Relocatable Buildings

Relocatable buildings are facilities that can be moved from one school site to another. They are used to accommodate enrolment fluctuations as well as provide temporary accommodation where fire has occurred or during the construction and refurbishment of permanent facilities.

Today’s state-of-the-art relocatable facilities are designed to meet current teaching needs. In addition to improved comfort, they also reflect the Department’s commitment to energy reduction and the minimisation of greenhouse gas emissions in Victorian school buildings.

New Energy-saving Relocatable Classrooms

The Department is currently rolling out new relocatable classrooms which incorporate:

• low-energy lighting that automatically adjusts to light levels within the room
• double-glazed windows
• insulation in the ceiling, walls and floor
• ceiling fans with a summer and winter setting
• smart solar-powered units that take air from the roof space and divert it outside in summer to prevent heat build-up, and into the room in winter to supplement heating
• a computer-controlled ventilation system that monitors air quality and temperature and brings outdoor air into the room as needed according to various day and night conditions
• a building control system that turns off lighting and ceiling fans when the room is unoccupied, and regulates the use of the heating and cooling system.

These enhanced facilities have the potential to save considerable amounts of energy. However, building users need to know how to achieve comfort levels while saving energy. To this end, the Department has produced an instructional package to help teachers and students take full advantage of their new buildings.  The package contains an instructional DVD, a 24-page accompanying booklet, and classroom posters.

• For the relocatable classroom posters, see: Sustainable Comfort - Poster (PDF - 103Kb)
• For the accompanying booklet, see: Sustainable Comfort - DVD Booklet (PDF - 681Kb)
• For the accompanying video, see: Sustainable Comfort - Video (MP4 - 37.6Mb) (14:50mins) View Transcript (RTF - 278Kb)

To complement the instructional package, each school receiving new relocatable classrooms is briefed on how to operate them to their full potential. For further information, contact the Department’s Help Desk on relocatable.school.buildings@edumail.vic.gov.au

Two-Storey Innovation

While the Department’s Relocatable Replacement Program is substituting older portable buildings with modern units in schools across the state, a further innovation is the manufacture of two-storey relocatable facilities for use in inner-city schools and on restricted school sites.

The off-site manufacture of relocatable buildings enables their speedy placement and commissioning, and reduces disruption for school communities.