Meredith School
Additional Info
Award Winner : Modular Genius, Inc.
Architectural Excellence : To combat overcrowding, the School District of Philadelphia’s board voted in favor of installing four modular classrooms during the 2020 school year at Meredith Elementary in Queen Village. The modular building can hold up to 140 students. The classrooms will provide some necessary breathing room. The sought-after school has a lottery for its students to attend and the additional classrooms will eliminate the need to bump the unlucky applicants to other schools in the area. The 3,600-sf building was designed with two vestibule entrances leading to two classroom and four restrooms. A prefabricated boardwalk runs across the front with handicap accesses on the side. Neutral colors were selected on the exterior and approved by the Arts Commission. A mural and landscaping was discussed to be added after occupancy. The single direction sloping roof captured the rainwater at one end tying into storm water pipe into the street. The interior has a geometric pattern floor tile with complementing wallpaper.
Cost Energy Effectiveness : The contract included a complete turnkey solution to the school district. A local architect and civil engineer were hired to place the classroom building on a narrow lot. The modules were designed as narrow 10’ sections to fit down the tight city streets. The project had to be presented to the Arts Commission in the city for approval, and a rendering and presentation were provided. The school’s property was broken up into smaller building lots which were formally demolished row homes, and an application to the zoning department was completed to consolidate the lots for the new building. Other services provided on the project included, fencing, prefabricated steps and ramps, electric service upgrade and connection, plumbing connection in the street, and communications and fire alarm tied into the main school. The building was designed to be relocatable, able to be deployed to other parts of the city with ease.
Green Building Description : N/A
Occupied Date : 11/1/2020
Production Start Date : 6/15/2020
Project Location City : Philadelphia
Project Location State Name : PA
Technical Innovation : The classrooms needed plenty of natural light and included four windows in each room. The overhead LED lights have reflectors, with matte white acrylic lens and linear prisms for high performance without pixilation. The building was hard wired for phone and data and include WIFI hot spots. Public Address speakers, fire alarm and a security system were installed in each room. The building was built with energy efficient occupancy sensors for lighting and staggered HVAC units for efficient climate control. The plumbing included instant hot water heaters to reduce energy consumption in the restrooms. The water fountains were a low flow with anti-microbial features. The piping included copper water lines and caste iron waste pipe. The exterior roof included a .60 mil thickness EPDM for a longer life cycle.
Total Square Feet : 3600