Project Overview

A Purpose-Built Modular Wellness Center for Student Support.

El Camino College was looking to bring student support and wellness services together in a centralized on-campus location. AMS partnered with ECCD to create the El Camino Modular Village, a modular wellness complex that sites four AMS FORM buildings—each designed for a specific purpose—around an outdoor entry plaza. A Dance/Pilates Building anchors the complex, surrounded by a Wellness Center that offers emotional and mental health counseling and resources, a combined Pantry and Closet that provide essential nutrition and clothing for in-need students and a shared Restroom Building. Specialty features, like 10’ ceilings and a sprung floor in the dance studios, are customized to meet functional needs. A unified aesthetic and large courtyard-facing windows create a welcoming village feel. This project demonstrates how modular construction can deliver high-performance wellness and student support facilities for community college campuses across California.

• Stockpile submission expedited modular plan approval to meet ECC’s aggressive schedule
• Central courtyard offers easy access and open-air seating for relaxing and socializing
• Open-plan interiors filled with fresh, filtered air prioritize health and comfort

Video: The Result

Project Overview

Mission’s blended expansion updates space while creating cohesion.

Escondido USD had dual goals for the Mission Middle School modernization: to add a large amount of space quickly, within budget, while organically blending and flowing new and existing buildings. AMS worked with the district to create a custom design for the Mission site, bridging two new AMS FORM two-story towers together to create a center courtyard, with a second bridge connecting the new space to an adjacent two-story building. AMS adapted a DSA-PC design to optimize the site layout, combining 21 classrooms, four science labs, restrooms, offices and workrooms in the 30,000 SF addition. Custom bump-outs, aluminum sunshades and Hardie panel siding architecturally enhance exteriors to blend new and old. Upgraded finishes—Koroseal wall coverings, LVT and ceramic tile flooring—elevate interiors.

• Unified design creates a visual and physical flow between buildings
• Strategic placement of non-operable windows maximizes daylighting  
• Full-height ceramic tile restroom walls are durable and low-maintenance

Video: The Result

Project Overview

GEN7 early learning complex expands child-friendly space for pre-K program

A commitment to kinder-ready programming led the El Monte City School District to partner with AMS to design and build a state-of-the-art early learning center on the Cortada Elementary School campus. The space-efficient modular design sites two 60×40 GEN7 straight line buildings across a commons area, each housing two classrooms adjoining a central hub with kitchenette, restrooms and office. Building A has two preschool classrooms; Building B pairs preschool and Head Start classrooms, with extra space for laundry, a staff restroom and custodial and data space. Interiors are healthy and bright with natural ventilation, skylights, door transoms, sidelites and large windows positioned low to provide outdoor views for young children. Beige stucco exteriors are elevated with thinbrick wainscot and blue doors.

• High-end finishes mix easy-care carpet, MCT flooring and full-height ceramic wall tile 
• Kid-friendly features include 12” cubbies, classroom sinks and outdoor water fountains
• Tech infrastructure supports programmable EMS and USB ports for modern learning

Video: The Process

Project Overview

Custom quad design connects modular classrooms, STEAM lab and kitchen.

Saddleback Valley USD is committed to promoting Next Gen learning in a seamless indoor-outdoor environment that’s innovative, safe and student-centered. AMS partnered with PBK Architects to deliver the vision in a 9,600-SF, four-building modular village on the Lake Forest campus—a creative design anchored by three GEN7 buildings supported by an AMS FORM food service building with modular kitchen and adjacent student garden. Seven GEN7 classrooms and a cutting-edge Innovation Lab open to a central amphitheater that expands learning space while enhancing the student experience with secure outdoor dining and recreation areas. The GEN7 buildings promote healthy, sustainable learning with daylit interiors, whisper-quiet acoustics and high-efficiency HVAC systems that circulate fresh, clean air year-round.

• High-tech Innovation Lab has NanaWalls for indoor/outdoor STEAM classes
• Large, low-E windows, storefront doors and Solatubes bring in natural light
• Hybrid stucco and lap siding customize exteriors in blue and gray school colors

Project Overview

Two-story U-shaped design creates enclosed outdoor learning quad.

