Modular Buildings Case Studies

Challenge

Brownsville, TX – A large charter school with a strong record of accomplishment has achieved an exceptionally low 20:1 student-teacher ratio and a dropout rate averaging a mere 1.4%. As one of the first 20 charter schools approved in 1996 to operate in the state of Texas, they continue to tackle expanding enrollment in four campuses located in Houston and Brownsville, Texas.

After Mobile Modular successfully supplied 1,536 sq. ft. of portable classroom space to its Brownsville elementary school location in 2010, this growing charter school contacted us again in July 2011 for additional Brownsville space needs for the upcoming school year. As the fastest-growing segment, the elementary school was expecting a 20% enrollment increase and required two more double classrooms to be located in limited available space.

With the new school year starting in August, time was tight and the right products would have to be identified, prepared, delivered and installed quickly for student and faculty placement. Compounding the challenge, the Brownsville school location is 500 miles from Mobile Modular’s Houston delivery facility, requiring special care in transport and additional permit concerns for towing the buildings.

Solution

After evaluating the school’s needs, Mobile Modular recommended our standard 32' x 64' double classroom product. These units, each providing dual 24' x 32' classrooms divided by an interior partition, would offer the flexibility, manufacture quality and ease of installation that the school needed to accommodate new enrollment and keep its building budgets under control.

Our first successful 2010 project in Brownsville had prepared the Mobile Modular team for the challenges involved in transporting large modular classrooms over the 500 miles from Houston to the existing school site. After obtaining the necessary municipal permits in Brownsville to tow the buildings through the city, special precautions were taken to route the trip and secure the units on flatbed trucks, ensuring safe arrival and timely installation with only very minor necessary repairs.

Finally, it was determined that the school qualified for Mobile Modular’s new Charter Starter program, affording them a $1,000 credit towards their lease and installation costs. With no further upgrades or customizations required, the classrooms were installed in time for the start of the school year – attractive buildings that fit existing educational requirements and bottom-line budget needs.

Challenge

Atlanta, GA – Once a new Georgia charter school was granted charter approval for the 2010-2011 school year, the parents who formed the school’s governing council faced the significant challenge of finding the right facilities. Financially unable to embark upon a permanent construction project, the school instead would require temporary modular housing for the 11,000 square feet they needed – nearly a third of an acre – while providing the appearance, amenities and construction quality that a permanent building would offer. The chosen modular solution, located on the site of a leased church parking lot, would serve as the initial stage of a three year facility plan.

Requesting proposals in early 2010, the charter school administrators outlined an ambitious set of requirements for a successful modular solution. It would require a flexible floorplan system that could expand or contract with changing future enrollment needs. A strong emphasis would be placed on natural light, creating a learning environment visually conducive to high performance education. Energy efficiency would likewise be an important factor and finally, it would have the attractive appearance of permanent construction.

From start to finish, the charter school buildings would need to be in place and ready for occupancy no later than June 1, in order to start accepting student enrollments for 2010-2011. This would limit the available time for completion to just a few months.

Solution

Upon review of the charter school’s requirements, the Mobile Modular team recommended one of our most popular and sophisticated modular classroom products: the CampusMaker ModPod®. This flexible system would immediately support most of the school’s design requirements with ModPod standard features, from easy expandability to extensive energy efficiency and exterior customization options.

The CampusMaker ModPod® provides an extensible architecture that permits fast and relatively simple addition and removal of rooms from a single large structure. For the charter school, the ModPod complex would include eight classrooms, a media center, male and female restrooms, and multiple ancillary rooms for faculty use. Serving an estimated twenty students per classroom, the K-3 charter school would support an enrollment base of up to 140 students in 2010-2011.

The project design called for over 18,000 sq.ft. of CampusMaker ModPod modular buildings, including administrative, restrooms and multi-use buildings to support an enrollment base of up to 140 students in 2010-2011.

The ModPod’s energy efficiency and customization features were immediately attractive to the school. The system’s double-finished walls formed effective sound dampening between classrooms. Offering EPDM cool roofs and high efficiency lighting as standard features, the charter school’s ModPod complex was further upgraded with extra-high efficiency T-5 lights and larger windows to permit the entry of more natural light into classrooms. High efficiency HVAC’s and Bard CS2000 climate control monitoring platforms were integrated into the complex to reduce energy consumption as much as was practical against the often intense heat of the Georgia sunshine.

Mobile Modular provided additional advisory support for land preparation. Built on a church parking lot, the school’s land was fairly flat and did not require special grading or stabilization efforts. However, it did need work to convert into a usable structure location, from power and plumbing utility lines to the construction of curbs, gutters and handicapped parking. To keep the project on the school’s tight schedule, the Mobile Modular team consulted with the school’s architect and general contractor to help ensure that the land was ready for timely delivery and installation.

Finally, exterior upgrades and design changes were made to give the school’s ModPod complex the appearance of a permanent structure. By the time of the school’s opening in August 2010, the new 11,000 square foot modular building was fully operational, ready to accept children and teachers into a state-of-the-art, innovative educational environment.

