Page 62 - Green Builder May-June 2018 Issue

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SMART CITIES CREDIT: KANTERRA

In With the New

It’s not easy to introduce updated concepts to the building industry, but some are making it happen.

At the end of the forum, Ray Levitt, a Stanford engineering
This is the fourth in a series of articles about the increasing interest professor with significant industry experience, expressed concerns.
in—and necessity for—smart homes, villages, cities and communities Levitt noted that there have been a number of attempts in the U.S.
globally, and how they relate to green building in the U.S. over the years to introduce forms of industrialized construction of
houses, housing and building, such as the Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD)’s Operation Breakthrough in the
BY TERRY BEAUBOIS
1970s. Levitt wondered if the lessons from those efforts were being
N JANUARY, I spoke at the Green Builder symposium and then adequately considered and addressed.
attended the International IBS/NAHB/NKB show. What struck In addition to Operation Breakthrough, my own familiarity with
me is how wonderful and diverse the building industry is—and “Industrialized Construction” goes back to my days in architecture
yet how separated into silos we still are. With a few exceptions, school when we studied Konrad Wachsmann.
I such as the larger product manufacturers exhibiting at IBS, we But there are now mounting economic and environmental
do not share information among architects, designers, engineers and pressures on the building industry to perform more efficiently and
general contractors, let alone home and building owners. A home effectively, to find time and cost savings, and to embrace a new model
show I attended in San Jose in February confirmed that thought: of construction that includes forms of pre-built structures as a way
Few manufacturers, builders and remodeling companies were there to more efficiently develop, design and construct buildings.
to share information with homeowners.
The reason for mentioning this siloing is because it is key in THE CASE FOR KATERRA
addressing how to create increasing efficiency and effectiveness in One company leading the way is the construction technology
the building industry. In studies of all the major industries covering company Katerra, which in January received $865 million in research
the past 50 years, the building industry has experienced the least and development financing.
increase in efficiency and effectiveness in the past 20 to 50 years I’ve seen a few different descriptions of Katerra, one being a
compared to most other industries. “technology-driven off-site construction company.” But I found it
We are not going to improve the industry without improving to be much more than that. The company was founded by Michael
the ease with which we can share information, and refining our Marks, former CEO of Flextronics and former Tesla interim CEO,
methods of construction. The path to “better-faster-cheaper” in the and Fritz Wolff, executive chairman of The Wolff Co. The latter is
building industry will include improvements to our processes—not a “fully integrated real estate private equity firm that is focused on
by “digging holes faster” or working faster, but by working smarter the multifamily sector.”
and increasing collaboration across the industry.
This isn’t a factor in the building industry alone. In academia, some
college students have also seen “more division than unity between the
different academic disciplines on campus,” and some are beginning to
build communities for interdisciplinary education between the arts,
sciences and engineering, and to change the campus culture. More
programs of interdisciplinary studies and programs are in existence
than in the past, and we are likely to see this trend continue.

IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED...
There are efforts going on now to change the old ways of creating
buildings across all building types. In February of this year, CIFE at
Stanford University had an Industrialized Construction Forum, “The CREDIT: KATERRA
Future of Housing Innovation,” a superb presentation of a variety
of building approaches. The companies presenting included Acre Learning curve. Employees at Katerra do more than simply construct or
Designs, RAD, Urban Sidewalk Labs, Social Construct, Katerra, Clark supervise new projects. They also stay up to date on the company’s
Pacific, PassiveDom, Project Frog and BONE Structure. ever-evolving green strategies.

60 GREEN BUILDER May/June 2018 www.greenbuildermedia.com

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