Reading School: Glenside

Additional Info

Award Winner : NRB Modular Solutions

Architectural Excellence : This 56-unit concrete and steel modular school building encompassed the use of several modular construction types: modular, panelized, and component. Forty-eight modular units provided the space for the offices, bathrooms, and classrooms, which surrounded a panelized 14’ clearstory central core used as a multipurpose room, which led to a concrete deck, comprised of two module floor components. The interior special features included ceramic tiled floors and walls in the bathrooms with ceiling mounted phenolic resin modesty partitions, suspended sound-absorbing acoustical panels and exposed spiral ductwork in the multipurpose room, and a food service area with rolling shutters. The exterior featured a split face block foundation, stucco walls with a sunburst design over the main entry, and painted corrugated steel panels above a horizontal accent band. Other exterior accents included a shingled multipurpose room roof, standing seam metal rib barrel vaults and decorative peaked roofs.

Cost Energy Effectiveness : This project took advantage of program by the State of Pennsylvania that offered reimbursement to the school district if the building was built using concrete and steel modular construction, saving the school thousand of dollars. However, the contract also called for two schools, at two different sites, to be built, shipped, erected, and completed simultaneously. By building these two schools simultaneously, NRB was able to bring some economies of scale to the project, reducing material costs. To further reduce site costs and maintain a tight finish schedule, NRB took on the fabrication of decks, decorative pitched roofs, the multiple-purpose room, and all of the barrel vaults, which were all to be site built. By doing this, NRB was able to accomplish a on-site-to-completion time-line of just 2 months. To reduce energy consumption materials such as insulated fiberglass windows, motion activated lighting controls, high efficiency HVAC units, and programmable thermostats.

Design Firm Name : DIMENSIONAL ARCHITECTURE

Occupied Date : 9/5/2006

Production Start Date : 3/9/2006

Project Location City : Reading

Project Location State Name : PA

Technical Innovation : Incorporated in the walls of the modules surrounding the multipurpose room were columns that supported a panelized wall system for the 14-foot high by 42-foot span clerestory exposed steel pitched truss roof system. The multipurpose room ceiling utilized acoustical type steel roof decking sandwiched with rigid insulation and fiberglass roof shingles. The five floor sections for the multipurpose room and lobby were built at the factory, shipped to site in a single load, with concrete poured on site to create a monolithic slab for the 2,700 square foot area. The exterior decks at the multipurpose room were originally to be fabricated by the GC on site from treated lumber, but did not meet fire codes. NRB took the same approach to the deck area as it did for the multipurpose room; it built the deck floor panels at the factory, shipped them to the site, and poured the concrete on site to exceed all fire requirements.

Total Square Feet : 23585