8 Types of Modular Buildings Used for Schools
When you think about utilizing the modular construction industry for education-related buildings, you think of the portable classroom trailers. And while they are one of the most popular rental options for schools all across the country, modular school buildings offer a lot more cost-effective options to schools, colleges, and universities than classrooms.
We hear conversations regularly about the state and health of our children’s schools. Most often the discussion centers around leaking roofs or the need for a new cafeteria or gymnasium. Other times the entire building could use an update whether it’s due to old lead or asbestos materials still in place or an expanding student body size.
The dialogue will then turn to budgets, approvals, and sometimes voting and a millage for tax payers.
With the upcoming school year ahead, we thought we’d invite our readers to consider some of our other popular options when it comes to modular school buildings.
1. Portable Classroom Lease
The portable classroom trailer or school portable is easily one of the most common school buildings. After all, when we think of schools, we think of classrooms and learning. The benefit of the portable or relocatable classroom is that it offers a variety of standardized layouts and is a temporary building solution.
In other words, you’re adding square footage with a less risky, limited time investment. The upfront cost for these short-term modular building leases is often much lower than outright buying a new building, but is only intended to last a school several years.
The temporary nature allows schools to optimize the time in which they need to use the building. Once a school is done with it, it can be removed or relocated, and is no longer costing the school money.
2. Permanent Modular Classroom Building
A close second place in the prefab and modular building world has to be the permanent classroom. This classroom option includes a higher upfront cost. Most modular building suppliers, however, will offer various financing options to ensure that you and your school can work together on ensuring your budget can cover the costs.
Permanent classrooms are also often built with customizations in mind. This means choosing customizable floor plans and design elements to enhance educational spaces and the learning environment. Schools can choose to install interior and exterior materials that are meant to handle the long-term traffic of students and staff, and that look good. You can choose roofing, siding materials, and windows to match existing school buildings on your campus.
3. Modular Office Buildings For Schools
Every school needs a central information hub for staff and students. Modular offices are a great match for schools that need either temporary or permanent office buildings. If your school is serious about needing a cost-effective office that is a permanent fix to an outdated office space, consider modular construction for your next project. Their slick design and customizable layouts allow you to create the ultimate school command center. Offices can be roomy, featuring multiple office spaces for principals, superintendents, counselors, school secretaries, and vice principals.
4. Sporting Event And School Restrooms
We’re not talking about small plastic porta-potty units. The modular building industry leases and sells modular restroom buildings for commercial businesses and schools. Select the size of the building you need, the number of stalls and sinks, and integrate into your school’s campus.
5. Modular Cafeteria And Dining Hall
Other common modular building types are cafeterias and dining halls. These spaces have often served dual purposes. Sometimes they act as your gymnasiums, practice rooms for sports, inside recess areas, and even the community location for a local craft fair.
Most cafeterias are well designed to be constructed in volumetric modules. They feature a primary, spacious eating area for people and are attached to a school kitchen.
Whether purchased for style or function, customization allows modules to be built right into your existing school. The consistency ensures that your students, staff, parents, and visitors feel like your modular cafeteria was always a part of the plan.
6. School Complexes
Modular school complexes are a great solution for schools that need an entire building ecosystem, but perhaps they don’t need a ton of classrooms. These portable classroom buildings arrive in multiple modules and deliver a school with multiple room types.
You typically get 2 or more classrooms, an atrium entrance, an office, and restrooms all in one modular building.
7. Student Dormitories
Whether for specialty private schools or colleges and universities, modular dormitories are a great, cost effective way to give students a clean, high quality living space. Dormitories can be built to include important entryways, full bathrooms, and any customizations the school wants to provide. Rooms can even be sound proofed to help students focus on their studies and avoid the distractions that come from noisy neighbors.
8. Whole Permanent Modular School Buildings
Building an entire school is always a large project. And it will cost a significant amount of money. With a modular construction project, however, you can ensure that the building will cost less than its traditional or conventional construction counterpart (all else being equal).
Customizing a school gives you the opportunity to start fresh. You can implement industry leading technologies and designs into school facilities that you see being practiced all over the world. Perhaps you want a multi-story school, natural lighting, energy efficient builds, and more community spaces for students to learn in. It’s also a greener, forward thinking building construction process that primarily takes place off site. This ensures that ongoing school events will be minimally interrupted, the footprint on your campus grounds will be minimal, and the building process will be streamlined for efficiency and waste material reduction.
Try A Modular Building For Your Next School Project
Whether you want a new cafeteria or restrooms for your modular school buildings, there is a perfect solution for your next school construction project within the modular construction industry. If you’re interested in hearing more about our school building inventory, continue browsing our website, or contact us to speak with one of our experts.
