Finding creative solutions to deliver buildings faster, better, and cheaper is a goal for virtually every market sector – but perhaps nowhere are those solutions more welcome than in the California K-12 education market, where public funds are stretched thin and building standards are restrictive.
Enter Folia, an innovative, patented design and construction solution for the education market developed nearly a decade ago by Blach Construction, Quattrocchi Kwok Architects, and GPLA Structural Engineers. The highly adaptable, durable building solution leverages prefabrication to enable design and building teams to deliver projects at least one year faster and an estimated 10-20% less expensively than traditionally designed and built buildings. The use of prefabricated components improves safety during construction and mitigates weather issues, while minimizing waste and rework.
Folia is also DSA (California Division of State Architect) pre-check approved. It was designed to meet the standards of the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) with an emphasis on indoor air quality, natural daylight, and acoustic performance. The system is solar-ready and ideal to meet Zero Net Energy goals.
Since GPLA first collaborated with Blach Construction and Quattrocchi Kwok Architects to develop Folia, well over two dozen education projects have been developed utilizing the innovative system. That includes projects for Fremont Union High School District, Morgan Hill Unified School District, San Benito High School District, and Cabrillo Unified School District, to name just a few.
The Folia system had earned several industry awards and recognition, including a 2016 “Great Solution” Product of the Year by Building Design + Construction. In 2018, Cupertino High School’s three-building “Folia Complex” received two Innovation awards: a “Structures” award from the Silicon Valley Business Journal and the “Most Innovative Project” award from the American Society of Professional Estimators, as well as the Green Leadership Award from Green Technology.
On the Cupertino High School Project, Folia was not the initial choice when Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) set out to replace an outdated and inefficient single-story classroom building and maximize the real estate of the under-utilized space on which it stood. The District started with a conventional custom-designed building, but quickly became budget-constrained. They ultimately chose Folia because it accomplished Cupertino’s program needs while being more cost-effective.
The project included a pair of two-story, L-shaped Folia classroom buildings and one two-story custom science lab building. Together, the buildings include 22 classrooms, a Career Technical Education Lab and six state-of-the-art science classrooms, all connected via balconies and arranged around an outdoor courtyard, ideal for additional collaboration space. Sustainably designed, these buildings feature ample daylighting, high-efficiency mechanical systems, environmentally responsive materials and recycled solar photovoltaic panels from another part of campus.
With footings starting in May 2017, the project quickly took shape and was completed by early February 2018, a full school year earlier than had FUHSD embarked on a traditional, site-built custom construction project. The final product provided the students and faculty at CHS with an optimal 21st century teaching & learning environment.
