Revolutionary Off-site Construction Process Sets Campus Record

WHAT:  Five brick-clad, steel and concrete three-story dormitory buildings, capped by graceful peaked roofs to blend with the historic Allentown, PA area, are being installed at Muhlenberg College in an almost unimaginable timeframe. The initial section of the first building was delivered to the site on Thursday, June 14 – The fifth and final building will be installed, completing the set by Monday, June 25 – a total of just 10 working days. Each building contains 6 suites with accommodations for 30 students – a total of 41,000 square feet of student residence.

WHERE: Muhlenberg College, The Village,  Allentown, PA

WHEN: From Tuesday June 18 through Monday, June 25
The third building is now underway and will be capped by a peaked roof hoisted by a 600 ton crane, the biggest mobile crane on the East Coast, late Wednesday. The last two buildings are now en route, and will be set and completed by Monday.
NOTE: A college Web cam is recording the construction live http://construction.muhlenberg.edu/view/index.shtml

WHY: To replace outdated and inadequate dormitory space, the college chose
to avoid the disruption that new construction would bring to the lives of students and townspeople by contracting for permanent modular buildings that could be installed quickly and cost-effectively during the school’s summer break a period of just 12 weeks. Following in the footsteps of Yale University, (which recently dedicated a new Kullman built modular brick dormitory), and other colleges, Muhlenberg College turned to an established manufacturer of permanent, factory-built buildings to complete the job in record time.

WHO: Kullman Buildings Corp., a Lebanon, NJ- based manufacturer of permanent, factory-built commerical and multistory  buildings established in 1927, created the revolutionary construction process under which the dorms are built and installed. Like conventionally constructed buildings, the dorms incorporate traditional materials including concrete floors, steel framing and full brick exteriors.  Spillman  Farmer is the architect of the project. The Construction manager is Whiting Turner. Michael Brewer is Director of Plant Operations for Muhlenberg College.