More Urban Schools Turning to Permanent Modular Buildings
A month ago, I asked the following question on the “School Construction News” discussion blog: “Have any of you used a Permanent Modular Building System to expand existing school campuses or build entire new campuses? It appears to work especially well with rural schools.” I expected to hear primarily from small rural districts.
Instead two large, prominent school districts, Milmont School District in Reading, Pennsylvania, and Miami-Dade School District in Florida commented that they regularly used permanent modular construction to add new campuses and expand existing ones.
While Ramtech worked in Texas with both the Arlington and Alief Independent School Districts in expanding a number of their campuses, most urban school districts throughout the Southwest do not realize that permanent modular construction is a perfect building system for expanding existing school campuses. Ramtech has been active in school construction for over 30 years and its Accelerated Building System saves both time and money compared to traditional site construction.
Why do districts like Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Ft Worth, and Austin not think of modular construction as a means to expand their campuses? The reason is simple: When large school districts throughout the SW (with the possible exception of California) think of modular construction, they think of temporary, portable buildings. They do not realize that permanent modular buildings can be built non-combustible, with the same concrete foundations as traditional site constructed buildings, while built to the same model building codes. Recently, the Modular Building Institute (MBI), the trade association that supports the commercial modular industry, committed to investing both time and money on educating both architects and school districts on the benefits of permanent modular construction.
This would aid those school districts that are working hard to get within their reduced budgets while providing high quality buildings much faster. Click here to learn more about permanent modular school construction
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Mike Slataper is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Ramtech Building Systems, Inc.
- Published in Ramtech News
Modular Buildings and Energy Development
Ramtech’s investment and focus on product development is once again on display as we have expanded our modular building offerings for the oil and gas industry. Recently, our emphasis has been on developing skid mounted and wheeled chassis product designs that utilize a robust construction approach that will meet the rigors of working in remote, severe, or unfriendly environments while still providing for the features and amenities demanded in what is now a very competitive and tight energy labor market.
Included are standard floor plan designs for small and large man camps, workforce and oilfield housing, offices, sleepers, tool pushers, dining and mess halls, recreation facilities, infirmaries, and washcars and laundries. All of the prefabricated facilities utilize single point connections to public or temporary utility sources and are factory-furnished with appliances, furniture, utensils and even linens for immediate field deployment.
Targeted at short or long-term use for both end-user operators and turnkey logistics and property management groups, we expect that these product offerings will be extremely versatile and ideally suited for the fast-growing development areas like the Bakken Oil Shale Formation in North Dakota and the Eagle Ford Shale Gas Play in South Texas, the sixth largest domestic oil discovery in US history.
- Published in Ramtech News
Modular Buildings Aid KIPP Charter School Development
The charter school building boom continues on. Ramtech announced this week that we have secured a new contract for the design, fabrication, and construction of five modular buildings for KIPP Delta Public Schools of Helena, Arkansas. (more…)
- Published in Ramtech News
Does the Term “Modular Construction” Still Fit?
Recently there has been considerable discussion within the Modular Building Institute on the use of the term “modular”. Some industry leaders believe that the term modular is confusing, and using it to describe both temporary and permanent commercial buildings is a mistake. In the residential industry, modular only refers to permanent homes, while manufactured housing refers to relocatable HUD Coded homes. In Europe, most modular companies refer to their building system as “off-site construction.” (more…)
- Published in Ramtech News
Immanuel Lutheran Now Ready for Modular Building Project
Some projects simply take a while to happen, but patience and perseverance generally win out in the end as it has for Ramtech on many occasions. Such is the case for a new design-build contract that we just secured for the design, fabrication, and construction of a 13,440 square foot 14-classroom modular building that will be delivered and installed for Immanuel Lutheran Christian Academy in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Scheduled for completion by the end of the second semester of the 2011–2012 school year, the new modular building will be used to support Immanuel Lutheran’s new full-day preschool program which will be moving from the main church building to the new facility. The building, which includes office space, a common play area, and break room along with the individual classrooms, will be built utilizing Ramtech’s traditional modular construction approach. The interior surfaces will feature vinyl covered walls and resilient tile flooring, while heating and cooling is achieved through the use of eight wall-mounted HVAC units zoned to provide the maximum in energy efficiency. Two sides of the exterior will incorporate a NICHIHA fiber-cement brick panel wainscot together with an elastomeric paint finish applied over HardiePanel for the top portion, with the remaining sides clad in a 26-gauge R-panel metal siding. (more…)
- Published in Ramtech News