Portable Classroom

Main Cat­e­gory: Green Build­ing Design
Cat­e­gory: Green Build­ing
Entrant: Uni­ver­sity of Texas at Austin
Size: 18 x 48 x 12
Total Square Feet: 864

1. Ther­mal Com­fort Strategy

Mixed Mode Nat­ural Ven­ti­la­tion: The build­ing has large oper­a­ble win­dows that allow users to con­trol air­flow; its long rec­tan­gu­lar shape-which cuts down on dead air spots, lends its self for nat­ural ven­ti­la­tion. All the Heat­ing and Cool­ing com­po­nents are in con­di­tioned spaced which allows for higher per­for­mance. The large open space lends its self for the selec­tion of a mini split sys­tem with few indi­vid­ual rooms to heat and cool, the radi­ant heat­ing sys­tem per­forms well with the struc­turally insu­lated floor.

2. Indoor Air Qual­ity Strategy

Oper­a­ble win­dows allow for user con­trol of ther­mal con­fort, which allows for mechan­i­cal sys­tems to be not used on days that the ther­mal com­fort zone is reached nat­u­rally. The rain­screen allows more ven­ti­la­tion for the wall sys­tem, and allows the build­ing to breathe-so no mold will build up, rather than sid­ing that pro­vides no air gap in the wall sys­tem. Duct­less heat­ing and cool­ing sys­tems allow for

3. Day­light­ing Strategy

The building’s off-centered gable allows for max­i­mum solar access for solar pan­els on the south side of the roof area. The front ‘porch’ is cov­ered by solar pan­els and wood slats that fil­ter any west­ern sun light that may occur in the evenings, reduc­ing solar gain. The main win­dows face north to catch the best kind of light for study­ing, a con­stant north­ern light.

4. Acoustic Strategy

The cork floor­ing is a sound absorb­ing material.

5. Energy Effi­ciency Strategy

–The use of the Screw­Jack for the foun­da­tion pro­vides a strong pier and beam foun­da­tion, only con­crete piers touch the earth. –SIP con­struc­tion has less waste since the pan­els are cut in a fac­tory and then shipped to the site/factory for assem­bly. –Cork is a renew­able resource.

6. Archi­tec­tural Excellence

The build­ing is designed to be trans­ported via over­sized truck, each mod­ule is 18’x48’ more than one build­ing can be linked together. The lay­out is sim­ple and com­pact with an effi­cient plan, that allows mul­ti­ple con­fig­u­ra­tions and the teacher to con­trol access to the back room and bath­room area. –The exte­rior appear­ance is mod­ernist yet hints at tra­di­tional styles, such as the iconic gable form. The off-centered ridge line on the gable allows for max­i­mum solar access for solar panels.

7. Eco­nomic Practicality

The employ­ment of SIPs can reduce the cost of fab­ri­ca­tion and waste. The oper­a­tion costs of the class­room can be reduced by inte­grat­ing solar pan­els. All costs are included in the unit price.

8. Other

1.O Site start-up fees, per­mits and water and sewer tap fees $850

2.0 Site Prep $1150 3.0 Foun­da­tion $3000

4.0 Trans­porta­tion $2000

5.0 Crane and set-up fees $1000 —————— Sub total $8000

Fram­ing $4900

Metal Work $500

Win­dows $2000

Rain­screen $1700

Plumb­ing $1800

Elec­tri­cal $2100

Low-voltage wiring $550

Roof­ing $1750

MECH $2150

Gyp board $1100

Doors $750

Tile $550

Paint­ing $1600

Trim $750

Cab­i­nets $1650

Floor­ing $2900

Hard­ware $300

Deck $1250

Appli­ances $3500

Misc $2700 —————— Sub total $34,500

War­ranty fund, insur­ance, over­head and profit $6,500

Struc­tural Insu­lated Panel upgrade $2,600

Solar hot water upgrade $2,400

Pho­to­voltaic sys­tem upgrade (3.2 kW) $20,000  with Tax Incen­tive

Total: $89,000

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