Texas, with the broader program spanning the USA and Canada.

For Zenon, the project demonstrates that the benefits of modular construction are not limited to large buildings or traditional volumetric modular projects. The same principles of standardisation, offsite manufacturing, digital coordination and DfMA can be applied at the building-services level to solve repeatability and delivery challenges across national and international programs.

Three consecutive years of international recognition

The LensCrafters nomination marks Zenon's third consecutive year as a finalist for International Project of the Year at the Offsite Awards.

Following our win in the category last year for Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, returning as a finalist with LensCrafters highlights the diversity of applications for our modular engineering expertise — from major aviation infrastructure to repeatable retail fit-outs.

It is also particularly significant as the first award nomination secured under the Zenon name, following the consolidation of our engineering and building-services expertise under our new group brand.

Our North American modular portfolio now spans aviation, retail, residential, public infrastructure and other building sectors, with projects including Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Toronto Pearson Airport, LensCrafters stores, modular housing and prefabricated building systems across Canada and the United States.

Congratulations to everyone involved in the LensCrafters program and to our wider Modular & DfMA team. We look forward to joining the other finalists at the 2026 Offsite Awards in the UK.