Three Takeaways from 2024—and What It Means for the Year Ahead
As we reflect on 2024, we’re reminded of so many things. The challenges we faced… the change they inspired… and the growth they brought. What did 2024 teach us? Here are three lessons from this year that we’ll take with us into the next.
Learning opportunities are everywhere, if we look.
As we reflect on the experiences of 2024, we see lessons in so many things. Every challenge, every obstacle, every pivot led to progress. They all taught us something.
And sometimes, what we learn about building schools is really about building so much more.
So what did we learn in 2024? What can we grow from and carry forward into 2025?
Here are three lessons we’ll take with us as we transition from the year that’s ending to the new one just beginning.
Three Takeaways from 2024
Modular construction is growing in new way
Architects project that half of future school facilities projects will be modular. Increasingly, conventional designs are being modularized. Hybrid designs are playing a bigger role in the modernization plans of school districts throughout California, and modular construction is becoming a bigger part of the mix.
AMS finished several new campuses this year and hit milestones on a few more—and the economies of hybrid design made them all possible. Modular efficiencies give districts a path to provide high-quality learning environments for students of all ages—progress that would have been cost-prohibitive with conventional construction alone.
But that’s just part of the growth we’re seeing. Modular construction isn’t just a solution for new classrooms; modular buildings are fulfilling a wider range of needs.
In 2024, AMS built modular libraries, student centers, health services buildings and early learning complexes.
We partnered with architects and construction firms to design and deliver full-service kitchens, concession stands, fitness centers, arts and music buildings, even a visitor’s center.
We expanded curriculums and made new programming possible with state-of-the-art vocational training facilities and helped schools support basic needs with food pantries, student closets and laundry rooms.
Schools are embracing change and evolving to meet new needs. More than ever, communities are looking to offer a greater level of resources for students, teachers and families. They’re invested in providing a complete student experience, supporting academics with a focus on physical and mental health, enrichment activities and essential services.
And they’re going beyond that to engage the community, bringing people of all ages, from all backgrounds, together with facilities for meetings, conferences and community-wide events.
It’s a shift toward a more inclusive culture that supports a wider variety of needs and interests—and they’re all being met by modular buildings.
Energy-saving measures give as much as they save.
California leads the nation in progressive energy solutions—solutions that not only conserve resources but create and tap into new sources of clean energy.
Changes to the 2022 Title 24 Energy Code prescribed a shift to renewable energy solutions, making solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage systems a requirement for all new residential and non-residential buildings, including schools.
Positive change for the environment also creates positive change for the learning environment. Higher performance schools do so much more than save energy—they give students a better place to learn.
More and more schools are seeing the advantages of performance-based design, combining energy-saving measures to create a more efficient building that also provides a safer, healthier, more comfortable learning and teaching environment.
In 2024, AMS helped dozens of school districts design energy-efficient buildings that lower operating costs while improving the health and well-being of students and teachers. We designed all kinds of spaces, from classrooms and labs to multipurpose rooms and offices, for dual impact, benefitting both learning and the learner in pivotal ways.
Simple upgrades make a big impact. Large windows and Solatubes provide extensive daylighting, reducing the need for electricity while creating naturally-lit classrooms that improve concentration and lead to higher test scores. Window glazing reduces heat gain and roof overhangs provide shade, keeping classrooms cooler and more comfortable for learning.
High-efficiency HVAC systems circulate fresh, clean air that boosts indoor air quality, significantly lowering the risk of allergies and illness—all while saving energy.
Increasing insulation lowers utility bills but it also absorbs sound, creating a quieter environment where students and teachers can do their best work.
New designs raise the bar, going beyond code to improve academic performance, enhance student/teacher well-being and increase energy savings. The benefits of a more comfortable, productive learning environment pay off now—and will continue paying off for decades into the future.
Community and commitment are the keys to bringing a vision to life.
We saw it over and over this year: community support is the bridge between a vision conceived and a vision brought to life.
We watched so many visions come full circle in 2024. We helped Kenwood break ground on a small community classroom building… installed a transformative early learning center in Lemon Grove… attended the ribbon cutting for the new Student Health Center at Santa Maria’s Allan Hancock College.
We saw Sowers Middle School students watch in wonder as their new buildings were lowered into place on Crane Day… and we saw them rush excitedly into modern classrooms that replaced their outdated portables in August.
A decade ago, all these buildings were a vision. In 2024, they became real.
The support of the local community is essential to a project’s success. The community lays the foundation—pushing for progress, passing measures for bond funding, remaining dedicated to a vision, never losing hope.
We see so many projects that have been nurtured for years, moving step by step toward completion. And the engine driving them is always the same: the commitment of a community determined to build change.
A community that balances a clear vision with the flexibility to achieve it.
A community that embraces the process, adapts to change and evolves to achieve what once seemed unachievable.
A community that works together and finds a way.
Every successful project needs a vision. A vision is a compass, guiding a project on a long journey. But it’s the cooperative effort, resilience and shared belief of a community that keeps it moving forward.
The Biggest Takeaway of All
The most important lesson is: no doors are closed.
This year has reminded us that visions come in all shapes and sizes, in communities large and small, to benefit everyone, from early learners to life-long learners.
Projects that were once too expensive, too complex or would have taken too long are now achievable with modular construction.
Modular moves projects forward.
Modular technology continues to advance, pushing boundaries and removing barriers to help school districts and communities create one-of-a-kind buildings that can meet needs faster and more economically than ever before.
Every building starts with a vision of what could be. But in the end, it’s that find-a-way mentality that makes the vision a reality—the flexibility to adapt, evolve and grow a vision to become everything we thought possible… and more.
That’s where AMS can help. Our AMS Team partners with you to guide your vision from a concept to a completed project.
Our full range of quality building solutions can be customized to your individual project needs, goals and resources. We’ll help you balance the big picture with the everyday details, managing budget, schedule, specs and priorities to create the building you want with the resources you have.
We’ll help you find your building, then find a way to make your vision attainable.
The Promise and Possibilities of 2025
While the end of the year is a time of reflection; it’s also a time to look forward. Envisioning the year ahead is always exciting, imagining what projects will unfold, the new kinds of buildings we’ll build and what they’ll mean to the communities that make them possible.
In 2025, we’ll be midway through a transformative decade. Where will 2025 take us and what transformation lies ahead?
How will schools evolve to meet the changing needs of students, teachers and communities?
How will modular buildings continue to shape education and impact academic success?
What we know is, we’re ready for the challenge—the lessons we’ll learn and the growth they’ll bring. With challenges come the opportunity to innovate—to elevate, evolve and improve what we do now so we can do it even better in the future.
We all have the power to make a difference—to create meaningful change and make a positive impact in our communities.
It starts with a vision—and our vision for 2025 builds on the opportunities 2024 gave us.
Our vision is to build things that matter—relationships that last, connections that grow stronger and schools that set a higher standard. Schools that improve lives, empower success and pave a better path for future generations.
To use our experience, knowledge and creative spirit to better serve our communities, bring value to our educational infrastructure and be mindful of the environment for the benefit of all.
To go beyond what we have to do to do what we can do—innovate forward to create next-level buildings that continue to push boundaries and open new doors.
To be the change we want to see.
Happy New Year from all of us at AMS!
Have a vision? Let’s bring it to life! Partner with us.