"New modular classrooms...will be nicer than some of the schools they are put beside..." says The Langley Advance
Posted:
January 24, 2011 - 2:32pm
Forget the grubby old school portables that were sweltering in summer and freezing in winter.
The new 138 modular classrooms being constructed by Shelter Industries in Aldergrove will be nicer than some of the schools they will be put beside thanks to better insulation and construction, heat pumps providing both cooling and heating, and lighter, airier interiors.
Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid and Langley MLA Mary Polak unveiled the new modulars Tuesday morning with a miniature test drive by kindergarten students from James Kennedy Elementary, where Langley’s one unit will be put.
Most of the units will go to Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island school districts. Surrey will receive 26 as it struggles with enrolment growth.
“It’s not like the average modular classroom,” explained Nigel Harrison, Shelter Industries marketing manager.
The province wanted better quality modular structures that could be moved to where the students are and the buildings will be completed and moved to their new sites by the start of the 2011 school year in September.
The buildings will provide additional space for more than 110,000 students. The project cost is $30 million to get them built and to their sites.
The design was created in consultation with school districts, and can be easily adapted to suit different ages.
“This modular structure is unique to B.C.,” MacDiarmid said.
Shelter Industries, around for about 26 years, has constructed various buildings and portable structures for clients around the world, including daycares in Siberia and classrooms in China.
The company won the provincial government contract to make the 138 portables at its indoor production plant in Aldergrove and is boosting its workforce from the typical 35-40 people up to about 65 as production ramps up.
The structures will last longer so there is less capital cost over the life of the building, and they’ve been created to withstand three significant natural conditions – heavy snow load, seismic activity and wind – or a combination of those.
“If the needs in a district vary, these modulars can always be picked up and moved,” MacDiarmid noted.
