Steel-framed schools in Colombia: schedules, NSR-10, and phased work

Scope of this guide. Published costs, savings and schedules are indicative examples, not a project quotation or guarantee. Compare the same location, specification and scope. Structural supply, civil works, building services, finishes and logistics must be confirmed separately; permit and engineering requirements depend on the site.

SmartBrix Construction builds schools and universities in Colombia with cold-formed steel (CFS) framing, also called light-gauge steel (LGS), designed to NSR-10, Colombia’s seismic building code. A steel-framed education building typically takes 3–5 months from foundations, and the work is phased and dry-assembled so the campus stays open. PEB Corp Group projects executed by SmartBrix Construction include Universidad del Rosario: 11,500 m² (about 123,800 sq ft) in 100 days (Mutis and Norte campuses, Bogotá).

This guide is for school heads and university presidents, infrastructure directors, local education authorities (secretarías de educación), and private school developers in Colombia. It covers when steel framing fits and when modular classrooms fit better, how to build on an occupied campus, which codes apply, and what to send to get a comparable proposal.

Why education buyers are moving to dry construction

School construction runs on two hard constraints: a fixed academic calendar and a campus that cannot close. The calendar leaves short work windows (holiday breaks, semester breaks, and weekends), and every week of delay means classrooms that do not open on time or seats that cannot be offered for enrollment.

Cold-formed steel framing changes the construction sequence. While foundations go in on site, the members are fabricated in parallel at the group’s CNC plant, operated by NewCon Steel® at Centro Industrial PEB, Las Mañanitas, Panama City, in Zn-Al-Mg 275 g/m² steel (0.90 oz/ft² total coating, both sides) with a ±0.5 mm (±0.02 in) fabrication tolerance. On site, the work is dry assembly: no curing time, less noise, and up to 30% less construction waste. Shifting work from the site to the plant makes the process up to 90% faster than traditional construction.

Public programs point the same way. In a press release dated April 1, 2026, Colombia’s Ministry of National Education reported that its school infrastructure fund, the Fondo de Financiamiento de la Infraestructura Educativa (FFIE), is executing 62 projects in steel framing, is building more than 30,000 m² (about 323,000 sq ft) with the system, and expects to deliver more than 900 learning spaces. The ministry also stated that, as a dry system, steel framing cuts water use by up to 90% compared with conventional construction. These figures belong to the FFIE program and do not describe SmartBrix projects; they show the system is already in use in Colombia’s public school infrastructure.

Steel framing, modular classrooms, or concrete: a comparison

SmartBrix uses two systems for education: permanent steel-framed buildings and relocatable prefabricated modular classrooms. The table compares both with traditional reinforced concrete and masonry, the usual point of comparison.

Sources for the first two columns: SmartBrix’s steel framing and modular construction pages. The third column describes general traits of the traditional system and cites no figures.

The rule of thumb is simple. If the building is permanent (classroom blocks, libraries, laboratories, or auditoriums), steel framing is the fit. If the need is temporary, urgent, or may move to another campus, such as extra seats while the permanent building goes up, modular classrooms solve the schedule and can later be dismantled and relocated. Both systems can share one campus master plan.

Building in phases on an occupied campus

Phasing is the decision that best protects the school year. Each zone is isolated and built while the rest of the campus runs normally, and each phase is handed over before the next one opens. Because the structure arrives fabricated and is dry-assembled, time on campus comes down to erection, utility connections, and finishes.

A phasing plan that works usually follows this sequence:

1. Calendar first. Map the academic year’s work windows (holiday breaks, semester breaks, and weekends) and the date each classroom must be in use.
2. Self-contained phases. Give each phase its own site access, enclosure, and utility tie-ins, so it does not depend on the next one.
3. Parallel fabrication. While foundations are poured, the members are fabricated at the plant and arrive cut, punched, and labeled.
4. Isolated dry assembly. Separate the work zone from student and staff routes; erection does not wait for concrete to cure.
5. Phase-by-phase handover. Connect utilities, complete finishes, and hand over each phase with its documentation before releasing the next work area.

