Conceptual Design and Key Design Considerations for a Relocatable Modular Box-Unit–Space-Grid Gymnasium

With the advantages of high construction efficiency and design flexibility, modular buildings are now widely used in school and hotel construction fields. However, systematic design methods for relocatable modular gymnasiums combining modular box units with large-span roof structures remain limited. To expand the application scope of modular buildings, this paper proposes a novel structural system of modular box unit–grid combination gymnasium based on modular building technology. This system can realize the rapid assembly construction, dismantling, and reassembly of the gymnasium, and can potentially be deployed on temporarily vacant urban land subject to planning permissions, regulatory approvals, and site-specific conditions, thereby offering a possible solution to meet people’s fitness needs. First, the design concept of the novel combined gymnasium is introduced. Then, the calculation formula of modularized box unit wall design is obtained according to the principles of natural ventilation and thermal design of the building, which helps to adjust the wall when the gymnasium is relocated and facilitates the passive ventilation and solar shading of the building. Subsequently, the critical structural design scheme of the novel modular gymnasium is given. In addition, an introduction to the case study is also provided. Finally, the novel modular gymnasium building design proposal is obtained. The feasibility of the proposed design is further discussed with reference to existing experimental and numerical studies. However, full-scale repeated assembly tests, long-term durability evaluation, and year-round dynamic validation of natural ventilation are beyond the scope of the present study. The proposed system provides a preliminary design framework for relocatable modular gymnasiums and offers a potential solution for temporary gymnasium construction under appropriate planning, regulatory, and site-specific conditions.