Prefab construction, while a beneficial process with tons of green advantages, has up until now been dominated by single-family residential buildings. We’ve seen great non-residential conceptual projects by Jennifer Siegal and others, but have yet to be wowed by an actual brick-and-mortar prefab school, store, or office. But now, San Francisco-based Project Frog may be changing all that. With their full line of prefabricated, modular, and customizable classrooms, schools may finally have a high-quality green option for classroom construction.
Advertising the structures as “high performance environments engineered for learning,” Project Frog goes beyond the temporary classroom trailer to offer two basic options, the “Dragonfly” and “Turtle,” both simple, open, customizable floorplans that boasts some great sustainable features such as low or no-VOC carpet tiles, high ceilings and abundant natural light, plenum floors for improved ventilation and thermal environment, and expertly-engineered building frames that exceed California seismic codes. While each module is a single classroom, the modules can be easily combined to create larger networks of classrooms.
I have looked at their website. I like the appearance of these structures and I think many students would prefer the visual openess of these buildings versus both standard school buildings with modest fenestration, and the often windowless temp trailer classrooms.
I would be concerned about the cost of heating and cooling these structures. Here in northern Utah we have some very cold winter days and I suspect the heating bill would be high despite using the best insulating glass available (for the price).
Finally, the news yesterday, March 1, out of Enterprise, Alabama, is that a school had been severely damaged by a tornado, with possible deaths. If these Frogs are built in tornado prone areas they dam well better have a basement.