One portfolio example of phased work is Colegio Bilingüe in Panama City: 1,100 m² (about 11,800 sq ft) built in 8 phases over 3 months without interrupting classes. It shows that an operating school can grow in stages without suspending instruction.

Codes: NSR-10, RETIE, and NTC 4595

A steel-framed school is not governed by a separate code; it is designed under the same regulations as any education building in Colombia. These are the code references for a school in Colombia:

• NSR-10 (Reglamento Colombiano de Construcción Sismo Resistente). Colombia’s seismic building code places schools and universities in Use Group III (community-service buildings), with an importance factor of 1.25, which raises seismic design forces compared with a normal-occupancy building. Each structure is calculated for the seismic hazard zone of its municipality (low, intermediate, or high). Title F covers metal structures, and its Chapter F.4 covers steel structures built with cold-formed sheet-steel members.
• AISI S100-16 (R2020). The North American specification for the design of cold-formed steel structural members, used to size the framing members.
• RETIE. Colombia’s technical regulation for electrical installations, applied to the electrical systems of every project in the country.
• NTC 4595:2025. The Colombian technical standard (ICONTEC) for planning and designing school facilities and learning spaces, available on the Ministry of National Education’s website. It guides the architectural program: types of learning spaces, dimensions and capacities, accessibility, and safety.

Documentation for the building permit (licencia de construcción), filed with the curaduría urbana (Colombia’s local building-permit authority), is part of the turnkey scope; in Panama, the same method applies under REP-2021. NSR-10 also sets fire protection requirements (Title J) and complementary occupancy and egress requirements (Title K), which the architectural and engineering designs address together.

One clarification for tender documents: buildings are designed and checked to a code, not “certified” to it. The ISO 9001, 14001, 45001, and 37001 certifications are PEB Corp Group certifications and cover its management systems.

Verifiable evidence: four education projects

SmartBrix publishes its education projects with area, schedule, and city. They are PEB Corp Group projects executed by SmartBrix Construction, three in Colombia and one in Panama:

A reference project’s area and delivery period describe that case; they do not guarantee another building’s schedule. Full entries are in the project portfolio and on the education sector page. PEB Corp also publishes a case study of the Universidad del Rosario campus, including how engineering and erection were split within the group.

Read these cases for scale: the published education portfolio ranges from 1,100 m² to 11,500 m², and the largest project was delivered in 100 days. If your project falls within that range, SmartBrix can walk you through the closest comparable case; the actual schedule depends on area, design, location, and the calendar windows available.

How to prepare the program and quantities

SmartBrix does not publish a price per m² for schools. The cost of an education building depends on its architectural program: number of classrooms, laboratories, common areas, finishes, furniture and equipment, and building systems. Each school is therefore quoted with an itemized proposal, and the quality of that proposal depends on the information you send. Include the following:

• Space program: number of classrooms and seats per classroom, laboratories, library, restrooms, administrative areas, and common spaces, ideally aligned with NTC 4595:2025.
• Site and location: municipality, address or coordinates, topographic survey, and geotechnical report, if available.
• Campus status: whether work happens on a vacant lot or inside an operating campus, with the routes and hours that must stay unaffected.
• Calendar: the date classrooms must be in use and the windows available for construction.
• Scope level: core and shell, finished interiors, or a complete turnkey building with furniture and equipment, so that proposals are compared on the same scope.
• Existing designs: architectural or engineering drawings, if any.

If your institution already has a contractor and only needs the steel, NewCon Steel® supplies cold-formed profiles and pre-assembled structural panels; erection is then the responsibility of the contractor the buyer appoints. For a finished building, with design, fabrication, logistics, sitework, and construction under one contract, talk to SmartBrix Construction.

For more technical background, PEB Corp publishes a comparison of industrialized and traditional construction and a guide to foundations for steel buildings, useful when planning the sitework.

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Reply within 24 business hours · technical proposal / quote in 48 h. For projects in Colombia, see SmartBrix in Colombia and the FAQ on scope, schedules, and group roles.