Podcasts about prefab

Does innovation always mean groundbreaking new tech, or can it also mean simple, steady improvements to the way you work? Live from Advancing Prefab 2025, Todd Weyandt sits down with Jason Van Nest to talk about the importance of standardization in prefab construction, the balance between innovation and practical solutions, and the necessity of stakeholder buy-in for successful standards. Looking to the future, Jason emphasizes the need for configured solutions in construction and the power of collaboration to drive change in the industry. Main takeaways:

Is prefabrication all about efficiency, or is it also revolutionizing the way we build? In this episode, Todd Weyandt sits down with Michael Quillen, a seasoned expert in electrical prefab to explore the changing landscape of workforce development, automation, and the future of modular construction. Michael shares his journey from being a 17-year-old apprentice to becoming a leader in prefab design, emphasizing the importance of engaging young talent and breaking industry stigmas. He reveals how his team's innovative approach—focusing on field collaboration, hiring forward-thinking professionals, and embracing automation—has revolutionized efficiency in construction. Key takeaways include:

How can the construction industry break free from traditional constraints and truly innovate? In this episode, live from Advancing Prefab 2025, Harriet Ingham of Holmes Solutions joins Todd Weyandt to explore how offsite construction and AI-driven workflows are changing the game.   Key takeaways:

In another episode of Bridging the Gap live from Advancing Prefab 2025, Todd Weyandt sits down with Jenny Kronish, insurance industry professional and former athlete, to discuss how team dynamics shape success in construction. Drawing from her athletic background, Jenny shares how skills like collaboration, communication, and role awareness translate into building stronger, more resilient teams in the AEC industry. She also dives into:

Are prefab ADUs the key to unlocking new streams of real estate income? In this episode of The Rich Somers Report, Rich sits down with Andrew Greer to discuss how investors are using prefabricated accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to maximize their properties, scale rental income, and build long-term wealth.Rich and Andrew dive into:How prefab ADUs can be installed quickly and generate high cash flowWhy ADUs are one of the best solutions for affordable housing and rental demandThe step-by-step process of adding an ADU to your propertyHow to finance and permit ADUs, plus key zoning laws to knowWhy California's ADU-friendly policies are creating massive opportunities for investorsAndrew shares real-world case studies and strategies from his own projects, breaking down how investors can leverage ADUs for long-term passive income and portfolio growth. Whether you're a seasoned investor or looking to maximize the value of your property, this episode provides actionable insights to help you get started.For limited investment opportunities with Somers Capital: www.somerscapital.com/invest. Ready to take your investing to the next level? Join our Boutique Hotel Mastermind Community. Join a free strategy call with our team: www.hotelinvesting.com. If you're committed to scaling your personal brand and achieving 7-figure success, it's time to level up with the 7 Figure Creator Mastermind Community. Book your exclusive intro call today at www.the7figurecreator.com and gain access to the strategies that will accelerate your growth.

In this episode of Bridging the Gap, live from Advancing Prefab 2025, Todd sits down with Dr. Andrew Rener to discuss the evolution of prefabrication in construction, the misconceptions that hold the industry back, and the shifts needed to drive true collaboration. From breaking away from outdated procurement cycles to fostering real partnerships between owners and contractors, Andrew shares how technology, mindset shifts, and better communication can revolutionize project outcomes. Plus, this conversation dives into the genius simplicity of a single question that could transform industry relationships.

In this episode, straight from Advancing Prefabrication 2025, Todd welcomes back Amy Marks, the Queen of Prefab, for an insightful discussion on the evolving landscape of industrialized construction. Amy shares how prefabrication is becoming the norm, the critical role of strategic partnerships, and why culture fit is key to success in the industry.

In this episode, we speak with Toby Long, architect at Clever Homes, about the complexities and considerations of building prefab homes in mountain areas, specifically ski towns. Topics discussed include site diligence, the rising difficulty and costs of mountain construction, the benefits of prefab and modular construction in these environments, and practical advice for managing snow loads, landscaping, off-grid solutions, and material choices. Toby also shares insights into specific project examples and key differences between modular and traditional site construction in these unique settings.

Send us a textIn this episode: Christi Powell and Angela Gardner welcome Sneha Kumari, a modular and prefab construction pioneer. Sneha shares her journey from manufacturing and supply chain to becoming a leading figure in the construction industry. She discusses the importance of incorporating technology, like AI, in construction and highlights the unique challenges and opportunities for women in the field. Sneha offers valuable insights into the need for leadership development, mentorship, and inclusivity, emphasizing the importance of self-assurance and leveraging existing skills. Listen to how Sneha's company, Merlin AI, aims to revolutionize the industry by combining tech and domain expertise. Thanks for listening!Support the show

In this episode, host Michael Frank is joined by Toby Long, architect at Clever Homes, to discuss the intricacies of prefabricated construction and fire rebuilds. The discussion aims to demystify the prefab industry, address common questions, and provide valuable insights for those affected by recent fires in California. They delve into Toby's extensive experience, touching on site preparation, permitting, design, construction timelines, and cost considerations. The episode also provides actionable advice for homeowners navigating the rebuilding process, emphasizing the importance of choosing the right construction method—whether stick-built, modular, or panelized.

This episode explores how Prefab enhances deployment workflows by integrating feature flags with Java microservices and Ruby on Rails, drawing on Jeff's experiences at HubSpot and EasyCater. We discuss strategies for minimizing deployment risks, improving PR reviews, and mentoring junior developers through clear objectives and constructive feedback. Real-world examples and practical advice offer insights into building efficient development systems and fostering growth in engineering teams.Links:- Prefab- Jeff Dwyer on LinkedIn

