When the new St. Anthony’s School on the Midland road is complete it will feature some of the greenest modular childcare facilities in the province.
The new school, slated to be completed by January 2011, will have eight modular classrooms that meet some of the highest environmental standards.
St. Anthony’s principal Tim Gregorash is excited the construction is coming along. He says the modular relocatable classrooms are designed into the plan to allow the school to grow, as well as right size when populations drop. The portables also take into consideration the environment.
The modular childcare facilities are manufactured by Calgary based Modus Inc. and helps to support a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver rating. LEED is a third party certification program, and is an internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.
Mr. Gregorash said this entails a number of considerations; from automated lighting systems to low flush toilets. Even window size and placement are factored into the design to stabilize temperatures.
According to Janeen Norman of Modus Inc., the environmental aspects go beyond energy efficiency.
“Recent studies show that children in green learning environments are healthier and more productive because of improved air quality, lower levels of chemical emissions and a generous provision of natural day lighting,” she said in a press release. “The benefits of cleaner indoor air have been linked to lower asthma rates, fewer allergies and reduced absenteeism.”
Mr. Gregorash says the most recent update on the construction is crews have completed the ground work and will start pouring cement, and the gymnasium walls are standing.
“Once the cement is set they will start constructing the walls of the school,” he said. “They have prefabricated some of the walls so they can be put up fairly quickly. It seems to be pretty close to on schedule.”
Recently the Albert Government announced the first new green modular child care facilities aimed at housing preschool children, and Modus has been awarded the contract for 24 new modular facilities.
“The Alberta Government continues to be a leader in its commitment to green learning environments across the country,” said Randy Ludwar, CEO of Modus. “We are pleased that our legacy of providing children with the healthiest, safest and most sustainable learning environments in the market today extends to children of all ages.”