Prefabrication experiments - 291 - Trade literature and associations - 02 - American Bridge Modular Schools

Advocating the use of manufacturing principles in architecture and construction, industry lobby groups and trade associations regularly outline strategies for increasing demand and normalizing supply chains for their products and member companies. Catalogues and publications have been used to showcase these commercial possibilities, charting systemic design and production methods for unlocking a market share. The catalogue of types or patterns, different from the product catalogue, identifies interoperable components, their manufacturing parameters and design criteria organized for specific building type or arrangement.  While the pattern book is not a new device for sharing knowledge, industrialization elevated its use during the 20th century as a collective instrument for industrial segments or clusters; Industrial initiatives that combine and federate government policies, manufacturers and supply chains to focus on supplying a market segment regarded as a reserve of concentrated demand. 

 

The steel industry was very successful in federating stakeholders toward standardized production methods for buildings. This steered shared specifications, documentation and data to facilitate interaction between design, manufacturing and construction.  A catalogue of modular schools produced in 1958 by the American Bridge division of US steel highlights of this type of inter-association activity.  The Ambridge Modular School engaged and responded to the classroom shortage that followed the post war baby boom.   In the 1950s, the number of primary age students increased by 150%. Existing schools were insufficient and inadequate and many had to be remodeled, replaced or rebuilt. 

 

US steel and Ambridge upheld the idea that steel structures were open, flexible and adaptable systems as skeletal frameworks eliminated any load-bearing walls.  Planning was grid-based on relatively large unobstructed spans. Open joists and girders from 8' (2,4m) to 96' (30m) depending on required spans were proposed for floors or roofs and created an open network for servicing modern schools with lighting, ventilation, etc. Along with the structural frame, stressed skin panels provided a straightforward modular system for divisions and exterior walls. Steel decking was set over the joists and framework ready for a concrete slab topping or any flooring materials. Steel structures manifested modernity in matters of adaptability as steel skeletons could easily change according to fluctuating demographics and be rearranged, expanded vertically or horizontally as required. 

Modular school catalogue