It's the final Faceoff for 2024 - so who better than two Wellington broadcasting legends to dissect the news of the year? It's been a huge year in politics - and much of it has centered on Wellington. How has both the government and the opposition performed, and who is the stand-out political performer of the year? Also, Wellington City Council and Mayor Tory Whanau have had their fair share of headlines this year. Has this been embarrassing for the capital - and will next year be any better? Also, whats been the highlight of the year in Wellington? Two answer those questions, legendary broadcasters Mark Sainsbury and Polly Gillespie joined Nick Mills for the final Friday Faceoff, live from Prefab Cafe in Wellington's CBD. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nate and Carolyn Whitzman talk about her recent book Home Truths, Canada's housing needs, and different historical and international approaches that should inform how we build market, non-market, and supportive housing. Carolyn is a housing and social policy researcher, an expert advisor to UBC's Housing Assessment Resource Tools, and a senior housing researcher at U of T's School of Cities. She is also the author of Home Truths, Fixing Canada's Housing Crisis.How many homes do we need to build? How should we go about building them? And who should we be serving?Chapters:00:00 Introduction to Housing Crisis in Canada01:52 Understanding Housing Needs Assessments05:14 Historical Context of Housing in Canada09:09 Long-Term Solutions for Housing16:10 Market vs. Non-Market Housing22:24 Addressing NIMBYism and Zoning Reform27:39 International Examples of Non-Market Housing34:53 Financing Non-Market Housing39:56 Protecting Renters and Tenant Rights41:21 Addressing Homelessness with Compassion46:39 Conclusion and Future DirectionsTranscript:Nate:Welcome to Uncommons. I'm Nate Erskine-Smith. For those of you who are tuning in more recently, I'm the Member of Parliament for Beaches-East York. And this Uncommons podcast is a series of interviews with experts in their respective fields with colleagues of mine in parliament really focused on Canadian politics and policy in relation to that politics.And today I'm joined by Carolyn Whitzman. She is an expert in housing policy, one of the most important issues at all levels of government that need to be addressed in a comprehensive, serious way. You'll hear all politicians sort of trip over themselves with different housing plans.And the question for Carolyn is, how many homes do we need to build? How should we go about building them? And who should we be serving? And how are we going to get out of this housing crisis that this country faces and that all regions face in their own respective ways?Now, Carolyn is a housing and social policy researcher. She's an expert advisor to UBC's housing assessment resource tools. She's a senior housing researcher at U of T's School of Cities. And most importantly, having just read her book, she is the author of Home Truths, Fixing Canada's Housing Crisis.Nate:Carolyn, thanks for joining me.Caroyln:Great to join you, Nate.Nate:So you came highly recommended to me by virtue of Mark Richardson, who's a constituent and an advocate on housing and someone I, you know, anything he says on housing is to be believed.And he's, you know, he highly recommended your book, Home Truths, but he also suggested you as a podcast guest. So I really, really appreciate the time. And much of your work, you know, your main work, other than being an expert in all things housing, but a core expertise that you have is really on the needs assessment in terms of what the housing market in Canada needs in particular in different regions. And there are different needs.There are market needs, there are non-market needs, there's deeply affordable needs for people who are experiencing homelessness.And so how would you break down, you know, if you've got Sean Fraser coming to you and saying, what are the needs assessments? How would you break down the needs assessments on housing in this country?Caroyln:Well, funny you should say that because Sean's office and housing and infrastructure has come to me. So I did some work with a project called the Housing Assessment Resource Tools Project based at UBC that was funded by the CMHC that did what the CMHC used to do and unfortunately no longer does, which is look at housing need by income categories.Canada has been doing that since 1944 during World War II when a report by a relatively conservative economist named Curtis said that for low-income people, probably some form of public housing was going to be necessary to meet their needs.For middle-income people, there needed to be a lot more purpose-built rental housing, he said that in 1944. And he also said in 1944 that there needed to be some way to control rent increases and he suggested cooperative housing. And then for higher-income people, definitely scale up while located home ownership.To some extent the Canadian government listened. Between 1944 and 1960, there were about a million homes enabled through government land financing design replication that were for moderate-income starter households.In those days it was mostly one-earner households, like a man at home and a woman, sorry, a woman at home and a man at work. And the homes were two to three bedrooms between $7,000 and $8,000. So pretty remarkably that's like $80,000 to $90,000 in today's terms.Nate:That would be nice.Carolyn:Yeah, wouldn't it be nice? Once they were sold, they lost our affordability.So since then, and certainly in the 1970s and 1980s when the federal government was building, well again enabling, about one in five homes to be built by public housing, cooperative housing, other non-profit housing, that housing was affordable to what they called low- and moderate-income households, so the lowest two quintiles of household income. Home ownership was easily affordable to moderate in most places and middle-income households.So there's always been some housing needs, but there wasn't widespread homelessness. There wasn't the kinds of craziness that you see today where new rental housing isn't affordable to middle-income earners, where new homeowners are limited to the highest quintile, like the highest 20% of population.So we simply use the same kinds of categories, also the kinds of categories that are used in the U.S. and other countries. Low income, moderate income, median income, and then higher income.Unfortunately with provincial social assistance rates being what they are, we have to add a very low income, which is like 20% of median income, and really isn't enough to afford a room let alone an apartment. But yeah, that's the way we look at housing need.Nate:But then, so let's be maybe, that's at a high level for how we look, how we analyze it,and then when we look at the Canadian context today, so you talk about the Curtis Reportpost-war and on my reading of, I found your historical examples very interesting, internationalexamples interesting too, which we'll get to, but this was one of the most interestingones because here you have the Curtis Report proposing annual targets that you say is effectively the equivalent of 4 million homes over 10 years. But then they break this down into a particular categories.Then you've got, you know, two years ago, two and a bit of years ago, you had CMHC issued a report to say we effectively need 5.8 million homes by 2030. So 2.3 million in business as usual. And then you've got this 3.5 million additional homes required. And that's impossible for us to achieve based upon the current trajectory at all levels of government, frankly, but especially at the provincial level.And so when you look at the needs assessment today, so Curtis Report has 4 million over10 years, what do we need today? Is CMHC right?It's 5.8 million, although they don't break it down into these different categories, or should we be more specific to say, as you do, it's 200,000 new or renovated deeply affordable supportive homes over 10 years, and then you've got different categories for market and non-market.Carolyn:Well, I think it's important to prioritize people whose lives are literally being shortened because of lack of housing. So I think that ending homelessness should be a priority. And there's no doubt that we can't end homelessness without a new generation of low-cost housing.So I wouldn't disagree that we need 6,000 new homes. I did a report last year for the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate that argued that we need 3 million new and acquired homes for low-income people alone at rents of about $1,000 a month or less, certainly less if you're on social assistance.So the deed is pretty large. We have to recognize the fact that it's taken 30 to 50 years of inaction, particularly federal inaction, but also the Fed's downloaded to provinces, and as you say, provinces have done an extremely poor job to get there.And I think that what we see from countries that work, like France and Finland, Austria, is that they think in terms of like 30-year infrastructure categories, just like any other infrastructure. If we were to have a really viable public transit system, we'd need to start thinking in terms of what are we going to do over the next 30 years.Similarly, I think we need to look at a kind of 30-year time span when it comes to housing, and I think we need to look once again at that rule of thirds, which is a rule that's used in a lot of, in Germany and again in France and Finland, Denmark, about a third of it needs to be pretty deeply affordable low-income housing, about a third of it needs to be moderate-income rental, but with renter rights to ensure that the rents don't go up precipitously, and about a third of it needs to be for home ownership.Nate:You mentioned a 30-year window a few times there, and it strikes me that we need more honesty in our politics in that there's no quick solution to most of these challenges. That it's, you know, in your telling of the story, which I think is exactly right, this is decades in the making, and it will be decades in undoing this challenge and in addressing this as fulsome as we should.Now, that's not to say, you're right, we should prioritize people whose lives are being shortened by a lack of housing. There's some things we can do immediately to get more rapid housing built and really drive at that in a shorter window of time.But when you look at non-market housing, when you look at the market housing we need to build, no politician should stand at the microphone and say, we're going to build the homes we need without really overhauling how we do things and understanding that these homes are not going to get built tomorrow, that this is putting down track, policy track, to make sure homes get built in the next five years, in the next 10 years and beyond.Carolyn:Absolutely. And I think it's really important to start off with some aspirational goals. Like, forinstance, it was 1987 when Finland said, we're going to end homelessness, and this is how we're going to do it. France in 2000 said 20% of all housing should be non-market, in other words, public cooperative, non-profit.And in both Finland and France, there's been federal government changes as well as changes at the municipal level, etc. And those goals have remained the same through right wing and left wing governments.It does worry me, Nate, when politicians, I won't name any names, use sort of three word slogans, and that's going to somehow change things in the term of the government.Nate:I will will homes into existence by rhyming.Carolyn:So, you know, it takes building up systems, including good information systems to monitor and track how well we're doing and course correct. And that's something kind of basic that's been missing from federal policy as well.There's one report that says there's 655,000 non-market homes. Another report two years later says that there's 980,000 non-market homes and those weren't built in two years. So, you know, what is our current housing stock? How are our policies working to create certain kinds of housing, housing for people with disabilities or housing for seniors?Student housing need wasn't even included in the last few censuses. So, we don't really know how many students need housing at what cost and where. These are all examples of things that would be in a real national housing strategy.Nate:That seems to me like the basics, right? Like you measure why I want to start theconversation with a needs assessment, because if you don't start with that, then you're not working in a serious direction to any end goal.But I was also struck by your book just and you mentioned a couple of international examples and I'll say again, I want to get there, but I want to start the historical examples because part of us we live in this Overton window and we've had the federal government, not this federal government, but previous federal governments walk away from their responsibilities on housing.As you say, the story is a story of downloading responsibilities. There's been some uploading of responsibilities back through the last two national housing strategies as far as it goes, but we could talk about whether there ought to be more of that even and I think there probably should be more fiscal firepower when I look at the international examples and what's spent in France and Germany and other countries.But I was also struck by the historical ability to build in this country. And this is one thing that jumped out, but I'd also be curious what when you were writing this book, like what really jumped out is you as, so we're building fewer homes now than we were in the mid 1970s when the population was half what it is now. I found that absolutely shocking.I also found it shocking if new home construction had stayed at 1970s levels, we'd have an additional 6 to 7 million homes, meaning we'd be where we should be.Carolyn:Yeah, yeah. So what happened? And I think a couple of things happened. One is, and this happened in a couple of countries. It happened in Sweden too.Sweden said, we'll build a million homes in a country of 8 million, which is pretty impressive. And they did. And then they had a slight surplus of homes. They had some vacancies.And instead of going, yay, vacancies, tenants have a choice. They went, oh my God, vacancies,what are we doing? There was also a change of government, of course. So they course corrected.Part of it is that a good housing system includes about 4 to 8% vacancies, just because people move,there's vacancies in between people moving. You want people to have a choice. We know that vacancies help bring rents down in sort of...Nate:And standards up, right?Carolyn:And standards up using classic supply and demand. So we want to see some vacancies. We don't want to have a zero vacancy system. That's number one.Number two is just this increasing belief in the late 1970s and early 1980s. And it came from both the right and the left to distrust government.I think Robert Moses, the chief planner of New York City for decades has a lot to answer for because people started looking at this big, heavy-handed planning and said, we don't want anything of it.And so activists in central cities said, we don't want our heritage knocked down, which I completely understand, but then created such restrictive zoning that only very