Modular Construction Gaining Ground
Good article by Angelo Verzoni in the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) Journal on how the commercial modular industry is experiencing an increased level of acceptance and cooperation from the building codes and standards agencies. This is due in large part to the efforts of the Modular Building Institute, the international trade association for the commercial modular industry. As the MBI’s executive director Tom Hardiman points out in the piece, “we were successful in the 2018 [International Building Code] in getting standard language included for the approval process for modular ‘relocatable buildings,’” he said. “We want to expand upon that effort and create a standard process for approval of all modular buildings. That’s a bit of a longer-term project but we plan on working with ICC this year to get it off the ground.”
Read how modular construction is rapidly becoming a primary building option for designers, builders, and owners here.
- Published in Modular Building, Modular Construction, Permanent Construction, Ramtech News
Ramtech Receives Modular Building Contract for Multi-Use Office Building at Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico
Slab on Grade Permanent Modular Building for Los Alamos National Laboratory
Ramtech has secured a contract to provide a 22,680 square foot modular building at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in Los Alamos, NM. The two-story facility will be built using our Slab on Grade Permanent Modular Construction approach, and will include a two-story atrium, elevator, and two stairwells. The floor plan calls for 67 personal business offices in three sizes, along with an open office plan on both floors that can accommodate 12 freestanding office spaces in custom furniture cubicles. The Multi-Use Office Building (MUOB) project will be installed adjacent to LANL’s main headquarters located in Technical Area 3. (more…)
- Published in Government, Permanent Construction, Ramtech News
Site Work Progressing on Lifestyle Management’s Dallas (TX) Area Residential Reintegration Facility
After a spring and summer of dealing with heavy rains, Ramtech is progressing with all of the site improvements and foundation preparation for the new residential reintegration facility for Lifestyle Management Inc. of Edmond, Oklahoma. The 31,752 square foot project, which will accommodate up to 296 clients, is being built using Ramtech’s Accelerated Building System permanent modular construction method. Known as the Dallas Transitional Center, the modular building project is located 12 miles south of downtown Dallas on a ten acre portion of an existing 57 acre site owned by Dallas County. The new building will replace Lifestyle’s current 225-bed halfway house with a facility that includes four 50-man dorms, three 24-man dorms, one 24-woman dorm, two classrooms, a full commercial kitchen, and administrative office space. Ramtech is also responsible for the full site development of the four acres required to accommodate the residential reintegration facility, 40 parking spaces, two basketball courts, and two covered pavilions.
- Published in Commercial, Modular Construction, Permanent Construction, Ramtech News
The Green Benefits When Using Permanent Modular Construction
As Ramtech begins to see more and more projects that are requiring LEED certification and sophisticated sustainability requirements, we have begun the process of developing an informational guide around sustainable construction alternatives that can aid public school districts in their decision-making process when planning for permanent school expansions. Planned during the first quarter of 2014, Ramtech’s Green Benefits guide will help educate schools on the efficiencies of using sustainable construction techniques that can be realized through the use of permanent modular construction like Ramtech’s highly adaptable Accelerated Building System process. Recognized by the Modular Building Institute, the trade association that represents the commercial modular building industry in promoting permanent modular construction across a wide variety of industries for public, private, and institutional applications, the Green Benefits advantages provide for sustainability through:
- Less material waste using pre-fabrication in order to make it possible to optimize construction material purchases while minimizing the on-site waste caused by weather related damages.
- Less site disturbances since the modular structure is constructed simultaneously off-site while the foundation and other site work takes place, thereby reducing the time and impact on the surrounding site environment including reducing the number of vehicles and equipment needed.
- The off-site construction which helps eliminate the hazards associated with materials, equipment and incomplete construction processes that are typical of construction sites that can attract curious and unwelcome “visitors” (i.e. students on a school expansion project).
- An adaptability inherent in modular buildings which are frequently designed to quickly add or remove one or more “modules” minimizing the disruptions to adjacent buildings and surroundings.
- Published in Permanent Construction
Ramtech Receives Redwater (TX) ISD Contract for Permanent Modular Construction
Last week Ramtech received word that the Redwater (TX) school board has approved a design-build agreement with us to proceed with providing preconstruction services for a 18,348 square foot middle school building to be completed next August prior to the 2014-2015 school year. The proposed $2.6 million project will require demolishing the School District’s existing seven classroom middle school facility and replacing it with a permanent modular building using our Accelerated Building System (ABS) which will accommodate 15 classrooms, a science lab, office area, and data room. The project also includes full site development including the extension and connection of utilities, rerouting an existing bus lane, building up the existing site elevation, and providing for additional sidewalks, canopies, and fencing. The modular school building will be able to accommodate 350 – 400 students and will include full lockers in the interior hallway, a full brick exterior designed to complement the surrounding structures, and textured and painted walls in the interior. (more…)
- Published in Education, Permanent Construction, Ramtech News
Relocatable Modular Buildings and Permanent Modular Construction on Display at TASB
Ramtech returns to the 53rd annual TASB/TASA Convention again this year, a conference we have been participating in for the last 25 years. We will be represented by both Sabrina Queen and Bill Barron who will showcase our relocatable modular buildings and permanent modular construction capabilities for Texas public schools in booths 317 & 319 on September 27-28 at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, Texas.
Since 1960, the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) and the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) have partnered to bring school board members and school administrators the state’s largest education-related convention. Representing more than 6,000 public school officials from over 1,000 independent school districts across the state, the conference always provides an ideal opportunity for us to follow-up with our huge number of past customers as well as potential clients in need of portable classrooms, multiple classroom buildings, and permanent facilities using our Accelerated Building System permanent modular construction method.
- Published in Education, Modular Construction, Permanent Construction, Ramtech News
Looking at the Future of School Construction: Ramtech’s ABS Building System
While the enrollment in public schools throughout the southwest has been growing, the funding for new school construction has not. Many small and mid-sized rural school districts often have over crowded classrooms but because of the difficulties in passing school bond elections and several years of flat property tax revenues, they do not have the funds necessary to build new schools. However Ramtech has an answer for many districts that find themselves in this situation, and it starts with our Accelerated Building System, a permanent modular construction process that provides quality facilities with up to a 25% cost savings and a substantially shorter construction timeline. (more…)
- Published in Education, Permanent Construction, Ramtech News