Every year the Modular Building Institute sponsors an awards program that recognizes the best projects in commercial modular building design and construction. The ceremony to present the awards was held in April during MBI’s 25th convention and tradeshow at Bonita Springs, Fla.
Each entry was reviewed by a panel of industry and non-industry construction and code experts, architects and engineers, and marketing professionals. The following projects are the healthcare facilities that received awards. A full list of awards and case studies are available at: www.modular.org/awards
VA Prescott MRI
Architectural Excellence: The Veteran’s Association project in Prescott, Ariz., included a new diagnostic imaging building addition with a 14-foot x 50-foot module. The building was placed 10 feet above grade and approximately 15 feet away from a historical VA building that was built in 1889, creating an exterior second floor for imaging.
A bridge was built from a second floor window that was enlarged to serve as a doorway. Since the existing building was a historical designated building, the exterior of the new building had to match the existing building
Technical Innovation: Radio frequency shielding was installed at the factory. Craning was used to place the singlewide building on top of poured pier columns with rebar, along with the magnet for the MRI. Electricity was brought to the new building from 75 feet away and the chiller for the magnet was placed near the existing CT chiller outside of the building. It utilizes three-phase and single-phase electrical connections. The sprinkler system was assembled partially at the factory and completed on site.
Cost Effectiveness/Energy Efficiency: A roof hatch was designed for access to the inside of the building so the MRI magnet could be installed with a crane. The timeline for installation of the magnet was important because the magnet needed to be chilled. If installation of the magnet was not completed immediately, planners would have been forced to pay $25,000 for storage.
Award: First Place, permanent, less than 5,000 square feet
Location: Prescott, Ariz.
Company: ModSpace
Building Use: Imaging Center
Average Size of Modules: 14 feet x 50 feet x 13 feet
Total Square Feet: 700 square feet
Days to complete: 114
Community Health Partners
Architectural Excellence: The client had limited space on hospital grounds for placing the records and social service offices. The offices needed to be fire-rated due to the site location and floor rating.
The social services area required total separation from the records area. The configuration of the site required 7 modules that were 12 feet x 56 feet and six modules that were 12 feet x 68 feet. The facility was placed in the courtyard to maximize available space. The design needed to incorporate two entrances that were on the same level as the main building.
A combination of fire-rated doors and a fire suppression system was used to meet fire rating requirements. The structure needed to blend into the 10-story hospital on one side and a recent one-story addition on its other side.
Technical Innovation: Building cost was a concern. The customer used electric resistance heating for cost savings with building specifications and maintenance. To save energy, the structure utilized 2-foot x 6-foot walls to increase the insulation factor. House wrap was used to minimize wind infiltration.
Central electronic thermostats control HVAC appliances. This system prevents the firing of all units at one time and alternates the first fired appliance to prevent power surges and spread wear and tear among all appliances.
Cost Effectiveness/Energy Efficiency: The customer has come to rely on modular construction because of the speed, convenience and cost savings of modular facilities. It took 28 days from crane set to the completion of the new facility. The cost of the modular structure was significantly less than what hospital officials expected.
Award: Honorable mention permanent, more than 5,000 square feet
Location: Lorain, Ohio
Company: Sommer’s Mobile Leasing
Affiliate: Manufactured Structures Corp.
Building Use: Hospital records and Social services
Average Size of Modules: 12 feet x 60 feet x 14 feet
Total Square Feet: 9,424 square feet
Days to complete: 127
Mountain View Assisted Living
Architectural Excellence: Britco’s design and project management team worked in close collaboration with BC Housing and Russcher and Evans Architects to design and build this eight-unit assisted living facility in the Canadian Rockies. The development was carefully designed to deal with heavy snowfall conditions, handicapped accessibility in winter, flood plain requirements and ease of future expansion.
The one-story building incorporates architectural features reflective of the surrounding mountain region and includes heavy solid timber beams and trusses at entry points, detailed parapets, covered terraces, wood exterior finishes, individual patios and resident gardening plots. The building has many resident amenities such as live-in nursing care, centralized dining, resident lounge and indoor scooter storage. The individual one-bedroom suites feature small kitchens, roll-in showers, living rooms, roll-through storage closets and custom millwork.
Technical Innovation: The facility was designed to maximize the use of factory-built modular components to minimize the amount of work required on site and reduce the building construction timeline in a region with limited on-site labor and a short building season.
High-tech nurse-call wiring and individually controlled heating systems are installed at the facility. The suite window and door hardware and plumbing controls were all selected based on ease-of-use by elderly and handicapped residents.
Cost Effectiveness/Energy Efficiency: Off-site modular construction allowed for the efficient completion of the development in an area that is otherwise very expensive to build in.
The development features many green and sustainable innovations such as a heat-recovery ventilation system, high-efficiency appliances and glazing, and timer- and motion-sensor-controlled lighting.
Award: Best of Show, permanent, more than 5,000 square feet.
Location: Golden, British Columbia
Company: Britco Structures
Building Use: Senior citizen assisted living facility
Average Size of Modules: 12 feet x 66 feet x 11 feet
Total Square Feet: 8,750 square feet
Days to complete: 220
3T MRI Facility
Architectural Excellence: This addition is a single-story facility with an MRI suite, control room, inpatient holding and prep areas, restrooms, and soiled and clean laundry. The exterior features stucco to complement the existing hospital, while the interior is finished with drywall, taped and filled and painted. It has copper-shielded walls and ceiling in the MRI area and a raised computer floor at the control room.
The building consists of five modules put together side-by-side and is tied directly to the hospital’s existing MRI suite and outpatient area. In the MRI area, the unit floor has a large opening that fits precisely over the poured-on-site MRI slab. A large section of the roof area, spanning a mate line, is removable to allow crane setting of the MRI units. Pre-poured concrete floors completed at the plant had to be dropped 6 inches in the control room for cabling. prayed fireproofing was also completed at the plant on all structural elements.
Technical Innovation: The building is structural steel post and beam, non-combustible construction for flexibility in any future renovations. The exterior finishes were completed at the factory, keeping the on-site set and finish time to a minimum.
Cost Effectiveness/Energy Efficiency: Due to the amount of disruption to the hospital caused by internal renovations and the lack of available space, a creative solution needed to be found. With a small available piece of land adjacent to their existing MRI suite, and the need to maintain competitiveness with surrounding hospitals and private centers, the modular concept was the answer.
NRB’s build-together method allowed for copper shielding, piping and HVAC systems to be installed along with the exterior stucco, saving time at the site. Building modular allowed for occupancy to occur months earlier than it would have with conventional building methods. | 