rich households can live in the majority of well-located neighborhoods in Toronto, for instance.But from the right as well, there was this belief that the market can solve all problems, including the problem of housing for low-income people. And there's never been any proof that that particular contention is true. Whereas there's plenty of evidence that the needs of low-cost, low-income people can only be met through a kind of social perspective.Just like if you said, hey, you have to pay the real costs of healthcare. Well, 20% of you won't be able to, and that's too bad for you. Or everyone needs to pay the real cost of primary education. Well, sorry, many of you will have to remain illiterate.So housing is a basic need, a basic social determinant of health, just as education and healthcare is. And although housing is unlike healthcare and education in that the majority of it is provided by the private sector, just like food, there does need to be some consideration for the fact that everybody needs housing, just like they need healthcare and education and food.Nate:There's a lot there. And really, I think I was on the road a lot last year for an ultimately unsuccessful bid on the provincial leadership side. But I talked about housing a lot because it was, I think it's got to be the overriding focus for all levels of government, but especially provincial governments as it relates to zoning reform.And the line I would use, and I believe in this, I think this is how to articulate it at a high level that governments need to get out of the way on the market side so homes can be built and governments have to get back in the game in a serious way on getting social housing built and public housing built. And at a high level, those are the two objectives.Now, let's start with, there's a lot in what you said on both fronts, but let's start with market housing.You've got a tragic situation where you've got a doubling of home prices, but wages have only increased by 7% over the last five, six years. You've set out a target on this front in your own analysis to say we need 2 million homes with affordable monthly rents.So that's our goal. And to get there, part of this is ending exclusionary zoning. And then every level of government has role to play.The federal government has the Housing Accelerator Fund, which is one of the programs I quite like, although I know it's subject to maybe getting cut under the next government.Carolyn:I do too. I just wish that there was the same kind of conditional funding with provinces. I mean, it seems like the federal government has gone, yeah, let's bully some municipalities and I have no problem with that, or let's provide targets to municipalities.Nate:I'm okay with the firm sort of like carrots and sticks. And in this case, yeah, it's a combination of the two.Carolyn:It is.Nate:And we should be firm with municipalities that don't do their jobs on any restrictive zoning. But when a province can end it with the stroke of a pen across the board, surely we should be even more forceful with provincial governments.Carolyn:Well, let me give the example of supportive housing. So the federal government announcedthe Rapid Housing Initiative, which in many ways has been the most successful national housing strategy program, although it came along as a COVID era additional.Nate:It's the only program I really like talking about, other than the half, the Housing Accelerator Fund, because I can see real results. I can see Toronto, for example, working to change their zoning rules and other municipalities across the province and country, frankly.The Rapid Housing is the only other piece. And there was a housing accelerator or a housing innovation fund, affordable housing innovation fund that was sort of a precursor to it. That's the only program I really point to to show like that's results oriented. There are real outcomes I can point to of homes that have been built where there are people that have moved out of the shelter system that are living in these homes. And, you know, people can debate it, but I see it as a broad success.Carolyn:I'm in furious agreement. It met and exceeded targets. The only problem was that in many cases it was supportive housing or housing with supports. And those supports can't be provided by the federal government.Nate:I know.Carolyn:It's worth of the provincial responsibility. And I think there was a little bit of wishful thinking that the provinces would come along, but in many cases, and Ontario is one of them, they just didn't come along.So what would it be like if the federal government said, okay, as part of our health transfer dollars, we're going to transfer money directly into the health and social support services that we know are necessary in order to keep people with mental and physical health needs housed and we'll just claw it out of the health transfer payment.I think that would be fair. It's still going to the people who need it the most through municipalities, but it would have the impact of showing that these targets are serious and also hopefully pointing provinces towards genuine plans to end homelessness. And the province has so many levers that could help prevent and end homelessness.It has landlord-tenant relations and eviction protection. It has health and social services, which are an essential part of housing for people with disabilities, older people, et cetera. So the province can't wash its hands of the kind of housing policy that the federal government and municipalities are talking about.They are the laggard in terms of the three levels of government, as far as I'm concerned.Nate:Do you think, so I have an example locally of 60 units built modular housing. It was through the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund, that's how I even know it exists, but the precursor to sort of rapid housing.And I think of it as a success. It was some local opposition. It was challenging to get through some of those conversations. There's probably a bit more legwork that could have been done to make sure that it's all single units and it could have been probably, there are demographics to serve that drive this and I do understand that, but I do think in some of these cases, some of the literature I've read suggests that having some mix of single and family units can be helpful in the longer term.I've read some stuff from John Sewell and others. So I don't know, maybe some of that could have been part of the mix in a way to respond to local concerns, but overall it's been a success.And yet the city puts up the parking lot, the feds bring in the capital dollars, it gets built and the missing partner of the table on the wraparound ongoing supports is the province of Ontario.So we fill this locally with a particular project, but it happens everywhere. And you're right. I do think we need to be more forceful on the provincial side. So then what does that look to you?You did in your book suggest a couple of different things. You have a different idea that you propose there, but one piece is around requiring infrastructure dollars. So you have more, you're pushing provinces to add more density in transit oriented areas and you tie federal infrastructure dollars.The half is obviously an example of using some federal dollars to try and change dynamics. We've got now a version of this where there's billions of dollars in loans available to provinces that opt into sort of the BC model, BC bills and doing things in a better way.If you're advising the housing minister on this front, how much more forceful can we be at the federal level around addressing NIMBYism, do you think?Caroyln:Well, I think the big cure to NIMBYism is a lot more front-end work when it comes to community planning.There's some really good work that's been done by a group called Renovate the Public Hearing, NBC. It's a black-clad group out of Simon Fraser and they use citizen juries, for instance, which are randomly chosen individuals in a community. Actually, Mark was part of one many years ago in Toronto out by Jennifer Keesmaat and they make kind of high-level decisions around planning.Usually people, just everyday people off the street, given all the facts and all the evidence, will make pretty good decisions. But I don't think that residents should be asked to make decisions about every single development. I think there needs to be a lot more enabling environment quite radically, I suppose.I think that four stories as of right with unlimited units would allow a whole new generation of small apartment buildings.Nate:That seems the minimum, by the way, so this is something that, you know, the half pushes and other changes have been proposed by other municipal leaders are on four stories as of right. Sorry, four units.Carolyn:It's not four units, it's four stories.Nate:Okay, so four stories would be more radical, but it's certainly less radical though than, the example I love from your book was Japan, which has incredibly permissive zoning rules that is rightly focused their zoning permissions on nuisances and real nuisances that affect quality of life, and not just they keep certain people out of this community and keep my property values up.Carolyn:And that's about mix as well. That's about having small grocery stores next to homes, next to trial care centers, next to high schools or whatever.So I think a lot of the land use zoning is infamously two-dimensional. Like it says, this is what the land use will bein this particular area. And that's really problematic in terms of the kind of walkable communities that many of us are talking about as well as transit-oriented communities.Of course,the minimum heights would need to be greater near transit stations and even bus stops, I'd argue, but certainly that sort of baseline that would allow, they'd allow multiplexes, they'd allow people to build granny flats and give the main house to one of their kids or two of their kids if the kids subdivided or whatever.I think that that's sort of the retail change that needs to happen. There's sort of the wholesale change, which are big new developments on government land or near transit stations, et cetera.But the sort of retail change is really important. A lot of neighborhoods in Toronto, and I know you live in Toronto, have lower densities than they did 30 years ago. They have smaller households, more single-person households, et cetera. So the built form needs to, you know, we need to have a lot more flexible housing to make a long story short.And even if in the best case scenario, non-market housing was 20% of all housing, 80% would still be provided by the private sector. It's really hard for homeowners to say, hey, I'm going to subdivide into three units.The municipal government makes it difficult through approvals and development taxes. Finance providers say, what's your experience as a developer? You know, so I think we need a far more enabling environment to make the kind of changes we need.Nate:Well, my last comment I would say on the market side is, and density, and in general, and encouraging density. It does strike me, one other tool that the feds could potentially use is when we, one thing is, you know, okay, tying infrastructure dollars to density around transit. That seems like no brainer stuff.But there's also when the mayor of Norfolk County comes to me and says, we need real investments in wastewater. Well, great. Federal investments on the infrastructure side tied to some action on density. And I think different municipalities will have different needs.And similarly, some municipalities may balk to go, well, if we add so much density, well, how do we manage the healthcare capacity in these areas, the school capacity in these areas, the childcare capacity in these areas.And so there are infrastructure related needs to adding density and the feds and the province are in a much better position to write those large checks to make that happen.Anyway, so I think there's, you know, maybe housing accelerator fund, but just pushed to, you know, the next level even. So it's not just dollars related housing, but it's dollars related infrastructure more broadly.Okay, but on the, you mentioned non-market and I do want to spend a good amount of time on that, because I actually think that is the missing piece. We can talk about market housing forever, but you rightly know in your book that, you know, market housing is not going to get us out of the crisis that we're in, especially for so many people who can never imagine owning a home right now, given where home prices are at and how much they've run away from wages.And I want you to talk a little bit about, for those who maybe don't get through, who don't get to your book, the examples, you mentioned France, you mentioned, there's a range of different examples in your book though, focus on non-market housing. We used to do this in Canada in a more serious way.What are some of the things we should be doing that other countries do in this space? What would be your top three, four or five hit lists of, you know, France does this and Denmark does this, and if Canada really wanted to re-energize, writing big checks is one of it, but if Canada really wanted to re-energize the space, what's your hit list?Carolyn:Well, one of them is something I'm working on today, actually, in response to a request from the federal government, which is, what's the capacity of developers across Canada to create large-scale developments on government land? So, there are some really exciting large-scale developments.In Vancouver alone, there's SINOC, which is a Squamish-led development that's going to produce 6,000 apartments, very well located next to Burrard Bridge, as well as Jericho Lands, which again is Canada Lands Company plus three First Nations. Those are the kinds of large-scale development that can really show a way forward.And if you look at St. Lawrence neighborhood, people used to come from all over the world to look at St. Lawrence neighborhood. What an amazing development that was, 50 years old now, and 4,000 homes, a third each, public housing, cooperative housing, condos, again the rule of thirds.It was considered such a radical idea to have schools at the bottom and grocery stores at the bottom and a church and a pub and a restaurant and everything at the bottom, but it really works knit along that linear park. It's still a really lovely neighborhood, and it was a game-changer.At that time, talking about families living in eight-story buildings was considered, you know, crazy radical stuff, but it worked. So, we need about 100 more St. Lawrence neighborhoods, and then we need a lot of small-scale enablers such as, as I say, four-story buildings that I was recently on the housing industry task force, and there's so many innovative prefabricated housing producers, and they said all we need is a certain level of guaranteed demand.We'll build the factories, we'll hire the people, and of course you get a much more diverse labor force working for factories than you might in construction industries.The construction industry right now is an aging population with a high level of retirements expected, so we need prefab housing.Prefab housing can be awesome. What would it be like if the federal government did a guaranteed order of, I don't know, 200,000 homes a year, most ambitiously. Okay, let's call it 50,000, be a