School renovations can be a lengthy and complicated process, and school administrators face many daunting construction issues, most notably: how to operate the school around the noise, and disruption construction causes. “If only we had safe, temporary quarters where learning could continue uninterrupted during construction…”
Modular classrooms provide a safe learning environment for students and teachers at a school during construction, and offer school administrators a quick, flexible, cost-effective solution to the issue of temporary or “swing space.” As a temporary pre-engineered building, modular solutions provide fast delivery, ease of relocation, low-cost reconfiguration, and enormous flexibility. Relocatable buildings, although moveable, are of permanent quality and can endure well beyond the users’ temporary needs if necessary. It is important to note that modular classrooms can be designed and built to be a permanent solution as well.
Today, modular buildings offer architectural aesthetics and functionality that are equal to any structure built using conventional methods, but modular delivers these buildings faster and at less cost. In addition to classrooms, other modular educational facilities such as libraries, administration buildings and restroom buildings are available. Even specialty rooms, such as pre-fabricated science labs, kindergarten classrooms and daycare facilities, can be provided on a temporary, modular basis. Built to look and feel like a permanent school, a modular classroom provides a modern educational swing space of permanent quality with features like high-efficiency rooftop HVAC and large windows to provide daylighting.
An award-winning, temporary and green childcare center at Harvard University is a great example of modular classrooms as swing space done right. An innovative 5,700sf daycare facility was designed, built and installed on the campus of Harvard University in just six weeks. For 18 months, this modular school building first housed the Harvard Yard Child Care Center, and then the Oxford Street Daycare Cooperative, while their permanent locations were being renovated.
The building features a variety of green, sustainable features to achieve the highest-quality, healthy environment for children. A focused design and construction plan for maximum energy efficiency includes solar tube skylights to maximize natural light use, sustainable “Green Guard” insulation, high-grade sealants, and a white rubber roof that reflects solar heat. Coordinated sensors and electronic control of the lighting system turns off lights when there is no activity in the room. Other features of the Child Care Center include exterior sun shades that shield the interior of the facility from the sun and reduce the need for air conditioning, recycled materials for the interior walls and carpet tiles, and a state of the art HVAC system that regulates and brings in air from the outside as needed.
Once Harvard completes renovations on its permanent child care centers, the fully relocatable building – which has a 30-year lifespan – will be placed into service elsewhere. Increasing or decreasing the size of the building is achieved by adding or removing modules.
There are many advantages to using modular construction for temporary or swing space during a school renovation:
Quality: Relocatable modular buildings provide high quality, customizable solutions that can quickly and cost-effectively accommodate temporary space needs on a short- or long-term basis.
Environment: Modular construction is inherently green and environmentally friendly due to the nature of off-site construction and its lesser impact on the surrounding environment.
Health: Design features such as mold-resistant dry wall, improved ventilation systems, and natural lighting provide a healthy learning environment for students and teachers, which have been shown to reduce allergies, asthma, headaches, and other health issues.
Innovation: Modular designs can be customized to serve a broad range of needs and include the most advanced green and sustainable features and LEED-focused design elements.
Customizable: Modular classrooms are not all cookie-cutter space solutions. They can easily be designed to meet the specific needs of any school. For example, the modular preschool created for the Franklin Elementary School in North Andover, Mass. was customized to meet specific design requirements, including 10-inch toilets for the small-in-stature students, and sustainable features to give the students an optimal learning environment.
Modular classrooms are a ready-to-use, cost-effective solution to swing space during construction, giving cash-strapped school districts a sensible alternative in these tough economic times.
Cliff Cort is president of Triumph Modular Corporation.