Location: Pingree Grove, Ill.
Installation time: 148 days
Size: 19,000 sf
When DRH Cambridge Homes Inc. annexed a planned development with 3,000 homes into Pingree Grove, a small farm village northwest of Chicago, the principal school district needed assistance to meet the growing student population. Cambridge Homes engaged Presidential Services to research a solution that would bring a shorter school creation cycle, reduce costs, and provide space flexibility that would serve a life-long learning commitment for the emerging new village.
The team determined that a combination of site-built and prefabricated components would meet all three criteria, and the research and partnership led to the creation of the Cambridge Lakes Learning Center (CLLC) – a multi-building campus joined by prefabricated corridors – on a 15-acre site within the new development.
The Process
The action plan included opening a K-8 public charter school and a private pre-school within three buildings in the fall of 2007. Whitley Manufacturing was selected to provide the modular portions of the building. After completion of the first phase, Whitley provided both the second and third phase of development – an addition to the third and fourth grade building, and new construction of a seventh and eighth-grade classroom building.
The accelerated delivery schedule of modular construction allowed the school to scale their facilities to match enrollment. In order to keep disruption to the campus to a minimum, the modular units were built in the factory during the spring, with the balance of work occurring over the summer.
Architectural Excellence & Sustainability
Central, steel-structured “kivas” with high ceilings and expansive clerestory windows were site-built, and the modular units were set around this, forming an interior layout designed for flexibility and a visually appealing exterior. To create a modern aesthetic, the steel of the roof system and white-painted galvanized spiral ductwork were exposed. Sustainable acoustical panels above the structural steel created a well-insulated roof system that also reduces sound transmission.
Each classroom was designed with five natural activity centers, offering flexibility for teachers. Daylighting and passive lighting were used to improve efficiency and support active learning in the classroom.
Cost Effectiveness
The building was designed to deliver value through reduction in upfront costs and long-term savings through reduced operating costs delivered by energy-efficient features and systems. The exterior of the building was clad with a uniquely manufactured fiber cement panel product in cut stone, brick, and wide-lap siding finishes that deliver superior performance and durability at a reduced cost. Insulation was increased throughout the building, including the use of structural acoustical panels with integrated rigid insulation above.
Energy efficient, three-phase packaged HVAC units are roof-mounted and screened behind parapets, preserving the exterior aesthetic. Commercial-grade windows and doors with dual pane, Low-E glazing were used throughout the entire structure. Extensive value engineering and close coordination of the project team developed an optimal scope of work that delivered maximum value to the client.
For more information on the project, visit www.whitleyman.com.
About MBI
The Modular Building Institute (MBI) is the international nonprofit trade association serving the modular construction industry. Members are suppliers, manufacturers, and contractors engaged in all aspects of modular projects, from complex multistory solutions to temporary accommodations. As the voice of commercial modular construction, it is MBI's mission to expand the use of off-site construction through innovative construction practices, outreach, and education to the construction community and customers, and recognition of high-quality modular designs and facilities. For more information on modular construction, visit www.modular.org.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Hillside school sports exciting shape
An education facility for 1,200 students and 300 teachers will grace a hillside in the Faroe Islands town of Torshavn. The 19,200-sm Faroe Islands Education Centre, designed by Copenhagen-based Bjarke Ingels Group, will have a panoramic view overlooking the sea, mountains, and harbor. The building's vortex shape radiates toward its surroundings while drawing attention to the center of the school.
| Aug 11, 2010
New Union City school to use remnants from old building
With 35 classrooms, a media center, science labs, and music rooms, Columbus Elementary School #3 in Union City, N.J., is being built on a confined site, so designer RSC Architects, in conjunction with HOK, will implement underground parking and a rooftop playground. RSC Architects also salvaged classical porticos from a former school at the site; they will be reused to create dramatic entryways...
| Aug 11, 2010
High-density planning allows abundant open space
Gilroy Unified School District's new Christopher High School in California opened its first phase this fall. The 1,800-student, 231,000-sf facility was designed with a high-density site plan that allows for both on-site sports fields and undeveloped open space. BCA Architects of Fremont, Calif., with Gilbane Building Companies as CM, collaborated with numerous user groups to plan the two-story,...
| Aug 11, 2010
And the world's tallest building is…
At more than 2,600 feet high, the Burj Dubai (right) can still lay claim to the title of world's tallest building—although like all other super-tall buildings, its exact height will have to be recalculated now that the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) announced a change to its height criteria.
| Aug 11, 2010
Courtyard connects new and remodeled schools
Good Fulton & Farrell Architects of Dallas designed a major expansion and renovation at the Dallas Academy in Texas. The 22,900-sf addition serves as the school’s new front door and includes a library, student assembly area, cafeteria, seven classrooms, and administrative offices. The school’s existing 14,560-sf building was renovated to accommodate a lower school component, and...
| Aug 11, 2010
Connecticut high school gets a expansion and renovation
The Morganti Group, Danbury, Conn., is managing the construction of a $41 million addition and renovation project at Newtown (Conn.) High School. Designed by Fletcher Thompson, Shelton, Conn., the project consists of a 70,000-sf addition and 30,000 sf of renovations to the gymnasium and interior spaces.
| Aug 11, 2010
School district plans net-zero building
Camas (Wash.) School District is planning to utilize one of three energy sources—photovoltaics, wind turbine, or geothermal—to help take its new community high school completely off the grid. The school district commissioned Interface Engineering to explore all three options for the project, which is scheduled to break ground in August.
| Aug 11, 2010
LA high school takes design cue from historic Mexican architecture
The Los Angeles Unified School District recently opened the $75 million Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez Learning Center, a high school in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights, near Little Tokyo. Designed by Nadel Architects in a joint venture with Barrio Planners Inc., the 114,000-sf school is vertically integrated, allowing the campus to fit on a compact, six-acre site.
| Aug 11, 2010
Nursing home turned charter school opens in Dorchester, Mass.
Cambridge, Mass.-based HMFH Architects spearheaded the design for the conversion of a former nursing home in Dorchester, Mass., to learning and community space for the Neighborhood House Charter School. The pre-K—8 school has two classrooms for each elementary grade level, clusters of middle school classrooms, a cafeteria, media center, and art, computer, music and science classrooms.
| Aug 11, 2010
Modest recession for education construction
Construction spending for education expanded modestly but steadily through March, while at the same time growth for other institutional construction had stalled earlier in 2009. Education spending is now at or near the peak for this building cycle. The value of education starts is off 9% year-to-date compared to 2008.
