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MARKET SPOTLIGHT: SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION


Folia Solution Cutting Cost, Schedule on School Projects


By Carol Eaton Any useful innovation is usually a solution to some type of


problem. That was certainly the case when Bay Area firms Blach


Construction, Quattrocchi Kwok Architects and Gregory P. Luth & Associates Structural Engineers joined forces to devise a building solution that could address cost escalation and schedule challenges for their clients in the K-12 and community college market. A product development process born four to five years ago resulted in the official rollout of an innovative building solution called Folia about a year-and-a-half ago. The Folia system is built with the same materials and


structural systems as conventional classroom buildings, but delivered in less time at a lower cost. It is a two-story prefab- ricated, fully-customizable steel classroom building that offers a flexible alternative to traditionally designed and modular buildings, while providing the same level of quality and longevity. With patents pending on its wall


and roof systems, Folia’s highly optimized panelized design offers superior seismic performance and material efficiency, allowing much of the building to be prefabricated, delivered and opened in less than one year. It is solar-ready and can be designed to achieve Zero Net Energy. Significantly, the system is also


California Division of State Architect pre-check approved, drastically reducing the typical time it takes to obtain DSA approval for a Folia project. At least one owner that is sold on


the benefits of Folia is Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD), which just employed the system for the first time on Cupertino High School’s $22.6 million, 40,000-sq.-ft. classroom project. Two L-shaped buildings contain 22 classrooms, a career technical education lab and collaborative learning spaces. The third facility boasts six new science labs and two shared preparation spaces. FUHSD Superintendent Polly Bove commented: “This project


build delivery. “We’ve seen a lot of change over


the last one to two years to where design-build is the predominant delivery method in higher education,


www.AGC-CA.org Blach employed Folia on a $22.6 million project at Cupertino High School


he said. “For a client to be able to walk in, see the product and know they can have it in a year and then tell them the price tag has been unprecedented. We’re able to pass that value onto our clients.”


on the public side particularly,” Rogers added. “And then the single biggest movement is that the state finally came out with language that allows K-12 and community colleges to come out


with best value contractor selection, which we think is a big plus not only for us as a contractor but for our clients who have very complicated, challenging projects to deliver.” 


Associated General Contractors of California 13


has gone very smoothly and efficiently, and the results are very attractive and functional. The Folia system was able to deliver a building for us in six months less time and at 85% of the cost of traditional construction.” Bove added, “The overall quality and flexibility of design


of Folia was significantly better in comparison to all other pre-engineered products we investigated. We are already planning a second Folia project for our new Educational Options Campus to be built behind our District office.” Blach Construction President Dan Rogers noted that there


are currently about eight to 10 Folia buildings in design or construction. “Because we have standardized so many aspects of the


design and reached out to our subcontractor base to build components of these buildings, we’re able to sort of guarantee the cost while also speeding up the construction schedule,”


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