Abstract
While relocatable, prefabricated learning environments have formed an important component of school infrastructure in Australia, prefabrication for permanent school buildings is a new and emerging field. This review of prefabrication for schools is timely. In 2017, Australia’s two largest state education departments committed to prefabrication programs for permanent school infrastructure. In this paper we examine the recent history of prefabrication for Australian school buildings in the context of prefabrication internationally. We explore the range of prefabrication methods used locally and internationally and introduce evaluation indicators for school infrastructure. Traditional post-occupancy evaluation (POE) tools measure indicators such as indoor environment quality (IEQ), cost benefit, life cycle performance, and speed of delivery. In response to a shift towards more student-centred learning in a digitally rich environment, recently developed POE tools now investigate the ability of new generation learning environments (NGLEs) to support optimum pedagogical encounters. We conclude with an argument for departments of education to consider how prefabrication provides opportunities for step changes in the delivery, life-cycle management and occupation of smart green schools rather than a program of simply building new schools quicker, better, and cheaper.
Highlights
Between 2016 and 2026, Australia’s school student population is expected to grow by 650,000 [1].This equates to 26,000 new classrooms or around seven new classrooms every day for the decade
For Australian education departments who are often both building owner and user, the combined management and evaluation framework provided by building information modelling (BIM) and lifethat cycle analysis and costing can (LCC) plays an important role in project review, refinement and planning based on lessons learned
The second was undertaken by the authors of a prefabricated learning environment designed to reduce operational energy by 90 per cent and life cycle CO2 emissions by 50 per cent
Summary
Between 2016 and 2026, Australia’s school student population is expected to grow by 650,000 [1]. 2017, the NSW Education Minister announced a call for innovative classroom designs that are permanent and responsive to growth in student numbers. In Victoria, a state-wide audit of 1712 government school buildings found risk asbestos in nearlythis. VSBA will replace 100 school buildings containing medium risk asbestos with permanent of prefabrication for Australian relocatable classrooms, referred to as relocatables. Catalysts for seeking to improve their triple bottom line [6], and concurrently there has been a convergence of this maturation include establishment of Australia’s first peak body for off-site construction called building information modelling (BIM) andnational emergent manufacturing technologies. In conclusion we argue for step changes to be considered so that the intersections between pedagogy, space, and emergent construction and manufacturing technologies create optimal contexts in which school students can flourish
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