Lake Washington STEM school combines modular and site-built construction to meet ambitious schedule

When the Lake Washington School District outside Seattle needed a new high school built on an ambitious permitting and construction schedule of seven months, modular construction proved to be an ideal solution.

“Conventional construction just wasn’t an option,” said Allan Long, Sr. Project Manager for M SPACE, the modular contractor for the project.

The LWSD ran into various permitting issues restricting site work on a new Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) school that was set to open in the fall of 2012. Since the modular process allows the bulk of construction to be done offsite in a factory, with minimal site disruption, the LWSD chose modular as the solution to its challenges.

The school is now serving 300 students, and by 2014, will be at near capacity with 600 9th-12th graders.

Integrus Architects, the designer on the project, began working the modular aspect of the project into it from the beginning, according to Yong Sun Lee, project manager with Integrus.

“In schematic design, we met with and toured various modular manufacturers’ facilities to understand the fabrication process,” Lee said.

“It was in the early stages that we were sensitive to issues of modular dimensions (transportation widths and heights), structure and material types. In design development, we maintained communication with the participating modular manufacturers and dealers with constructability/design insight,” she said.

Blazer Industries in Oregon began building the “mods” in April 2012, and M SPACE started craning them into place in July 2012. The school was constructed in two phases, with the first phase ending in August 2012. M SPACE contracted with Absher Construction as the onsite GC for the civil work, modular construction, roofing, sprinkler system and mechanical, electrical and plumbing.

M SPACE began setting the second phase in September 2012 and finished the following month, with the remaining site work completed by March 2013. With the two phases combined, the permanent 65,000 square-foot two-story school has 24 classrooms, a presentation hall, common areas, administrative offices and a nurse’s office. Additional features include photovoltaic panels in part of the roof, storefront windows, power cord reels in the science studios, two-hour rated walls, and light dimming ballasts in fixtures.

Four spaces in the school were site built, allowing modular and traditional construction to be combined to best suit the client’s need. The site-built commons has 22-foot ceilings, offering an open and inviting space for students. The top of the commons – the roof mods – were built in the factory, reducing the amount of time that workers had to spend at significant heights, according to Alan Duer, M SPACE Pacific Northwest Territory Manager.

“Mixing modular construction with conventional construction proved to be a valid alternative to the old ways of building,” Duer said.

To learn more about the school, please visit the M SPACE website.

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) is pleased to announce the winners of the ninth annual steel design student competition for the 2008-2009 academic year. Administered by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), the program challenged students, working individually or in teams, to explore a variety of design issues related to the use of steel in design and construction.

| Aug 11, 2010

Ware Malcomb announces opening of 11th office, this one in Panama

| Aug 11, 2010

ZweigWhite Announces 2009 Best Firms to Work For

Management consulting and research firm ZweigWhite has identified the best civil engineering, structural engineering, multidiscipline A/E services, environmental services, and architecture firms to work for in its annual ranking of top industry firms. These outstanding employers were selected based on their commitment to provide a positive work environment and challenging and interesting work opportunities for their employees.

| Aug 11, 2010

Building design giant LEO A DALY hires retired Army colonel Richard Onken in its healthcare division

| Aug 11, 2010

Autodesk 2010 Certification Now Available for Design Professionals

Autodesk, Inc., (Nasdaq: ADSK), today announced that design and engineering professionals can become Autodesk Certified in AutoCAD 2010, Autodesk Inventor 2010, Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010, and AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 software. Becoming Autodesk Certified allows professionals, and companies boasting Autodesk Certified employees, to validate their industry skills and knowledge, demonstrate expertise and gain credibility.

| Aug 11, 2010

Jacobs, CH2M Hill, AECOM top BD+C's ranking of the 75 largest federal government design firms

A ranking of the Top 75 Federal Government Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants

| Aug 11, 2010

Manhattan's Pier 57 to be transformed into cultural center, small business incubator, and public park as part of $210 million redevelopment plan

LOT-EK, Beyer Blinder Belle, and West 8 have been selected as the design team for Hudson River Park’s Pier 57 at 15th Street and the Hudson River as part of the development group led by New York-based real estate developer YoungWoo & Associates. The 375,000 square foot vacant, former passenger ship terminal will be transformed into a cultural center, small business incubator, and public park, including a rooftop venue for the Tribeca Film Festival.

| Aug 11, 2010

AIA selects three projects for National Healthcare Design Awards

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH) have selected the recipients of the AIA National Healthcare Design Awards program. The AIA Healthcare Awards program showcases the best of healthcare building design and healthcare design-oriented research. Projects exhibit conceptual strengths that solve aesthetic, civic, urban, and social concerns as well as the requisite functional and sustainability concerns of a hospital.

| Aug 11, 2010

AGC: Construction employment declines in 47 states in July

Few states were immune from construction employment declines this July based on an analysis of federal employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. That analysis found that 47 states saw declines in construction employment, while only two states saw increases and one saw no change in construction employment between July 2008 and July 2009.

| Aug 11, 2010

AGC: Construction unemployment reaches 19.2%

Unemployment in the construction sector climbed to a “horrendous” 19.2 percent (not-seasonally adjusted) as an additional 59,000 construction workers lost their jobs in May according to new federal data, said construction economist Ken Simonson today.

Currently Reading

Lake Washington STEM school combines modular and site-built construction to meet ambitious schedule

Tags

| Aug 11, 2010

| Aug 11, 2010

| Aug 11, 2010

| Aug 11, 2010

| Aug 11, 2010

| Aug 11, 2010

| Aug 11, 2010

| Aug 11, 2010

| Aug 11, 2010

| Aug 11, 2010

Most Popular Content

Magazine Subscription

Get our Newsletters

Follow BD+C: