To improve acoustics and safety, Andersen Elementary needed to shift away from their open-concept floor plate. But with stringent building code requirements and a limited time frame, how could the Newport Mesa School District update the school?
Location
Newport Beach, California
SQ FT
35,574
DIRTT INSTALL
9 weeks
DIRTT Construction Partner
CMS Interiors
Architect
DLR Group
Designer
DLR Group
General Contractor
CORE Construction
The Challenge
Andersen Elementary had 50-year-old modular room dividers and no doors on the classrooms. This meant that sound travelled across the school making learning more challenging. And, by modern standards, it posed a safety risk in terms of providing secure spaces in case of emergency.
Initially the school district looked at overhauling the campus, but that came with an $80 million price tag. Renovating with a reduced scope was a challenge because any updates to the ceiling would trigger a costly seismic retrofit. How could they redefine the school with no impact to the base building?
The other challenge was the timeline. Any major construction project would have a schedule that ate into the school year. Newport Mesa wanted a way to improve the learning environment without losing any instructional days.
Building a maker space with DIRTT
IMAGE CREDIT: Auda + Auda
Our Solution
DIRTT was able to tackle Andersen’s challenges head on. Our multi-trade, prefab, modular system is precision manufactured off-site. In a controlled environment with computerized equipment, DIRTT assemblies can be built to exacting specifications. Walls, doors, and casework could be sized to the ¹⁄₁₆th of an inch allowing an almost seamless fit without any impact on the base building. This meant the school didn’t have to start from square one. They could use the existing building without a seismic retrofit.
The same intelligent design delivering DIRTT’s precise fit and finish also reduced the overall construction schedule. DIRTT products arrive on-site preassembled. Walls loaded with electrical infrastructure quickly tip up into place and then, after inspection, our MDF wall panels quickly snap into position. This translates into less waste on site, smaller crews, safer sites, and shorter timelines.
The Impact
Thanks to DIRTT’s quick, clean construction, the entire project was completed in a single summer. Demolition began June 6. The DIRTT walls and casework were completed by August 1. The minimal punch list was done August 8 so staff could be back in the building for August 11.
In addition to the shorter schedule, building with DIRTT offered the school district a cost-effective renovation option. Since DIRTT could connect to the base building without forcing a seismic retrofit, the project came in at less than 20% of the original $80 million dollar estimate.
When we have tight schedules, there really wasn't an alternative other than to use a system like DIRTT. If we had attempted to do something that was more of a traditional build from scratch, the project would have taken three or four times as long.
Brian Leonard
Architect | Principal, DLR GROUP
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