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Modular Advantage | 5.06
The Modularadvantage newsletter is a service of the Modular Building Institute: The Voice of Commercial Modular Construction.

Portable Classroom Design Challenge: The Crossroads of Modular Classrooms and Sustainable Design

Orlando Sentinel Opinion: Modular Buildings are Permanent Solutions by MBI member Atex Distributing

Article Highlight: Parents Prefer Modular Classrooms

Government Markets Expanding for Modular Construction

Gulf Coast Shifts Focus to Rebuilding

MBI Offers Portables Toolkit

James Lee Witt to be Keynote Speaker at the 2006 Government and Military Construction Conference

Read MBI News

Portable Classroom Design Challenge: The Crossroads of Modular Classrooms and Sustainable Design

Montgomery County, MD schools are leading the nation in seeking environmentally friendly classroom designs for energy savings in their schools. To aid in their initiatives, they co-sponsored the Portable Classroom Design Challenge to review energy-efficient and sustainable classroom designs.

On April 24, 2006, Tom Hardiman, MBI's executive director provided an opening address at the High Performance Schools Symposium in Washington, DC where the winners of the Portable Classroom Design Challenge were announced. Several Modular Building Institute members submitted designs to the contest which was also sponsored by the Council for Educational Facility Planners and the Emerging Green Builders of the US Green Building Council.
read the article here

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Orlando Sentinel Opinion: Modular Buildings are Permanent Solutions by MBI member Atex Distributing

This opinion piece was written by Kristen Bartch, chief financial officer of Atex Distributing an MBI member since 1994. The piece was posted by the Orlando Sentinel on May 21, 2006. You can also view the article from our In the News page.

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Article Highlight: Parents Prefer Modular Classrooms

As one school district in Massachusetts grapples with overcrowding, read how the parents respond to the situation in an article written by Mike Gaffney for the Saugus Advertiser. You can also view the article from our In the News page.

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Government Markets Expanding for Modular Construction

During the past few years, several federal and state agencies have begun to utilize modular construction applications for multi-million dollar facilities. Leading the way, the U.S. Army's military agencies have contracted with modular companies on a number of projects including work at Ft. Campbell, Ft. Bliss, and a 230,000 square foot material command center completed by Comark Building Systems.
read the article here

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Gulf Coast Shifts Focus to Rebuilding

The commercial modular industry was instrumental in getting gulf coast residents back on their feet following the 2005 hurricane season, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers responsible for installing nearly 500 portable classrooms and 230 temporary office spaces for public entities. Additionally, many MBI members donated space and other items to charities assisting Katrina victims.

But the focus now shifts to rebuilding the Gulf Coast.
read the article here

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MBI Offers Portables Toolkit

MBI has created its own toolkit of materials to help provide information about the purchase process. The toolkit specifically covers the 5 C's for planning an optimal learning environment with a temporary building that has already been built to code:

>CONSIDER your responsibility
>CHOOSE wisely
>COORDINATE for success
>CONTINUE proper maintenance
>COMMUNICATE before and after

You can download a pdf of the toolkit that will continue to be posted on modular.org.

In addition to providing this toolkit to MBI members, it is being made available to any parent, teacher, school district administrator, or facility planner that would like to use it in preparing to purchase or lease portable classrooms.

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James Lee Witt to be Keynote Speaker at the 2006 Government and Military Construction Conference

MBI's 2006 Government & Military Construction Conference is the most substantial and impressive industry gathering of agencies and officials ever. This year features keynote speaker James Lee Witt. The conference will be held June 21-23, 2006 in Washington, DC.

About the keynote speaker: James Lee Witt has been at the forefront of emergency management for over 25 years. As director from 1993-2001, Witt led FEMA through more than 348 Presidential-declared disasters in more than 6,500 counties in all 50 states. In 1996, Witt became the first FEMA head to be elevated to a Cabinet position. Currently, as president of James Lee Witt Associates, Witt provides local governments, corporations, hospitals, universities, and other non-profit organizations with innovative disaster mitigation solutions and recovery services. Just released, his book, Stronger in the Broken Places: Ten Lessons for Turning Crisis into Triumph, is based on a common-sense approach to government and first-hand experience dealing with disasters.

Space is limited! Register today at modular.org.

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Read MBI News

>> Modular Building Industry Sweeps Portable Classroom Design Challenge

>> Jeff Deutschendorf Assumes Presidency of Modular Building Institute

>> Construction leaders recognize peers for best commercial modular buildings

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Modularadvantage: eNews is the official publication of the Modular Building Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia. MBI is the international trade association for commercial modular construction. eNews is free-of-charge, published bi-monthly and goes to members and permissioned subscribers. Issues in 2006 will be sent in March, May, July, September, and November.

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Modularadvantage is a service of the Modular Building Institute (MBI). MBI is the international trade association that represents the commercial modular construction industry.

(c) 2006 Modular Building Institute. All rights reserved. All products are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners

Modular Buildings are Permanent Solutions is written by Kristen Bartch and was included herein with her express permission. Opinion piece copyright Orlando Sentinel, all rights reserved. This piece cannot be reprinted in any form without express permission from the Orlando Sentinel.

Parents Prefer Modular Classrooms was reprinted upon permission of the Saugus Advertiser, A Community Newspaper Company. It is copyright Saugus Advertiser, all rights reserved. This piece cannot be reprinted in any form without express permission from the Saugus Advertiser.