Page 58 - Green Builder July-August 2018 Issue
P. 58
Building
Building
Innov
Innovative Solutions for High-Performance Homesative Solutions for High-Performance Homes
Time-Saving Tech
These new building trends may make future construction projects greener,
cheaper and faster to complete.
BY TODD IMMING
ONSTRUCTION HAS THRIVED ON INNOVATION
and technological breakthroughs for millennia. Now is
no dierent. Firms that embrace today’s cutting-edge
technology and techniques can shorten project timelines,
C cut construction costs and promote a cleaner, more
sustainable industry.
The search for e
ciency in terms of labor, materials and timelines
has come with the territory in the construction industry—from the
moment someone rst made a brick out of mud and then wondered
if there was a better way.
We’re way beyond that now, but the spirit remains the same.
How can we speed up construction? What materials can we develop
that make structures stronger? How can we incorporate increased
sustainability into the work we do? How can we use the virtual
world to our advantage?
Here are some of the trends we’re seeing that are making a big
impact on the industry.
Prefabrication
Building things elsewhere prior to their installation on a project CREDIT: SOLAR ROADWAYS
site isn’t necessarily new, but it’s come a long way and is gaining in
popularity as pressure ratchets up on project budgets and timelines.
You see this happening most on structures designed to contain Rising sun (power). Solar panels, a common sight on rooftops and an
repetitive elements. The technique has a few big advantages: up-and-coming technology for roads, could one day turn an entire house
Building features in a factory before on-site assembly keeps more into a renewable energy source for the local power grid.
of the job out of the elements that could delay construction. abandon. The maturation of technology that allows electric vehicles
With external conditions well controlled, fewer workers are to charge up while in contact with solar roads sweetens the pot.
needed to build prefabricated parts compared to what would be But this technology isn’t just about rights of way. Roof-mounted
needed on site. solar panels are great—but if an entire structure can also generate
It’s safer to build these components prior to assembly, as workers electricity, that much more clean, free energy is pumped into the
aren’t needed in dangerous positions or conditions. grid. Solar-capable building materials may put the enterprising y
Fewer workers are needed on site, because assembly is much ash brick makers out of business, but they may also help end our
easier than building piece by piece from the bottom up. reliance on fossil fuels for power generation.
Expect to see more projects utilize prefabrication techniques—
especially those on strict deadlines with tight budgets. Building information modeling (BIM)
BIM has also been around a few years, but the technology improved
Entire homes built with durable PV panels to the point where contractors and owners are nding it extremely
Pilot programs underway throughout the world show that roads useful.
made of extra-tough solar panels can work. The technology is In fact, BIM is required as a cost- and time-saving element of all
expensive and has yet to be perfected, but the potential benets of government-funded structures in the United Kingdom. It’s against
dual-use materials such as solar roads have proved too attractive to the law there not to utilize BIM.
56 GREEN BUILDER July/August 2018 www.greenbuildermedia.com
56-57 GB 0718 Building Science.indd 56 8/6/18 10:24 PM