little bit less ambitious.We know already that modular student housing works in Quebec. UTILE builds affordable student homes really cheaply using modular. We know that the Rapid Housing Initiative was on the back of a kind of four-story special with the ground floor being community services and the social workers, and three stories of housing above it.So, we have those kinds of models that will work nationally, and if you did that sort of a pre-order, you could really build up Canada's prefab industry in a really exciting way. It's really important for the north where construction seasons are slow.You know, it ticks so many boxes.Nate:Yeah, it really does. I like that idea a lot.Well, and one thing that struck me, I mentioned Denmark. One thing that struck me was, but before we get to Denmark, actually the stat from France struck me, and people should know, so France produces 110,000 non-market homes a year, more in one year than the total number of non-market homes created in Canada over the last 24 years.Like, that blew my brain. Like, I just like, what are we even doing here? If France is doing that and we're doing this, like, whoa, what are we even doing here?Carolyn:It's really important to emphasize how beautiful many of those homes are. I mean, I don't know whether you've been to Paris recently, but I was in Paris.Nate:Not recently, no. Paris. I got kids. It's hard to travel these days.Carolyn:Oh, but you know, you can just offer them a chocolate croissant.Anyhow, so Cazane de Relay, which is on a former military barracks, and it is, it's got student housing, it's got family housing, but it's knitted around in the former, like, Chondemar, the former military parade ground, this beautiful park that has cafes in it.And it's in a very ritzy part of Paris near a subway line, and people love it, because it's an adaptive reuse of space with a beautiful park in the middle of it. Again, you can make beautiful, socially inclined, environmentally sound architecture, and it's nothing to be ashamed of.Nate:Yeah, of course, yeah.Carolyn:For a long time, I mean, people think of the original version of Regent Park, and they think about these very dire projects.But, you know, think about St. Lawrence neighborhood. Think about in Ottawa, Beaver Barracks, which again, has this beautiful set of community gardens in the middle of it, and district heating, and all kinds of cool stuff. We can make beautiful things.Nate:I mentioned France just because it's such a frustrating comparison that they are building so much more. But Denmark, I found an interesting example because it's a practical sort of solution-oriented example.It's not just, this, France is doing way more than Canada, sorry, Canada. But Denmark's National Building Fund provides 45-year mortgages, 30 years to pay off the building costs, and then 15 years to fund the next new project.Other countries have just, if you compare CMHC financing for non-market versus what these other countries are doing, I mean, other countries are just way lower cost and longer-term financing. And that seems like, I don't know, it seems like low-hanging fruit to me. I don't know how much pushback there is from CMHC, but if we can't do that, then we're not going to solve this problem at all.Carolyn:Well, that's the secret sauce. That was the secret sauce in the 1970s and 1980s when up to 20% of new homes were non-market. It was 40-year mortgages at 2% at the time, when crime was 6%.So it is a challenge, or let's put it this way, it's not CMHC as much as it is the finance ministers who tend not to love that.But you can get to the point, it's not just Denmark, it's Austria and France as well, where you have a revolving loan fund and it refreshes itself.And that goes back to our earlier conversation of the need for thinking long-term. Infrastructure financing is always long-term and the payback from infrastructure financing is always long-term.Nate:I want to get to a conversation, sort of conclude with addressing homelessness, but before we get there, just on the protecting renters. We've promised a bill of rights for tenants and that's obviously in some ways tough because the federal jurisdiction is going to require, again, sort of a carrot-stick approach, although interesting again to note the historical example of national rent control, I think it was in the 1940s, but regardless.Carolyn:1940s and 1941 and 1975.Okay, so even more recent than that. You know Pierre, said in 1975, thou shalt have rent control and all the provinces said, okay.Nate:Interesting. And even where we have some rent control, obviously Ontario is a classic example where you've got rent control while the unit is lived in and then there's such a massive disincentive to keep the unit up or to respond to tenant concerns because, oh, if the tenant leaves, shrug my shoulders, I actually make more money because I can now, the rent control disappears.Carolyn:It's a huge incentive for evictions and it was brought in, that exemption vacancy control was brought in by conservative government.Nate:Does not surprise me on that front. So on the protecting renters front, there's a window here at least with the tenants bill of rights, although maybe a short life left in this parliament, but there is a window there.I think there's probably a window to collaborate with the NDP on something like that or the Bloc on something like that to really get something done. So there's at least some space to maybe fulfill on the implementation side.Beyond that space or maybe even in that space, what would you want to see in Canada on renter protections?Carolyn:I'm doing some work right now with an investor group called SHARE, S-H-A-R-E, that is on ESG guidelines for investors in housing. And I think it's really important, we now have environmental guidelines for investment in housing, but we don't yet have social guidelines on investment.And I sometimes think that soft-suasion is as important as we've been talking about the bully function of federal government. I think it is really that I've seen ESG guidelines have a huge impact on investors.I think that unions, to give one specific example, are uncomfortable with the fact that several of their pension funds invest in and actually have entirely owned REITs who evict current and former union members. I think that's an uncomfortable place to be.So I think that investor guidelines are really important and they would be a world first if they were developed in Canada. So that's kind of exciting.What else is needed in terms of tenant rights? Look, countries in Europe, including countries that are majority renter and richer than Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, they tend to have longer leases and tend to have far harder roads towards eviction.So it's partly, absolutely rent, some level of rent negotiation. What Denmark does, one of the things I love about Denmark, is it has, it funds tenant unions and the tenant unions negotiate sort of the landlord.Nate:Better bargaining power.Carolyn:It's a bargaining situation and there is an emphasis on fair cost-based rent increases each year, which seems like a fair and transparent process, but also longer leases is part of the trick. I think that you want to create a situation where you can live for a long time as a renter, invest in other forms of requirement savings other than homes.But right now, definitely being a renter is a second class situation and that leads a lot of people to get into really, really scary debt in order to become homeowners. And that's not necessarily a good situation as well, or living very far away from your work or having to move away from where your family is.Nate:Well, it speaks to, and maybe we should have started here instead of finishing here, but it speaks to what are the twin goals in some ways, like what is a home and to deliver for someone that sense of home and shelter and safety.You have a rundown of different things that have to be considered here. But I think what I would want from a policy lens is at a minimum, you want sure there's some semblance of affordability, and you want to make sure that there's security of tenure, that you want to make sure that people, whether they're a tenant, tenants shouldn't be at such a disadvantage here that they don't have security of tenure, that there isn't that stability in their lives and they can't invest in their property in the same way. They can't know that they're going to be near this school and near this workplace, as you say. That is such an essential part of a home that goes, I think, under discussed in our politics in a really big way.I also, just to finish with on a rent supplement side, you don't have to comment on it because I don't want to get to homelessness in the sort of three minutes you got left, but this stuck out to me too.So France, Germany, and Denmark all spend 0.7% of their GDP on just rent supplements. Canada spends less on all housing related expenditures combined. Anyway, your book broke my brain in a number of different ways.Okay, so to finish with homelessness and addressing homelessness, because you've talked about rapid housing, you've talked about industrial, if the government of Canada committed to 50,000 modular units a year or something like that, we know where we could direct them at a minimum, which is to replace encampments with homes.And we now have Premier in Ontario, at least, who's talking about, he hasn't done it yet, but talking about, you know, send me a letter of mayors calling for the use of the notwithstanding clause as if you should replace encampments using the notwithstanding clause instead of just building homes.It's like in support of housing. And so on the homelessness front, this is a problem that needs to be resolved in a compassionate, evidence-based way. And that is the hope. And I hope it doesn't get, it's being weaponized in our politics in a big way. And I hope we can push back against that.And so to do that, but to do that successfully, are we looking at just a broad expansion of the rapid housing program, committing to that industrial building, the modular units, and then hopefully really aggressively pushing the provinces, as you say, on the supportive housing front, knowing that, you know, a housing first approach is the answer?Carolyn:That would help a lot. I mean, Canada, under the Harper government, funded the largest international experiment in housing first, which is simply providing homeless people with a permanent home with the supports that they need. And it worked.You know, it was 3000 people. The rates of people losing their homes was very low. The rates of people staying home and having better health and economic outcomes was huge.But you can't have housing first without having the housing comma first. That's what the films say. So that's what we need. We need a whole new generation of low-cost housing and many cases with supports that people need because such a high number of people who are homeless have various forms of disability.And if they don't have severe physical and mental health issues before they become homeless, they sure get them very quickly once they become homeless. So what we need to do, it's so self-evident when it comes to housing, when it comes to homelessness.And it doesn't just make moral sense. It makes economic sense.Nate:That's the part that bothers me, by the way. It's so frustrating in our politics.I speak to people like the, you know, small business owners who go, this is affecting my ability to earn an income. People are not coming to downtown London in Ontario as much as they were before because we have a homelessness challenge.You've got parks that parents go, that park is supposed to be so my kid can play in that green space, not for an encampment. And you kind of pull your hair out and go, why can't we just build supportive homes?Carolyn:Hospital emergency rooms aren't made to, you know, it's not of efficient use of hospital emergency rooms to get 200 visits a year.Nate:Exactly.Carolyn:You know, so it makes so much sense. I don't understand why at some basic level, why every province doesn't have a plan to end homelessness. It's a shame and it's also dumb.I mean, it's dumb on so many levels. So yeah, I mean, you know, I agree with you. I was reading Jane Philpott's book on Health For All, and I was going, yeah, the answers are pretty darn simple when it comes to health. Why don't we just do it?You know, and to me, the answers are pretty simple when it comes to housing. Why don't we just do it? You know, so I guess this book's Home Truths is intended to say to people, I know it looks really complex and it is, but the answers aren't that hard to figure out. It's not rocket science.Nate:Yeah. My takeaway was very much that, and this is the last data point that I throw at listeners from your book, but this one really stuck out. You talk about housing first approach in Finland and how the Finnish consider it.Over a period from 1985 to 2016, they went from over 2,100 shelter beds to 52. And then how do they do that?Well, they're cutting emergency shelter beds.How? Because they're increasing supportive housing from 127 to over 1,300. And they're replacing what is a reactive emergency response, which is a more expensive response, frankly.They're replacing that with a long-term housing first approach through supportive housing and non-market housing. And again, it seems obvious.The challenge, of course, is we should have started doing this a decade ago, two decades ago yesterday. And I'm not dismissive of the rapid housing program. I'm not dismissive of the housing accelerator fund. I'm not dismissive of the loans and the grants that are going towards and the new co-op fund. I don't want to be dismissive of all that. We're going in the right direction.It does seem, though, that the scale of the direction we're heading in the right direction, the scale is just not where it needs to be to get us to where we need to get in 30 years.Carolyn:Yep. We've done some really good pilot programs, and now it's time to scale it up and have some real targets. And it's been a pleasure talking policy wonk stuff with you, Nate.Nate:Well, that's what this is for. And I do appreciate the book. I'm glad Mark suggested that you'd be a guest because it prompted me to read your book. And I'm a much better advocate on housing for having done so.Carolyn:Well, thank you, Mark.Nate:I say that regularly on the housing file. Anyway, thanks, Carolyn, for your time.Carolyn:Thank you, Nate. Take care. Bye-bye.Nate:Thanks for joining me on this episode of Uncommons. I hope you found, yes, it was adeeper dive in policy, but I hope you found some of those stats interesting. They were eye-popping to me, frankly.I do think we have a certain Overton window in our politics sometimes, including on housing, and understanding historical examples, understanding what happens in other countries can be incredibly informative in helping to shift that window and delivering greater ambition, especially on such an important file.With that, if you have suggestions for guests or future topics, you can reach me at info at beynate.ca. You can reach me online, of course, on an increasingly variety of platforms. I'm on Bluesky now, but you can reach me at beynate on all those channels. And otherwise, otherwise, until next time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca

