Project Frog: Too Cool for School
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 01. 9.07
"In the US, over five million students are currently learning in temporary classrooms - that is one out of every five college students. By 2012, that number is expected to rise to one quarter of the total student population. There are more than 220,000 temporary classrooms currently in use throughout the United States. And most recently, in the Gulf Coast region, the need for viable academic spaces has been exacerbated by the destruction wrought by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita."
So instead of the usual mold motels, MKthink and B&H Engineering got together and designed the elegant and healthy Project Frog prefabricated classrooms- "a transformational landscape of sustainable, friendly, and affordable learning environments that inspire creativity, collaboration and productivity."
click to enlarge
They are not only nice to look at but green: "FROG™ units provide a healthier and more stimulating workspace and incorporate many "green" design elements such as recyclable materials, energy efficient systems, significant natural lighting, non-volatile organic compound (non-VOC) interiors, and climate controls in each room. In addition, the smart modular design keeps costs low while allowing for client customization. Units are quick-to-deploy and can be easily assembled with a small crew and simple installation equipment."
And a better learning environment than the usual class in a box: "The physical structure of a building is critical for healthy and productive learning. Based on our research, Project FROG™ believes that a stylish building, flooded with natural light, high ceilings, clear sight lines, and easy access to the latest high-tech teaching tools, fosters creativity, encourages better student-teacher collaboration and ultimately inspires academic achievement.
Without compromising the benefits of purpose-designed structures, Project FROG™ created a solution that combines the benefits of temporary trailers- cost effective, quick to deploy and re-locatable- with those of permanent structures to create a high performance, sustainable and quick-to-deploy product that is attractive and friendly. " More at ::Project Frog Thanks, Tipster Carol!
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These glass structures that keep appearing on Treehugger do not make any sense in the real world. It might look cool in a Star Trek episode where it is always 70F degrees, but there is absolutely nothing functional about it. How will it be heated and cooled in Arizona or in Canada? Have you ever seen the vandalism that takes place at schools? Those windows would be an instant target for rebellious students. I don't think any properly designed solar structure has glass on 4 sides. I owned an '80's house with a solarium and it was more trouble than it was worth.
I think if the free space we schools had to put these on looked anything like the photo this would be exciting. Sadly your classroom is more likely to look out on the cafeteria dumpster. I like the idea of bringing natural light into the classroom however it looks like this would bring a lot of distractions as well in the type of environments I usually see these trailers.
And along the lines of the previous poster...
How do you insulate these glass boxes?
I'd much prefer to see Container City bring their building techniques with ISO shipping containers to America. Where i live in New jersey we certainly have plenty of empty seaboxes lying around.
I think this is a great concept. And like any concept drawings they need to be changed to be realistic. A few changes and a lot more insulation and this could be a very practical option.
I inquired into the "green" aspects of this building and they told me that the building is extremely energy efficient (30%+ over traditional construction), has better air quality, uses 70% noise reducing acoustic tile, and made from largely recycled materials. They also told me the walls can be configured with as much or as little glass (double pane) glass as a client would like.
These are concept buildings. Don't buy the 12 weeks construction thing. That is fantasy.
Wow! Gorgeous product! As for graffitti, damage, etc. that could occur to these, the problem is not with the product but with the fact that schools aren't usually built as part of good community design. If they were, these beautiful, artful, inspiring buildings wouldn't be sitting by themselves on property that is vacant and unused 18 hours a day, but integrated into a multi-purpose community-scape. As for cold weather, maybe I'll try and get one for our trades school and let you know if the 12-week build is possible and how they stand up in minus 40 weather.... :)