Portland, Oregon - February 1, 2017 – A total of four new classrooms and two new restrooms have been installed to provide healthy, environmentally friendly, classroom space for the staff and students at Lincoln High School. A collaborative effort of Portland State University (PSU), Pacific Mobile Structures and Blazer Industries, the SAGE Classroom offers Lincoln High School the flexibility of relocatable classrooms and the affordability of modular construction — all in an award-winning design known as the SAGE (“Smart Academic Green Environment”) classroom.
The classrooms, which were needed to replace the original fire-damaged modular classrooms, have been constructed with non-toxic materials and VOC-free paints to prevent environmental impact. The classrooms contain a redesigned heating and ventilation system which focuses on fresh air and air quality. Four times as much natural light is admitted into the classrooms because of the amount and size of the windows and the building’s orientation.
Staff and students can now enjoy optimum healthy working conditions in their new classrooms. A canopy and a ramp and deck system runs the length of the buildings and connects the new classrooms to the current high school building, providing a fresh, modern, seamless finish.
The SAGE modular classrooms have steel floors for portability to meet the changing needs of the campus. An economic and affordable solution, SAGE classrooms cost significantly less than other similar green modular classrooms.
The idea for the SAGE classrooms originated at Portland State University, less than a mile away from Lincoln High School, which is where most of the design work took place. Designed by architects, professors, and students at the University, the SAGE classrooms have been constructed in conjunction with a team consisting of contractors, Pacific Mobile Structures, and manufacturers, Blazer Industries.
Steve Effros, Portland Public Schools Project Manager, explained how the success of the project was due to effective collaboration between Margarette Leite, Professor of Architecture, Portland State University, Pacific Mobile, Mahlum Architects and Lincoln High School contractor Ross Builders NW. “Pacific Mobile has been great to work with from the beginning because they understood they were a team player with all the other participants in the process,” said Effros.
The Lincoln High School SAGE classroom project did not come without its logistic challenges. The area in which the classrooms were needed was described as a 'tight spot' and required cranes to lower the two buildings into place. The presence of several heritage trees meant that an arborist was required to ensure no damage befell the tree’s roots or branches when the classrooms were installed.
The result, however, is one of which the team can be extremely proud.
“What makes this project unique is that Lincoln High School was the very first public school to be built in the Northwest. Now, it is getting the first public SAGE building in Oregon,” said Toni Pinkston, Pacific Mobile Structures, Inc., Project Manager. “I hope that people will come by and see what a quality, green building can look like!”
To date, Pacific Mobile has installed a total of 59 SAGE classrooms at 32 schools around the Pacific Northwest.