Whether you need a storage shed or a little barn for your animals to seek shelter, Oregon Coast Sheds (541-982-5200) has what you need! Check out the inventory at: https://winchesterbaysheds.com/inventory Oregon Coast Sheds City: Winchester Bay Address: 75309 Oregon Coast Hwy Website: https://winchesterbaysheds.com/

In this episode of the Passive House Podcast Matthew Cutler-Welsh talks with Stephan Mausli, co-owner of Hector Egger New Zealand. Stephan reflects on adapting to the New Zealand housing industry and redefining construction practices. Sharing the stark contrasts between European and New Zealand building standards, the challenges of prefabrication in a developing market, and his passion for delivering high-quality, sustainable housing solutions. https://www.hector-egger.ch/de/he-nzhttps://www.reimaginebuildings.com/https://passivehouseaccelerator.com/events/reimagine-buildings-biomaterialsThank you for listening to the Passive House Podcast! To learn more about Passive House and to stay abreast of our latest programming, visit passivehouseaccelerator.com. And please join us at one of our Passive House Accelerator LIVE! zoom gatherings on Wednesdays.

Vandaag het gesprek met Nicolaas van Everdingen. Nicolaas is creatief & inventief; Open & initiatiefrijk; Energiek & positief. Hij is een fan van Houtskeletbouw (HSB), all-electric en prefab-technieken en biobased materialen. Hij is ook verbinder, met oog voor de menselijke maat. Nicolaas heeft een afkeer van alles wat fijnstof maakt (dat is nl. helemaal géén fijn stof): houtkachels, vuurkorven, biomassaketels, kolencentrales, diesel- en andere fossiele auto's, brommers, etc Preach what you practice: hij woont en werkt in een prefab houten passiefhuis dat hij zelf ontworpen heeft en in 2012 heeft laten bouwen. Dit Plushuis nr. 1 produceert twee maal zoveel energie als dat het verbruikt en is daarmee Plus-op-de-Meter. Is jarenlang als inspiratie gebruikt voor zijn klanten, zijn klanten doen met hun eigen Plushuis vaak mee aan Nationale Duurzame Huizenroute. Laten we beginnen… Wat ik zoal leerde van Nicolaas: 00:00 intro 02:25 Zijn leven is volledig op de kop gezet begin 2024, door de diagnose van alvleesklierkanker. 06:35 n=1 en gewoon gaan doen. 07:55 De ruimte krijgen van klanten om te pionieren. 11:30 Prefab waar het kan en lokaal waar het moet. 16:05 De mentale energie van de werknemers. 17:25 Het idee achter de stroomversnelling voor de renovatie van huizen. 19:45 Waarom biobased en prefab, bouwen en renoveren. 24:30 De geschiedenis van de ouderlijke boerderij die prefab werd gebouwd in 1840, waardoor biobased in zijn dna zit. 32:00 De rol van de burgeren consument in gezonde voeding. 35:05 We besteden in Nederland 10% van ons inkomen aan voedsel, dat is belachelijk laag. 36:05 Weidevogels kun je niet melken. 40:35 Als ketenregiseur bij BuildingBalance zorg je ervoor dat de keten tussen de boer en bouwer gebouwd werd. Vraag en aanbod aanjagen op hetzelfde moment. 43:15 Woningbouwcorporaties in Friesland en Brabant gaan naar biobased materialen. 46:45 Je hebt niet heel veel overheid nodig. 47:55 Sociale huurwoningen van hout en biobased materialen. 49:30 Het Tesla-effect, beginnen bij de happy-few en de kennis laten doorsijpelen naar de hele samenleving. 52:20 Stoppen met bloemen geven. 53:30 Plushuis Goede Energie zwemteam geld opgehaald voor Swim to Fight Cancer. 56:15 Geld inzamelen met een acties door burgers en de overheid die tegelijkertijd 200 miljoen schrapt voor jonge onderzoekers. 57:30 Regering nodig voor een stabiel onderzoeksklimaat in Nederland. 1:01:10 Een mindmap over zijn leven voor zijn gezin. 1:02:45 Aan weinig genoeg. 1:03:35 Ik denk dat het nog goed gaat komen met de wereld, maar dan moeten we nu onze stinkende best gaan doen. Meer over Nicolaas van Everdingen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolaas-van-everdingen/  www.plushuis.nu https://www.fightcancer.nl/fundraisers/PlushuisGoedeEnergie Foto's van Nicolaas op Flickr - Swim to Fight Cancer Heusden https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicolaasvaneverdingen/53986578060/ Andere bronnen: Building balance Aquathermie Stroomversnelling Plushuis in Winterswijk Warmteplan GreenInclusive Een duurzaam perspectief voor boeren – Loraine Westerneng Jan Willem van de Groep Natuurlijk of kunstmatig: hoe belandt vitamine B12 in melk? - Keuringsdienst van Waarde Achterhoekpakket - van de biologische boer Binnenveld De Loden Leeuw Arne Eindhoven Inner Development Goals Swim to fight Cancer The life you can save - boek Video van het gesprek met Nicolaas van Everdingen https://youtu.be/mdExKBLBYa8 Kijk hier https://youtu.be/mdExKBLBYa8

Hello! This is Episode 339, and I'm continuing my conversation with Jan and Landon about their new build in Sydney's north on an amazing site that's been in Landon's family for many years. In fact, it's where Landon grew up, and after 39 years of living together in another part of Sydney, Jan and Landon are selling up, and moving to this location they both love and have a strong connection with, to build a new, Passive House home. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/339] Jan and Landon are both in their 70s and are retired teachers. And their project has an amazing range of specific demands including how they'll age well and healthily, still being able to live an active life, whilst preparing for various scenarios that may occur. And also be able to accommodate family, especially adult grandchildren who also live or stay with them. If you missed Part 1 of my conversation with Jan and Landon, head back to Episode 338 to catch up and learn more about their story. You can find the episode and a full transcript at www.undercoverarchitect.com/338 We kick off this episode with me asking Jan and Landon about how HOME Method, which they joined right before choosing their architect, has helped them navigate their project so far. And as the episode continues, we dive into some questions that Jan and Landon had for me, especially about the best approach for them to include and build a granny flat on their site, and when and how to involve a landscape architect or landscape designer. Listen as I run through some of the key criteria to be aware of when selecting a building methodology for a granny flat, and what to consider to help the project run smoothly. We also discuss some design options to review, and cost comparison of prefabrication vs building on site. And, I also talk through some landscape design ideas, and the way a landscape design approach could integrate with their architectural design to maximise the benefits of the site overall and meet their brief as well. Remember, if you'd like to grab a full transcript of this episode, you can find that by heading to www.undercoverarchitect.com/339. Now, let's dive in! SHOW NOTES: If you're struggling with understanding the overall steps for your project, what you should be focussing on and when, or how to best invest your efforts, energy and money to get a great outcome in your future home, I've created something super helpful for you. Access my free online workshop “Your Project Plan” now >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/projectplan This free workshop will really help you understand the best steps to take wherever you're at in your project, and how you can avoid some serious and expensive mistakes.  Plus, I'll share with you what to focus on and when, so you know you're getting everything in order for a successful project and beautiful home. And you'll get access to some great bonuses as well. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST NOW. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST: For links, images and resources mentioned in this podcast, head to >>> www.undercoverarchitect.com/339 Access my free “Your Project Plan” online workshop and awesome bonuses now >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/projectplan Access the support and guidance you need to be confident and empowered when renovating and building your family home inside my flagship online program >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/the-home-method/ Just a reminder: All content on this podcast is provided by Undercover Architect for reference purposes and as general guidance. It does not take into account specific circumstances and should not be relied on in that way. You should seek independent verification or advice before relying on this content in any circumstances, including but not limited to circumstances where loss or damage may result. The views and opinions of any guests on the podcast are solely their own. They may not reflect the views of Undercover Architect. Undercover Architect endeavours to publish content that is accurate at the time it is published, but does not accept responsibility for content that may or has become inaccurate over time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your Project Shepherd Podcast: Host Curtis Lawson explores innovative housing solutions with architect Brett Zamore of Brett Zamore Design. Discover the evolution of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and flexible living spaces. This episode reveals:

Want to build a skating rink that will last for many years while staying within budget? Reich Construction LLC (301-550-0540), specialists in prefab steel construction, has a deep-diving report on the costs and benefits of building skating rinks with this type of material. Visit https://reichconstructionllc.com/cost-of-pre-engineered-steel-skating-rink/ Reich Construction LLC City: Columbia Address: 10106 Hyla Brook Road Website: http://reichconstructionllc.com Phone: +1-301-596-4737 Email: breich@reichconstructionllc.com

Need help budgeting your 5,000-square-foot building project? Reich Construction LLC, experts in prefabricated steel construction, has a report that'll give you all the details, from possible applications to itemized costs. Give them a call at 301-550-0540, or read their full cost analysis at: https://reichconstructionllc.com/cost-to-build-a-5000-square-foot-prefab-steel-building/ Reich Construction LLC City: Columbia Address: 10106 Hyla Brook Road Website: http://reichconstructionllc.com Phone: +1-301-596-4737 Email: breich@reichconstructionllc.com

