The reality of an expedited schedule and lower costs has made offsite construction a valued building solution for decades. With curiosity about this process at an all-time high as developers turn to the method with growing enthusiasm, the Modular Building Institute and Pratt Institute School of Architecture will co-host a Modular Construction Summit on May 16, 2013, in Brooklyn, N.Y., to separate modular myths from truth.
Do modular buildings last as long as stick built? Are they environmentally sustainable? Can they be as attractive as their traditionally built counterparts? While the answer to all of these questions is yes, the summit will provide an opportunity for people to find out exactly why – and get answers on many more issues.
The event will feature two morning sessions with panels of high-profile architects and builders, as well as the Commissioner for the NYC Department of Design and Construction. In the afternoon, attendees can tour the factory of Capsys Corporation, the modular builder for the My Micro NY project – a 10-story Manhattan apartment building slated for occupancy in 2015.
Tom Hanrahan, Dean of Pratt Institute School of Architecture, will moderate the first morning session, “Permanent Modular Construction for Multi-family Applications.” Confirmed speakers include James Garrison, sustainable design pioneer and architect with Garrison Architects; Ian Peter Atkins, BIM Application Manager for architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates; and Tom O’Hara, Director of Business Development at Capsys Corporation.
The second panel, moderated by Modular Building Institute Executive Director Tom Hardiman, will focus on “Modular Solutions for Disaster Relief and Emergency Housing.” The confirmed speakers are David Burney, Commissioner, NYC DCC; William Begley, Director, Modular Housing and Hotels, Sea Box Inc.; and Douglas Cutler, architect with Douglas Cutler Architects.
Open to the general public, the event will take place at Pratt Institute, Higgins Hall Auditorium at 61 St. James Place in Brooklyn, from 8:00 a.m. to noon, with the factory tour from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Registration is $25 before May 10, and $35 thereafter. To register, please visit the MBI website. The summit is sponsored by Capsys Corporation, DeLuxe Building Systems and NRB.
About MBI
The Modular Building Institute is the international nonprofit trade association that has served the modular construction industry for 30 years. Members are suppliers, manufacturers and contractors involved in all aspects of modular projects -- from complex multistory solutions to temporary accommodations. As the voice of commercial modular construction, MBI expands the use of offsite construction through innovative construction practices, outreach, education to the construction community and customers, and recognition of high-quality modular designs and facilities. For more information on modular construction, visit http://www.modular.org.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Study explains the financial value of green commercial buildings
Green building may be booming, especially in the Northwest, but the claims made for high-performance buildings have been slow to gain traction in the financial community. Appraisers, lenders, investors and brokers have found it difficult to confirm the value of high-performance green features and related savings. A new study of office buildings identifies how high-performance green features and systems can increase the value of commercial buildings.
| Aug 11, 2010
VA San Diego Healthcare System Building 1 Seismic Correction
San Diego, Calif.
Three decades after its original construction in the early 1970s, the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System Building 1 fell far short of current seismic codes. This not only put the building and its occupants—patients, doctors, nurses, visitors, and administrative staff—at risk in the event of a major earthquake, it violated a California state mandate requiring all hospitals to either retrofit or rebuild.
| Aug 11, 2010
Green Building Initiative launches two certification programs for green building professionals
The Green Building Initiative® (GBI), one of the nation’s leading green building organizations and exclusive provider of the Green Globes green building certification in the United States, today announced the availability of two new personnel certification programs for green building practitioners: Green Globes Professional (GGP) and Green Globes Assessor (GGA).
| Aug 11, 2010
29 Great Solutions for the AEC Industry
AEC firms are hotbeds of invention and innovation to meet client needs in today's highly competitive environment. The editors of Building Design+Construction are pleased to present 29 "Great Solutions" to some of the most complex problems and issues facing Building Teams today. Our solutions cover eight key areas: Design, BIM + IT, Collaboration, Healthcare, Products, Technology, Business Management, and Green Building.
| Aug 11, 2010
International Living Building Institute established to advance 'living buildings'
The idea of a Living Building, a high-performance building that produces its own power and cleans and reuses all of its water, is gaining momentum around the world. In an effort to oversee the global development of Living Buildings, the International Living Building Institute (ILBI) has been established.
| Aug 11, 2010
ASHRAE research targets tying together BIM and energy efficiency
Ensuring that a common language of “energy efficiency” is spoken by both building information modeling software used by architects and energy analysis and simulation software used by engineers is the goal of new research funded by ASHRAE.
