Reading School: Thomas Ford

Additional Info

Award Winner : NRB Modular Solutions

Architectural Excellence : This 56-unit school building utilized panelized, component, and modular construction. This building included a 14-foot clearstory multipurpose room as the core area with the offices and classrooms surrounding it. Interior special features included tackable wall surfaces in parts of the classroom, color accented walls, accent tiled floors, and folding wall panels to divide larger classrooms into smaller instructional rooms, with multiple level storage cabinets, counters, and shelving. The exterior stucco wall covering featured a horizontal visual accent and painted corrugated steel panels above with split face block foundations walls. The roof parapet was accented with peaked roofs and barrel vault canopies.

Cost Energy Effectiveness : The project bid required the building to be constructed in a “build-together” fashion. By doing so, NRB was able to ship and erect 30 sections in one day, accomplishing an on-site-to-completion time-line of just 2 months. Coupled with the challenge of having to build two school projects, for two different sites, and having to complete both at the same time, it did allow for some economies of scale in material purchases, keeping the cost of the buildings competitive with site construction. This savings also allowed the school to up grade to insulated fiberglass windows to further facilitate energy savings, coupled with other energy saving products specified in the bid.

Occupied Date : 9/5/2006

Production Start Date : 3/9/2006

Project Location City : Reading

Project Location State Name : PA

Technical Innovation : The 2,700 square foot multipurpose room required site erection of five factory built floor sections and several peaked steel roof trusses that spanned 42 feet, creating a 14-foot high clerestory structure. The lobby area consisted of large glass panels and storefront doors coupled with built-in benches topped with Corian®. Floors in the multipurpose room were pre-fabricated at the factory, shipped, and filled with concrete on site.

Total Square Feet : 23585

Category : Permanent: Education: over 10,000 sq. ft.