If you're planning a steel building project in Maryland, check out Reich Construction LLC's end-to-end pre-engineered steel construction services. They're experts at building with this kind of material and will ensure its unique benefits work in your favor. Call them at 301-550-0540, or visit: https://reichconstructionllc.com/top-prefab-steel-companies-in-maryland/ Reich Construction LLC City: Columbia Address: 10106 Hyla Brook Road Website: http://reichconstructionllc.com Phone: +1-301-596-4737 Email: breich@reichconstructionllc.com

Need a building for your Alaskan farming business? Reich Construction LLC's guide on the advantages of using prefabricated steel for agricultural structures can help you choose your building material. If you're already interested in using it, call 301-550-0540, or learn more here: https://reichconstructionllc.com/alaska-pre-engineered-steel-buildings-prefab-metal-building-faq/ Reich Construction LLC City: Columbia Address: 10106 Hyla Brook Road Website: http://reichconstructionllc.com Phone: +1-301-596-4737 Email: breich@reichconstructionllc.com

A 5,000 sq. ft. building made with pre-engineered steel involves a range of costs most companies won't tell you about upfront. This is why Reich Construction LLC (301-550-0540), full-service contractors specializing in custom pre-engineered steel buildings have released a facts-based report. Learn more at https://reichconstructionllc.com/cost-to-build-a-5000-square-foot-prefab-steel-building Reich Construction LLC City: Columbia Address: 10106 Hyla Brook Road Website: http://reichconstructionllc.com Phone: +1-301-596-4737 Email: breich@reichconstructionllc.com

Today we welcome Fouad Khalil to the show. Fouad calls himself a reformed architect. About three years ago he eased into offsite construction and founded Modly, a modular construction consultancy that provides the building and real estate sector with market research, feasibility analysis and advisory services. His focus is on helping owners and construction companies integrate manufacturing processes in the construction process. Tyler asks Fouad to unpack the category of industrialized construction programs (IC). He explains that it has to do with looking at the increased rates of productivity in manufacturing and bringing some lessons from that world into the world of construction. Efficiency and productivity within construction has remained largely stagnant during the last several decades, while those things have improved dramatically within manufacturing. This means that Fouad pursues improvements in quality, speed, and budget. Manufacturing programs are one way to handle that. He looks for areas where implementation of standards and repetition can gain the most traction. Tyler asks Fouad to talk us through the series of questions that he asks in order to determine which projects are good candidates for industrialized construction. Here's what he shares: Volume: Is the juice worth the squeeze? Does it represent enough potential return to justify the effort? Fouad says that IC works best for serial builders–those who are aiming for consistency across a large number of projects. He gives examples including hospitals, data centers, and fast-food restaurants. Pipeline: Do I have enough of it spread over time? Will the pace of work be steady enough? If I'm going to do it only once and then not do it again for another six months, that pipeline isn't robust enough to consider. Some owners want to have several dozen units produced as modules, but they want them all done at the very same time. This is unrealistic. Repeatability: Is every part of this project unique, or are there enough repeatable elements that my workers' hands will be able to master routines? The construction world is used to sprints–going all out from start to finish. Fouad explains that factories take more of a long-distance running mindset, often aiming to run steadily at 80% efficiency. With a manufacturing mindset, the profitability horizon might be quite distant. You might need to make 150 modular bathrooms before you'll turn a profit.Design: How can we ensure that design and production maintain an active feedback loop so that iterative cycles can be continuously active? Fouad describes the routine of morning and afternoon meetings that his team did with Walmart on their health centers. Sometimes you change the design to make it more buildable. Sometimes you need to redesign the production floor to fit the design.Optimization: At the production level, how can I improve margins on man-hours and other elements of cost. The goal is for unit costs to drop through a continuous flow of improvements in engineering and production. Projects that appear impossible in the early stages become lean and profitable because of a consistent focus on optimization.Eddie presents the idea of “demonstrable economy” and discusses an example of how optimizing and productizing applies in his world, and we explore the importance of defining the use of the term “optimized” within a team. If you have various silos optimizing in isolation, the overall outcome may be far from optimum.Fouad describes the IC process as the space program we need in construction. Through the application of these techniques, we'll be able to see improvements across the industry. Surprise, surprise, Tyler brings us back to Formula 1 racing. We discuss the iterative process and the feedback loop between the race teams and the consumer world as it plays out in that world.Fouad's Megaphone Message: Owners, explore the benefits of setting up a recurring IC program. Talk to your VP of construction and see if the commitment might exist to move forward with this approach. It requires everyone to pull together and work really hard, but the rewards are worth it when the situation is right. Find Fouad Online: LinkedIN Check out the partners that make our show possible. Find Us Online: BrosPodcast.com - LinkedIn - Youtube - Instagram - Facebook - TikTok - Eddie's LinkedIn - Tyler's LinkedInIf you enjoy the podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to us! Thanks for listening!

What did you think of todays show??With inflation and affordability issues affecting the market, the search for cost-effective housing is on. Prefab homes have recently gained popularity but technology has produced a new alternative: 3D printed homes. But can these “solutions” really solve today's affordability crisis, or will they come with their own set of problems?In this episode, we discuss their potential to make housing more accessible and what 3D printed homes could mean for real estate investors. We also share tips on keeping your pipeline active during the seasonal slowdown, making your first hire a success, and more. Tune in now to learn more!Topics discussed:Seasonal changes in the real estate market (1:20)Tips to make your first hire a success (4:35)Hiring for the needs of your business (9:03)Can technology solve the housing affordability crisis? (14:24)Pros and cons 3D printed and prefab homes (16:33)How alternative homes could affect housing prices (20:24)Why the quality of homes is in decline (28:59)Government's role in the housing affordability crisis (32:22)Learn more about the Collecting Keys SCALE Community! https://collectingkeys.com/scale/Check out the FREE Collecting Keys “Invest Anywhere” Guide to learn how to find deals in ANY MARKET Completely virtually (this is how we scaled to over a dozen markets)!https://instantinvestor.collectingkeys.com/invest-anywhereFollow us on Instagram!https://www.instagram.com/collectingkeyspodcast/https://www.instagram.com/mike_invests/https://www.instagram.com/investormandan/https://www.instagram.com/dylan_does_dealsThis episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

In this episode we dive into prefabrication. The Challenge You've been brought in to establish a prefabrication program, how do you do it? We're joined this week by Andrew Xue the COO of Offsight - Driving Modular & Prefabrication. Continue Learning The Critical Path Career: How to Advance in Planning and Scheduling Subscribe to the Beyond Deadlines Email Newsletter Subscribe to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Beyond Deadlines⁠⁠⁠⁠ Linkedin Newsletter ⁠⁠Check Out Our YouTube Channel⁠⁠. Connect Follow ⁠⁠⁠Micah⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Greg⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Beyond Deadlines⁠⁠ on LinkedIn. Beyond Deadline It's time to raise your career to new heights with Beyond Deadlines, the ultimate destination for construction planners and schedulers. Our podcast is designed to be your go-to guide whether you're starting out in this dynamic field, transitioning from another sector, or you're a seasoned professional. Through our cutting-edge content, practical advice, and innovative tools, we help you succeed in today's fast-evolving construction planning and scheduling landscape without relying on expensive certifications and traditional educational paths. Join us on Beyond Deadlines, where we empower you to shape the future of construction planning and scheduling, making it more efficient, effective, and accessible than ever before. About Micah Micah, an Intel project leader and Google alumnus, champions next-gen planning and scheduling at both tech giants. Co-founder of Google's Computer Vision in Construction Team, he's saved projects millions via tech advancements. He writes two construction planning and scheduling newsletters and mentors the next generation of construction planners. He holds a Master of Science in Project Management, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota. About Greg Greg, an Astrophysicist turned project guru, managed £100M+ defense programs at BAE Systems (UK) and advised on international strategy. Now CEO at ⁠⁠Nodes and Links⁠⁠, he's revolutionizing projects with pioneering AI Project Controls in Construction. Experience groundbreaking strategies with Greg's expertise. Topics We Cover change management, communication, construction planning, construction, construction scheduling, creating teams, critical path method, cpm, culture, KPI, microsoft project, milestone tracking, oracle, p6, project planning, planning, planning engineer, pmp, portfolio management, predictability, presenting, primavera p6, project acceleration, project budgeting, project controls, project management, project planning, program management, resource allocation, risk management, schedule acceleration, scheduling, scope management, task sequencing, construction, construction reporting, prefabrication, preconstruction, modular construction, modularization, automation --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyonddeadlines/support

Need some help budgeting for your 15,000-square-foot steel building? With Reich Construction LLC's expert cost analysis, you'll learn how pre-engineered steel can be a smart choice of material and what your project costs could be, from basic packages to add-ons. Call 301-550-0540, or visit: https://reichconstructionllc.com/cost-to-build-a-15000-square-foot-prefab-steel-building/ Reich Construction LLC City: Columbia Address: 10106 Hyla Brook Road Website: http://reichconstructionllc.com Phone: +1-301-596-4737 Email: breich@reichconstructionllc.com

Looking to get the best bang for your buck with a high-quality warehouse? Reich Construction, expert designers and erectors of pre-engineered steel buildings (301-550-0540), keep the cost per sq. ft. down, and construction quality high. Learn more and get a cost estimate now, at https://reichconstructionllc.com Reich Construction LLC City: Columbia Address: 10106 Hyla Brook Road Website: http://reichconstructionllc.com Phone: +1-301-596-4737 Email: breich@reichconstructionllc.com

David Malvern is the General Manager of the Residential Communities & Home Building arm of Sekisui House Australia.David is a skilled professional with over 23 years industry experience. Commencing his career as a carpenter and later advancing into supervisory, construction management and general management positions with some of Australia's largest home builders, David has developed the unique ability to successfully lead and manage large home building operations through his hands-on understanding of home building in NSW.In this interview, he explains the SHAWOOD prefab home building model and whether the solution to Australia's housing crisis lies buried within the walls of SHAWOOD's 7000 sqm factory in south-west Sydney.

