At Greenbuild 2012, education and sustainability took center stage with the arrival of the SAGE modular classroom, designed and built by a team from Oregon. The demonstration facility, which was on display November 13-15 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, was conceived and co-sponsored by Building Design+Construction and its parent organization, SGC Horizon LLC.
The genesis of the project came from the Department of Architecture at Portland (Ore.) State University, in particular Assistant Professor Margarette Leite. In examining the role of architecture in education spaces, she and her students recognized a growing need for sustainably designed classrooms nationwide.
While modular classrooms—or “portables,” as they’re commonly known—have been around for decades, some practitioners in the modular building industry feel they have not been used to their full potential. “School district administrators typically look at this kind of space as a temporary fix,” says Garth Haakenson, President/CEO of Pacific Mobile Structures, Chehalis, Wash. “But the reality is that these buildings stay up for 20 to 30 years. When they’re built to a minimum standard and not maintained over that time period, the quality of the classroom deteriorates and you have kids learning in a substandard environment.”
SETTING OUT ON A MISSION
With that historical background in mind, Leite and her students set about changing the design of modular classrooms—to create sustainably designed, factory-built classrooms that were good for children’s health and well-being, but also practical. “The only way to do that is to find a way to keep it affordable for school districts,” she said.
As the project began to pick up steam, the staff of Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber stepped in. The modular classroom was named an official “Oregon Solutions” project. This program, established in 2011, promotes “sustainable solutions to community-based problems that support economic, environmental, and community objectives, and are built through the collaborative efforts of businesses, government, and nonprofit organizations.”
With the governor’s backing secured and the project becoming more and more of a reality, the team grew to include Portland State’s College of Engineering, and Institute for Sustainable Solutions, in conjunction with AIA Portland. There was just one problem—the team didn’t have a buyer for the proposed classroom. “We were going to try and raise money for it if we had to,” said Leite. “Luckily a buyer stepped in and made it happen pretty quickly.”
That buyer was Haakenson and Pacific Mobile Structures, which has a branch in Oregon City, near Portland. With funding secured, modular builder Blazer Industries, Aumsville, Ore., got to work. “I think it was October 5 or so that we actually started construction,” said Kendra Cox, Blazer Industries’ Project Manager. “The building shipped [to San Francisco] November 9. We were working on the design, working on the pricing, every single last-minute item. It was pretty hectic.”
They called it SAGE, for Smart Academic Green Environment. The SAGE modular classroom came in at $77 a square foot in construction costs, about half that for conventionally designed and constructed “portables,” proving that sustainability and affordability were not incompatible.
THE CLASSROOM AS TEACHING TOOL
The shortage of high-quality classrooms is a national problem, said Sergio Palleroni, Professor of Architecture at Portland State and chief designer of the SAGE classroom. “Coming to the Greenbuild conference, everybody was feeling, ‘OK, we’re having this national crisis, what do we do about it?’” said Palleroni, a Senior Fellow at PSU’s Center for Sustainable Solutions and a founder and faculty member of the federally funded Green Building Research Lab.
While the entire Building Team was excited about the generous feedback they received from Greenbuild attendees while the classroom was on display at Moscone, they were equally interested in the goal of opening people’s eyes to the potential of mobile classrooms.
Haakenson said it was important to get AEC professionals and the public to see that mobile structures could be more than portable classrooms. “There are a lot of interesting features about this structure that are completely different than anyone’s previous expectations of a portable classroom,” he says. Changing the stereotype of the modular classroom was a key component of the SAGE team’s strategy.
TAKING THE CONCEPT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
With a strong first showing at Greenbuild behind them, the team now hopes that this is just the start of a revolution in the creation of sustainably designed and constructed modular classrooms.
“There’s a lot of interest nationwide, so the next step is to start addressing requests from other states and figure out how to find manufacturers and contractors that believe in the project,” said Blazer Industries’ Cox.
Portland State’s Leite recommends that future modular classroom Building Teams collaborate early and often. “A lot of projects don’t make it because they’re not efficient to build, so they become too expensive,” she says. “That’s why it’s important to start working together right from the beginning.” +
Related Stories
| Apr 23, 2014
Developers change gears at Atlantic Yards after high-rise modular proves difficult
At 32 stories, the B2 residential tower at Atlantic Yards has been widely lauded as a bellwether for modular construction. But only five floors have been completed in 18 months.
| Apr 23, 2014
Experimental bot transfers CAD plans onto construction sites
The Archibot is intended to take technical data and translate it into full-scale physical markings on construction sites.
| Apr 23, 2014
Mean and Green: Top 10 green building projects for 2014 [slideshow]
The American Institute of Architects' Committee on the Environment has selected the top ten examples of sustainable architecture and ecological design projects that protect and enhance the environment. Projects range from a project for Portland's homeless to public parks to a LEED Platinum campus center.
| Apr 23, 2014
Architecture Billings Index dips in March
The March ABI score was 48.8, down sharply from a mark of 50.7 in February. This score reflects a decrease in design services.
Sponsored | | Apr 23, 2014
Ridgewood High satisfies privacy, daylight and code requirements with fire rated glass
For a recent renovation of a stairwell and exit corridors at Ridgewood High School in Norridge, Ill., the design team specified SuperLite II-XL 60 in GPX Framing for its optical clarity, storefront-like appearance, and high STC ratings.
| Apr 22, 2014
Transit-friendly apartment building now under construction
The new $44 million community is situated on eight acres, directly adjacent to the local Park-n-Ride, and a quick walk from a nearby light rail station.
| Apr 22, 2014
Bright and bustling: Grimshaw reveals plans for the Istanbul Grand Airport [slideshow]
In partnership with the Nordic Office of Architecture and Haptic Architects, Grimshaw Architects has revealed its plans for the terminal of what will be one of the world's busiest airports. The terminal is expected to serve 150 million passengers per year.
| Apr 21, 2014
10 design-build best practices
Design-build requires more than a good contract and appropriate risk allocation, says the DBIA. Everyone from the owner to the subcontractors must understand the process, the expectations, and fully engage in the collaboration.
| Apr 18, 2014
Multi-level design elevates Bulgarian Children's Museum [slideshow]
Embodying the theme “little mountains,” the 35,000-sf museum will be located in a former college laboratory building in the Studenski-grad university precinct.
| Apr 17, 2014
Online mapping tool helps teams determine multifamily project tax credit eligibility
Accounting and advisory firm Baker Tilly has launched a new, interactive online mapping tool that helps users determine if a business or development project may qualify for the New Markets Tax Credit or Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.