Adding 24 new classrooms in a small footprint meant building up—a space-efficient solution that gave Garden Grove School District the flexibility to maximize indoor/outdoor learning space. Working with Neff Construction, American Modular Systems adapted our two-story DSA-PC into a U-shaped building with three classroom wings connected by a central elevator and stairs opening to a cantilevered balcony overlooking a secure quad. The 24,960-SF complex also houses restrooms, staff workrooms and an electrical room. Airy 9’ t-grid ceilings with acoustic tiles, Koroseal tackboard on classroom and workroom walls and carpet tiles over concrete subfloors absorb sound, creating a quiet environment that enhances productivity. Low-maintenance ceramic tile walls and mosaic tile floors add a custom touch to the restrooms.

• U-shaped interior courtyard offers flexible outdoor learning and respite space
• Higher-level windows bring in natural light, supported by recessed LED lights
• Low-maintenance site-applied stucco is tinted to match existing buildings

Project Overview

Custom V-shaped two-story delivers sleek design in a compact footprint.

A tight site and steep grade changes inspired AMS and LPA Design Studios to find an inventive solution for Palm Crest Elementary. Dual two-story modular buildings—a 196’ x 36’ 12-classroom wing and a 126’ x 36’ 8-classroom wing—adjoined in a fully-custom V configuration maximized space efficiency while forming a central outdoor learning courtyard between the two buildings. A covered skywalk and integrated elevator at the rear juncture create a sleek façade, upgraded with Alucobond metal panels and architectural accents that present a high-end exterior to neighbors looking down from the hillside above. Large windows, door sidelites and transoms increase natural light, supported by multi-level LEDs. The EMS-ready building is fully networked, with a robust power infrastructure for 21^st century learning.

• Staff workroom end modules up the aesthetic with an all-glass exterior wall 
• Quartz countertops and custom blue casework are stylish and durable
• Interior Modernfold stacking walls have an STC 47 rating for sound control

Project Overview

Custom upgrades give space-efficient two-story sleek style.

To maximize capacity on a tight suburban site, AMS partnered with DC Architects to design and build a two-story classroom complex, combining two 72′ x 40′ modular wings in an L-shaped footprint that creates a sheltered recreation area for Glenoaks’ K-6 students. Energy-efficient upgrades enhance health and comfort in a budget-friendly DSA-PC design that adds 11 classrooms—one for special needs—as well as restrooms and workroom. Low-VOC materials, operable windows and solar-tinted glass NanaWalls create a clean-air environment with natural light and ventilation; outside, deep roof overhangs provide shade and weather protection for walkways. Custom thin-brick wainscoting and green architectural pop-outs add style cohesive with existing buildings and the adjacent neighborhood.

• Metal sunshades lower energy costs and keep classrooms cool and comfortable
• Lower-level glass NanaWalls open to a private rec area for indoor/outdoor activities
• ADA elevator tower is sited in the rear corner to present a sleek front façade

Project Overview

Project Overview

Innovative design creates light-filled flex space for creative learning.

Adding dedicated space for innovation studies was a key part of Saddleback Valley USD’s modernization plan, but it came with a challenge—fitting a new building into a quad enclosed by established buildings. AMS found an innovative solution, craning custom-designed GEN7 modules over existing structures to give Portola Hills the creative learning/making space it needed. To maximize both functionality and flexibility in a 70×36 footprint, the open layout is sectioned into an innovation lab and library, each with its own entrance. Interior NanaWalls create breakout areas for private meetings and small group projects. High ceilings, Solatubes and storefront windows make a compact space feel larger, while filling the entire building with natural light and outdoor views.

• Frosted glass NanaWalls partition space and provide a two-sided writing surface
• Natural ventilation and safe, low-VOC materials maintain superior indoor air 
• Sustainable, energy-saving technologies create a healthy learning environment

Project Overview

Modern classroom building preserves 1920s charm of 100-year-old campus.

When site-built construction proved too costly for the master-planned Tustin High expansion, AMS teamed with TUSD to modularize the conventional plans and deliver the two-story Humanities Building at significant cost and time savings. The L-shaped elevator building captures the historic character of the 1920s campus while adding 12 spacious, energy-efficient classrooms for 21^st century learning. The façade is a creative blend of old and new with ruffle face brick end walls and handmade ceramic tiles over exterior doors—factory-installed architectural enhancements that recreate details of the original school building. To reduce maintenance, AMS subbed solid steel pickets for tube steel in the custom handrails—a no-paint option that adds durability.

• Large, dual-glazed windows with 50% tinting optimize natural light
• High-SEER HVAC systems and low-flow fixtures save energy and water
• Interactive and networked technologies support collaborative learning