IntroductionToday we welcome Joe Purtle, who is here to talk to us about concrete forms. Joe has been in construction for well over two decades, and he's currently the COO of Doka, which specializes in forming and shoring. Eddie shares a bit about his experience in construction back in the 2x4 and plywood days. He shares how cool it's been to see the complexity of forms increase over time and to see how those forms have become woven into BIM software.We discuss how designers and other stakeholders view concrete forms. Joe explains that the placement of concrete drives the schedule on many large projects. And the placement of concrete is largely dependent on the completion of formwork. Cycling of formwork and big dadgum messesEddie asks Joe to explain the cycling (reuse) of forms on large projects. Doka's job is to understand the complicated aspects of forming and pouring and how these complexities can affect a schedule. We discuss the benefits of modular approaches and cycling of forms. Joe discusses the importance of knowledgeable planning and the unfortunate results when things to wrong and a form gets trapped. It's what the bros and their Georgia buddies would call a “dadgum mess.”Joe shares about how he has seen companies process decisions related to renting vs. buying. He also discusses sustainability issues and equipment that measures temperature and pressure to optimize the curing process. We get into the optimization of pouring and the incorporation of reusable sensors that give designers and project managers the ability to know things they would have previously not known without expensive, messy tests. Prefab of formworkEddie asks Joe to share about prefab work such as cast-in-place parking garages. Joe explains that Doka can build and ship complete beam forms that are pretty much ready to plug and play when they arrive at the job site. They have CNC machines that can put curves into forms with highly detailed specs when the customer wants it.   Tyler connects these abilities to the overall increase in complexity of structures. Joe shares about the pride we've discussed in previous episodes that comes with seeing a really cool building and being able to say you had something to do with that. BIM ModelingEddie asks Joe to explain how Doka's work integrates with the BIM process. He explains that they're already working within Revit and Tekla but that they are quickly extending their integration even further. We discuss how AI is streamline design. Then there are the AI features that simply increase the team's everyday operations. Joe shares some thoughts about “real BIM” vs. “Hollywood BIM” and how these differences affect scheduling. Eddie shares some thoughts from a designer's perspective as well as thoughts about storing huge form components that are not easy to move. We spend some time discussing the design rules being used to form AI and how significantly this process will likely change design work in the future. Then we discuss the role that human insight and finesse play in this process. Megaphone Message Joe's message to the industry is this: The industry needs to come together and stop working in silos. The sooner we can create true collaboration through the available technologies, the sooner we'll progress to a future we can't even imagine at this point. Find Joe on LinkedIn Check out the partners that make our show possible.Find Us Online: BrosPodcast.com - LinkedIn - Youtube - Instagram - Facebook - TikTok - Eddie's LinkedIn - Tyler's LinkedInIf you enjoy the podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to us! Thanks for listening

Get the costs of your prefabricated steel building project accurately estimated and your plan quickly approved with Reich Construction LLC's (301-550-0540) cost-estimation and permitting services, part of their in-house design-build offerings. Learn more, take a look at completed projects, and schedule a consultation at https://reichconstructionllc.com Reich Construction LLC City: Glenwood Address: 3649 Sharp Road Website: http://reichconstructionllc.com Phone: 14109847564 Email: breich@reichconstructionllc.com

On today's episode, Rich sits down with Andrew Greer -- Co-founder of Thomas Strafford Investments, which specializes in the acquisition and re-positioning of undervalued real estate assets. As the Team Lead of Real Estate Pro Team, Andrew oversees a dynamic group of over 30 agents in San Diego's competitive market. A local infill developer, he has extensive experience in single-family, multi-family, and pre-manufactured pocket communities. Actively involved in building custom homes and apartments, he continuously diversifies his investment portfolio. A community leader, Andrew regularly hosts industry events to foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing. His impact was recently celebrated with the "Investor of the Year" award for 2022 by San Diego Real Producers.Rich and Andrew do a deep dive into how he's using prefab ADU's to build pocket communities, and they give the listeners a full breakdown of the ADU play and why they see it as a huge opportunity in the space right now. They also discuss the changes in local regulations, the ins & outs of the permitting process, and the biggest mistake they see ADU investors making.Connect with Andrew on Instagram: @realtyentrepreneur--Connect with Rich on Instagram: @rich_somersInterested in investing with Somers Capital? Visit www.somerscapital.com/invest to learn more. Interested in joining our Boutique Hotel Mastermind? Visit www.somerscapital.com/mastermind to book a free call. Interested in STR/Boutique Hotel Management? Visit www.excelsiorstays.com/management to book a free call.

"Integrate your assemblies as if they are the lego blocks of building…on top of that, consider modular units as the lego Death Star. Think of it as, not necessarily you have to have an entire modular building, but I have a modular unit.” This is episode 3 of 3 for a Deep Dive Series on Advancing Prefabrication!  Join Devon and co-host Matt McMullen as he talks with the legendary Lonnie Cumpton of AEC Inspire! Lonnie Cumpton brings over three decades of hands-on experience in the building design and construction industry, where he has dedicated himself to mentoring professionals and guiding firms through the complex landscape of technological integration. As Co-founder and Senior Director of Product Strategy and Customer Success at AECInspire, Lonnie is not just a leader but a coach, helping his team and clients embrace prefabrication and innovative solutions to address the skilled labor shortage in the construction industry. Lonnie's approach is firmly grounded in the belief that the best technological implementations start with a focus on people and processes before technology. This guiding principle has shaped his pivotal roles, from overseeing mega-sized projects like the Cosmopolitan Casino Resort to his strategic direction at Sanveo, Inc., and now at AECInspire. He fosters environments where technology acts as an enabler rather than a disruptor, streamlining processes from Takeoff to Prefab to Installation through smart applications and tools. Previously, as Director of Construction Manufacturing at the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), Lonnie guided electrical contractors in adopting data-centric processes that improve information flow and project outcomes. His tenure at Faith Technologies and Taylor Design further exemplifies his commitment to educational leadership and the practical application of BIM and prefabrication technologies. A respected voice in the industry, Lonnie is regularly featured in trade publications and speaks at conferences like Autodesk University and Advancing Prefabrication, where he shares his vision for a more integrated and efficient future in construction. Throughout his career, Lonnie has maintained an unwavering passion for the personal and professional growth of industry professionals. He firmly believes that the key to industry advancement lies in empowering individuals with the knowledge and tools to succeed, making each professional an integral part of the industry's future. Read more about the MAP Network.  Watch a clip of this virtual podcast! X - @aec_inspire & @lonniecumpton Keep up with the Art of Construction (AOC) podcast on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Youtube!

In this episode of the Passive House Podcast co-host Zack Semke speaks with Tim McDonald of Onion Flats Architecture on the heels of Tim's involvement in the Reimagine Building PREFAB conference. Tim discusses his firm's current portfolio of passive deep energy retrofit projects  and shares his growing realization that we need to fundamentally rethink our understanding of the economics of retrofits. Compared to building new, saving buildings is cheap! To prove the point, he walks us through the Mayweather Apartments project near Boston.https://www.onionflats.com/https://www.poah.org/https://haycon-inc.com/https://www.facadesx.com/https://rmi.org/our-work/buildings/realize/https://collectivecarpentry.com/https://quantumpassivhaus.com/https://www.reframe.systems/Thank you for listening to the Passive House Podcast! To learn more about Passive House and to stay abreast of our latest programming, visit passivehouseaccelerator.com. And please join us at one of our Passive House Accelerator LIVE! zoom gatherings on Wednesdays.

In this episode of the podcast, Co-Hosts Mary James and Ilka Cassidy speak with Heather Mott, Director of Architecture at Collective Carpentry. Heather provides an update on the progress of the company's pre-designed homes, known as Collective Homes.  She delves into the refinements made to their building process, including advancements in communication with consultants, feedback integration, and the importance of a holistic approach to sustainable construction. Heather also touches on geographical considerations, material choices, mechanical systems, and expansion plans for multi-family projects and a new production shop.This episode is part of our month-long series covering perspectives on Prefab in Passive House, leading up to Reimagine Buildings: PreFab , taking place virtually on May 17th.Check out Collective Carpentry here https://collectivecarpentry.com/Heather will be speaking at Reimagine Buildings Prefab on May 17th! Register now: https://events.ringcentral.com/events/reimagine-buildings-live-prefab/registrationThank you for listening to the Passive House Podcast! To learn more about Passive House and to stay abreast of our latest programming, visit passivehouseaccelerator.com. And please join us at one of our Passive House Accelerator LIVE! zoom gatherings on Wednesdays.

From the heart of Lockhart, Texas, meet Darren Christensen, a seasoned veteran with an impressive 17-year journey in the realm of real estate investing. Darren's story is one of transformation and determination. He embarked on his real estate journey as an investor, specializing in the rehabilitation and flipping of homes. Through this hands-on experience, Darren developed a keen eye for identifying the flaws and shortcomings in traditional home construction. In 2011, he reached a pivotal moment when his own newly built home began to deteriorate. This experience sparked a profound realization that there had to be a better way to construct homes—ones that are not only durable but also offer unparalleled comfort and healthiness for their occupants. Driven by this vision, he delved into ground-up construction, immersing himself in the intricacies of building science and practices that contribute to long-lived, healthy homes. As his passion for innovation grew, Darren explored the realm of prefab homes, recognizing their potential for efficiency and scalability. However, true to his nature as a forward-thinker, he didn't stop there. He identified significant obstacles within the prefab industry and saw an opportunity to revolutionize the status quo by embracing a smaller, more efficient approach. Thus, My Chez Space was born—a testament to his commitment to helping others succeed by providing spaces that not only fulfill practical needs but also empower individuals to pursue their dreams. His journey exemplifies the power of perseverance and the transformative impact of innovative thinking in the real estate landscape. His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is simple yet profound: just get started. Whether it's cutting expenses, generating additional income, or creating the space you need to thrive, Darren and My Chez Space are here to support your journey to success. Join us as we dive into his remarkable story, exploring the transformative power of efficient and purposeful real estate solutions. Stay tuned for an enlightening conversation ahead.   For More Info:  www.mychezspace.com. @mychezspace The Moorhead Team is excited to bring you information about investing in real estate in the Central Texas area! More information can be found at our website at www.themoorheadteam.com and our YouTube page The Moorhead Team. We're always aiming to bring you great free content about investing in real estate in Austin, TX! Instagram: @themoorheadteam  Make sure to sign up for our email list for off market properties and market updates!  

