Most of the sleeping units have en-suite bathrooms; for those clients to whom that privilege is not extended, there are bathroom-less units with access to individual shower and toilet stalls in shared restroom modules. Other prefabricated modules house offices and meeting rooms for support staff and security, storage for client belongings and for facilities maintenance, laundry rooms and medical clinics, and staff break and restrooms. These are some of the prefabricated modules this project is composed of:

One site-built structure contains two large community rooms; the other serves as a dining hall with an attached commercial kitchen, which will serve all of the operator’s facilities in the area and which will be used to train clients for future employment in culinary industries. Garage doors open these large gathering spaces to landscaped plazas on the exterior, enlarging the potential gathering area and allowing interior and exterior to blend together. The efficiencies gained by manufacturing the rest of the structures off-site allowed these buildings to be built traditionally without affecting the project’s overall schedule. Construction was completed in just over one year.

Clients need a secure space of their own, where they can store their belongings without fear of theft and where they can wake up in the morning to solitude and serenity. At the same time, clients are encouraged to spend time outside their rooms, interacting with each other and with case managers and other staff. A variety of outdoor spaces ranging in character from quiet and secluded to open and public are meant to provide enough options for any client to find a place where they can feel comfortable.

With the exception of two larger structures for gathering spaces and communal dining, all buildings are composed of prefabricated modules. While these components were being built in a factory, grading, utility installation, and foundation construction prepared the 2.5-acre site to receive them. These efficiencies in schedule and construction allowed this facility to be built at a very economical cost of roughly $240k per door.

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Copyright: Office of Charles F. Bloszies, 2024

Lower Polk Navigation Center