A modular section being lifted into place during the construction of Huoshenshan Hospital. Image via CNN
For years natural and man-made disasters have resulted in the widespread use of relocatable modular buildings to meet short and extended use replacement facility needs. This allows schools, government agencies, healthcare providers and commercial businesses to open and get back to operating quickly without significant delays. A case in point was an entire middle and high school campus that Ramtech built for West ISD after the massive fertilizer plant explosion destroyed two of the district’s schools in April of 2013.
Now, with the current COVID-19 pandemic, modular construction has once again been brought to the forefront, with high profile projects that have helped to provide urgent care medical facilities in China and other hot spots around the globe. However the impact that modular construction has made may be changing attitudes well after the crises eases, as this article from our friends at Architizer.com point out in the ‘8 Ways COVID-19 Will Change Architecture’. It includes a strong argument for an increase in the use of modular construction.
Read about eight of these new approaches including, modular construction, that may have long lasting impacts on the way cities are designed following the COVID-19 outbreak here.
Rendering of Slab on Grade Permanent Modular Building for Los Alamos National Laboratory
Ramtech has completed all of the soil preparation requirements and will now begin development of the concrete foundation for the 22,680 square foot permanent modular office building we’re constructing for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in Los Alamos, NM. As part of the site preparation, we spent several weeks performing an extensive sub-surface investigation to locate the known and unknown utilities, along with identifying the remnants of a structure that had been demolished on the site several decades ago. (more…)
Completed Modular Building Installation of Terminal Expansion at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport
Affordable Structures, Ramtech’s installation contractor, has finished the installation of the nine modular sections for the expansion of the passenger terminal at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport in Panama City Beach, Florida. The project has now moved on to the finish-out of the exterior of the facility. We expect that work to be completed in the next two weeks.
Ramtech is working as a subcontractor to Allstate Construction of Tallahassee, Florida the general contractor on the project. Our scope of work on the project began with the core and shell manufacturing of the Type II-b all steel modular building. Once the 7,168 square foot permanent modular building is complete, it will add terminal seating for 300 people at gates 6 and 7 which provide ground loading access to the airports’ regional and commuter airline partners. The airport anticipates the project to be completed by August.
Modular Buildings Leaving Ramtech’s Manufacturing Plant and Arriving at the Airport in Panama Beach, FL
Ramtech has delivered eight of the nine modular sections for the 7,168 square foot expansion of the passenger terminal at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport in Panama City Beach, Florida. The permanent modular building, set to begin installation this week, will be connected to the existing terminal with a site-built corridor and will provide two additional gates that will be completed sometime during the summer. Ramtech is working as a subcontractor to Allstate Construction of Tallahassee, Florida the general contractor on the project. Our scope of work on the project began with the core and shell manufacturing of the Type II-b all steel modular building. The construction includes the exterior walls with 24-gauge steel high-rib R-Panel siding, all door and window assemblies, interior walls with un-finished gypsum board and required shear walls, perimeter steel frame floor, and EPDM roof assembly. It also provides for the exterior wall and floor penetrations for the required mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. The nine modular sections of varying sizes will be installed and welded on a poured-in-place concrete pier foundation system. (more…)
Ramtech has recently entered into the pre-construction services stage on a two-step design-build delivery contract with the Charlotte Independent School District. Ramtech was chosen by the district after having been selected through the legally required Request for Qualifications process mandated by Texas state law. This second phase of the design-build process will enable us to work together with Charlotte ISD to design a permanent modular building that will provide for a cafetorium with seating for 250 Pre-K through 12th grade students, and a yet to be determined number of additional classrooms. Once the civil design, geotechnical surveys, and building designs are all taken to the appropriate levels, we will provide a qualified price for the facility and the cost of the project will be presented to the district for acceptance before we commence with the construction phase. (more…)