Welcome to the final in a series of three articles focused on how integration - combining products, processes and vocational expertise - is helping designers and builders create higher quality structures more efficiently. In our third article, we'll focus on how pioneering companies are bringing multiple aspects of the construction process together with factory innovation to help offsite construction continue its tremendous growth.
Get ready for the new normal. High tech has met construction, and the marriage has investors salivating, venture capital firms swooning, and offsite construction taking
Michael Mark, Katerra recently told CNBC, "Look, we're doing what Silicon Valley does best, which is bringing technology into a very large market, and in a lot of
While companies like Katerra are serving as one-stop shops, firmly established tech giants like Amazon are also getting into the now lucrative offsite construction game. The company's Alexa Fund made its first foray into prefabrication investing in the housing sector. And now, Amazon customers can even order a complete modular hospital room.4
Catalysts Driving Off-Site Adoption
So, what's causing offsite construction to move from limited use into the mainstream? Pressure. Let's start with
Sheltering both the project components and the workers constructing them in a factory also eliminates weather-induced scheduling delays, helping ensure production deadlines are consistently met. It pulls
But while carrying legacy processes into the factory will certainly provide efficiency, how much more can be achieved by incorporating products that already consolidate processes? Some building products manufacturers, such as Georgia-Pacific, are responding to the efficiency challenge that prefabrication has thrown down.
"We understand that combining an efficient product with the efficiency of prefabrication multiplies its benefits," says Senior Product Manager John Chamberlin. "DensElement® Barrier System, our integrated sheathing system, is perfectly suited for prefabrication projects. It saves a complete step in the installation process, allowing for higher factory output and optimization of
By filling microscopic voids in the glass mat and gypsum core via AquaKor™ Technology, a hydrophobic, monolithic surface is created that blocks bulk water while retaining
Everyone in the Process Chain Benefits
With the ability to accelerate the construction schedule, offsite construction projects can be delivered sooner, which lowers operating costs and allows the building owner to generate revenue more quickly than traditional construction methods.
The adoption of offsite construction is extending to general contractors as well. For example, in July 2018, Skender announced the creation of their new advanced manufacturing facility in Chicago.6
"By designing, manufacturing and constructing modular buildings and building components," says CEO Mark Skender, "we can centralize and stabilize
In the controlled factory environment, construction is completed with more precision, for example in joint construction and air flow management. It offers uniformity in process and consistency in crew skill levels versus onsite construction. This means architects' designs can be accurately followed and their planned energy efficiency objectives achieved. The ability to recycle at the factory also reduces waste, helping architects meet sustainability goals. Ease of access and comfort means their "site visits" can happen more often. And when new products, components or assembly configurations are utilized, testing is easier outside of weather's reach, so the frequency of their visits throughout construction can increase, helping ensure that performance matches expectations.
One Wonderful Disruptive Jolt
The confluence of the
The big boom is on. Can you hear it?