Since opening, the school has received a one-year charter from the local school board for the 2011-2012 school year. The Georgia charter school is now making preparations to expand their modular complex to include an additional four classrooms, to extend enrollment to grades K-4, a process made simple by the system’s expandable design.

Challenge

Oviedo, FL – Like many churches in Florida, a new Catholic church spent its early years housed in a rented school cafeteria while plans were underway to establish a permanent home. Growing rapidly to over 1,300 families in a region with a strong Catholic community presence, by 2009 both the church and its diocese recognized the need to speed construction plans on a 59-acre property bordering a nearby forest preserve.

Impressed with a successful church building project in a nearby town, church planners turned once again to Mobile Modular for an effective modular solution to help make the cost and construction of the church more manageable. Constructed on a 30-acre parcel of the available property, the centerpiece of the campus would be a 21,000 sq. ft. permanent sanctuary. With the help of Mobile Modular, much of the campus remainder – including a youth center, parish office and multiple classroom/meeting rooms – would be represented by modular construction. This would enable the church to complete their large parish life center on time and on budget, while simultaneously providing them with options to expand outlying buildings as the church’s needs continue to grow.

The church and diocese had specific requirements for their buildings: they would need to be reliable, attractively compatible with the appearance of the rest of the campus, and able to provide the experience of a permanent facility. Customizations would likely be required, from kitchenette installations to custom doors and other fixtures. Energy efficiency, minimized land use and other green features would also be important. Most of all, the new units would have to be successfully installed and ready to go by the time the main sanctuary was completed.

Solution

Drawing on our prior experience with the needs of Catholic churches and schools in Florida, as well as our prior relationship with the diocese, the appropriate Mobile Modular products were not hard to identify: our standard modular construction system, and our popular Campusmaker Hybrid® classrooms. Designed with a standard feature set to meet nearly all of the church’s needs, the Hybrid would offer an extremely versatile and attractive solution for the church.

Fashioned as a "modular village", the complex would sit to the side of their new parish life center, with an ample view of their large central courtyard. All single story modular units, the village would be comprised of six buildings: the administrative parish office (60'x52') and the new youth center (36'x56'), facing four adjacent 24'x36' Campusmaker classroom/meeting rooms. The two large buildings would be constructed using Mobile Modular’s standard modular office designs. Kitchenettes, restrooms and additional storage were installed in the parish office and youth center buildings. Solid doors were replaced with more attractive doors that included outside facing windows and panic and safety hardware.

From nine foot ceilings in the classrooms and attractive exteriors, to high efficiency climate control and a side-by-side arrangement system that reduces the cost of plumbing and electricity installations, the Campusmaker Hybrid® provided the ideal modular solution for the church: versatile, expandable, and ideally suited to their long term growth needs. The church has been very satisfied with their modular buildings, and is busy today making plans for future expansion that will likely include a new Catholic school using additional Campusmaker Hybrid® classrooms.

Challenge

Washington, D.C. – One of the high profile projects for a school district during the 2009-2010 school year was the renovation and modernization of a historic 1930s-era high school building. A major challenge was where and how to accommodate students and teachers during the renovation. Mobile Modular was called for a fast-turnaround temporary leased modular space solution.

The school district outlined several needs for the temporary campus:

• Keeping the students under a single roof, maintaining a campus feel
• Providing a safe and secure learning environment
• Efficient use of limited land space
• Critical seven (7) week turn-around to get ready for the 2009-2010 school year

Solution

Mobile Modular, a leading modular space provider, collaborated with project architects and a general contractor to address the needs and time-line. First, Mobile Modular was tasked with designing a solution that utilized the limited land available in an inner-city setting. Second, the new campus needed to be secure, safe and modern to create a successful learning environment. A campus layout and feel was important. This prevented having to send students to adjacent campuses for the 2009-2010 school year.

Mobile Modular designed and proposed a creative combination of modular buildings that could be strategically placed adjacent to the existing school building in an open field and on under-utilized tennis courts. To keep as many students under one roof as possible, Mobile Modular introduced the CampusMaker ModPod®; a state-of-the-art, eco-friendly modular classroom complex offering unparalleled flexibility and configurability.

Each CampusMaker ModPod® complex included eight (8) 790 sq. ft. classrooms, each equipped with electrical and mechanical controls, an 8' interior corridor and restroom facilities. The project required three (3) CampusMaker ModPod® complexes, resulting in twenty-four (24) classrooms that can comfortably hold up to 840 students. Further space requirements called for an additional six (6) CampusMaker Hybrid® classrooms. This modern relocatable building style allows for side-by-side, low to the ground placement substantially reducing costly ramps and decking.

Approximately 8,000 sq.ft. of additional administrative and multi-use buildings were installed. These specially designed modular buildings comprised six (6) 24' x 56' office buildings. The entire modular campus project including over 37,000 of temporary leased space and was completed in less than seven (7) weeks. Mobile Modular was able to design and install a safe and secure learning environment for students, teachers and staff, keeping the entire school population together during the 2009-2010 school year.

"Mobile Modular rose to the occasion to make the project a success."

-Pamela J., Project Manager, Construction Company