Why do Catholics pray prefab prayers?, immersion Baptism, Deutorcanonical books from the Old Testament and more.

Why do Catholics pray prefab prayers?, immersion Baptism, Deutorcanonical books from the Old Testament and more.

Passive House Podcast co-host Ilka Cassidy interviews Beth Campell of Unity Homes, Edie Dillman of  B.Public Prefab and Katie Faulkner of West Work . This discussion considers pathways toward pre-manufactured buildings and tackles challenges in large scale market adoption from four different viewpoints: the architect, the builder, the software integrator, and the retrofit specialist.This episode is part of our month-long series covering perspectives on Prefab in Passive House, leading up to Reimagine Buildings: PreFab , taking place virtually on May 17th.https://bpublicprefab.com/https://west-work.com/https://unityhomes.com/Register now for Reimagine Buildings PreFab here:  https://events.ringcentral.com/events/reimagine-buildings-live-prefab/registrationThank you for listening to the Passive House Podcast! To learn more about Passive House and to stay abreast of our latest programming, visit passivehouseaccelerator.com. And please join us at one of our Passive House Accelerator LIVE! zoom gatherings on Wednesdays.

In this conversation, Sean and Catherine discuss their week, including the rainy weather and an earthquake. They then shift to talking about Premier's plans to build a new headquarters on his property. After considering a pole barn, Sean decides to go with a prefab option. He explains that the building will be designed and prefabricated off-site, with panels and roof trusses delivered to the site for assembly. This method is expected to save time and make the construction process more efficient. They also briefly discuss Home Depot's acquisition of SRS distributors and the future of construction. The conversation explores the changing landscape of the construction industry, with a focus on the rise of prefabrication and the acquisition of SRS Distribution by Home Depot. The hosts discuss the benefits and drawbacks of prefabrication, including increased efficiency and reduced waste, but also concerns about craftsmanship and quality. They also speculate on Home Depot's strategy and the potential for monopolies in the industry. The conversation concludes with a lighthearted discussion about playing Monopoly and the importance of embracing change and seizing opportunities.

Prefab has demonstrated itself to be a valuable addition to the construction industry, but there's still some pushback against it. When we're certain of the benefit of new processes, we just need to be persistent. As they say, “the proof is in the pudding.” In this episode, Mike Barrett of CRB joins us to discuss how the cumulative successes of prefab will ultimately be key to widespread adoption. Mike Barrett is Vice President of Technical Innovation and Delivery at CRB. He is passionate about excellence through project delivery and develops and drives innovative project delivery strategies across the entire project execution value stream. He brings a lean-thinking mindset to continuously seek out waste in project delivery processes, practices, tools, and methods in order to position CRB as a global leader in Life Science Project Execution.

Great to catch up LIVE at www.Advancing-Prefabrication.com with Amy Marks from Symetri USA and https://queenofprefab.com/  Whats your next Hanson Wade event?  https://advancingconstruction.com/ https://advancing-preconstruction.com/  Chapter 1: Intro 00:00: Tim introduces the event, "Build Perspectives," and his interest in the building products industry. 00:48: Amy Marks introduces herself as the Executive Vice President of Global Strategy at Symmetry, AKA the Queen of Prefab! Chapter 2: Advancing Prefab Event Overview 02:31: Amy Marks discusses the unique aspects of the Advancing Prefab event, emphasizing its focus on authentic conversations and business connections. 03:30: The event is described as a platform for making valuable business connections and fostering collaboration within the construction industry. Chapter 2: Advancing Prefab Event Overview 04:54: The event's evolution over the years is noted, with increased participation from architects, engineers, and general contractors. 05:44: Amy mentions the diverse audience and the positive impact of having decision-makers from various sectors present at the event. Chapter 4: Importance of Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing 07:45: Amy emphasizes the significance of sharing knowledge and experiences within the construction industry. 08:25: The discussion shifts to the need for companies to engage with social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok to attract a more diverse workforce. Chapter 5: Encouraging Diversity in the Construction Industry 09:48: Amy highlights the importance of promoting diversity in the construction industry, particularly in attracting more women and young talent. 10:41: The conversation extends to the role of social media influencers in showcasing diverse careers in construction and related fields. Chapter 6: Amy's Advocacy for Change and Industry Engagement 12:33: Amy encourages companies to actively engage in social media platforms and support initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion in the industry. 13:25: The importance of providing platforms for change agents and fostering an environment of courage and openness is emphasized. Chapter 7: Connecting with Amy Marks and Conclusion 14:43: Amy shares ways to connect with her on social media platforms and through Symmetry for further engagement and collaboration. 16:05: Tim acknowledges Amy's contributions and the value of her insights in driving positive change and innovation in the industry.

Offsite facilities are opening up everywhere. Everyone wants a shot at getting prefab 'right' and growing the industry into the massive potential that we know is there. Will the backbone of the industry still remain in hardware or are currents shifting towards software? Anthony Montesano is a solution sales manager at StrucSoft. He is a seasoned veteran of the industry - from shipping software on CDs in the early 2000s to connecting teams with the tools to build the Las Vegas sphere and beyond.

Back again from Advancing Prefab comes Amr Raafat and Stuart Meurer. Each year, these two take a longitudinal look at how the field of prefab has changed over time. The big topic this year? AI, naturally. A unique angle came from our conversation because their company Windover Construction used AI to assist in projects and were able to verify that it was indeed accurate. Perhaps over the next year we will see other companies doing similar testing and adding their thoughts to the industry at large. Stuart Meurer is President and CEO of Windover Construction. He provides leadership for the firm and is integral to ensuring operational excellence across all project teams. Dedicated to service and collaboration, Stuart focuses Windover's teams and resources on the needs of clients to deliver a tailored, thoughtful approach to every project.  Amr Raafat leads Windover's virtual design and construction team and the Innovations for Design, Engineering, and Automation (IDEA™) platform, providing leading-edge technology services to optimize project delivery. He received his master's degree in architecture from the Boston Architectural College and received global recognition as the Innovator of the Year award at the Autodesk AEC Excellence Awards in 2019.

In this episode of the Building PA Podcast, co-hosts Chris Martin and Jon O'Brien take a field trip to Novinger's in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They are joined by Steve Powers, the Vice President of Sales at Novinger's, who is hailed as the cleanup hitter and the go-to person for all things related to panel construction and exterior panels. Steve shares insights into the evolution of prefabrication, from a curious construction method to a financial necessity driving project efficiency. The episode promises a fascinating exploration of the history, challenges, and advancements in prefabrication, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the industry with a seasoned expert. 

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we're back to buildings! Buildings and the built environment are responsible for as much as 40 percent of carbon emissions and energy demand. In fact, a UN report from 2022 found that although the buildings and construction industry has done some investing in energy efficiency and more sustainable processes, its emissions hit an all-time high that year, after a brief dip during the pandemic. Solutions lie in more sustainable building practices, denser housing, and better building materials, and this week's guest is doing all three. Plant Prefab sustainably builds multi-unit housing in super high-tech automated factories. This week's guest is founder and former CEO Steve Glenn.RESOURCES & LINKSPlant Prefab: https://www.plantprefab.com/All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member and get an ad-free version of the podcast: https://plus.acast.com/s/everybody-in-the-pool Please subscribe and tell your friends about EITP! Send feedback or become a sponsor at in@everybodyinthepool.com! To support the show and get an ad-free listening experience, please jump in and become a member of Everybody in the Pool! https://plus.acast.com/s/everybody-in-the-pool. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode of the Massively OP Podcast, Bree and Justin devote a full show to talking about MMO player housing! So bring your Pod or U-Haul up to the front door, unload your stuff, and make yourself feel at home. It's the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you'd like to send in your question to the show, use this link. Show notes: Intro What advantages does housing bring to an MMO? MMOs that added housing after launch Placement tools -- the good, the bad, and the ugly Prefab vs. custom-built houses What are the best ways to utilize housing as part of the gameplay loop? Apartments in MMOs Instanced vs. open world housing How can MMOs incentivize players to check out each others' housing? Taxes and monetization Integrating housing items into the whole MMO ecosystem Outro Other info: Podcast theme: "A Golden Field" from WildStar Your show hosts: Justin and Bree Listen to Massively OP Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Pocket Casts, Amazon, and Spotify Follow Massively Overpowered: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Twitch If you're having problems seeing or using the web player, please check your flashblock or scriptblock setting.

Building homes in factories can save money and time – so why has prefabricated housing struggled to gain traction in the U.S.? Scandinavian countries use it for more than 40% of their housing production, whereas in the U.S. it's less than 4%, according to a 2023 report from consulting firm McKinsey. The Bay Area has produced some big winners and losers in the prefab space. In the past decade alone, several startups launched amid fanfare only to shutter and fail to deliver housing at scale. But, other developers and manufacturers are making a dent in the housing market. Vallejo-based Factory OS has delivered close to 3,000 homes in the last five years and can now build up to 1,000 units per year. We'll talk about why prefabricated housing remains a promising, but challenging piece of the housing production pie. Guests: Nick Gomez, principal; director of modular design and construction, AO Architects Rick Holliday, co-founder, Holliday Development and Factory OS; co-founder, Eden Housing; co-founder, BRIDGE Housing Dave Dauphinais, associate partner, McKinsey & Co.

Blach Construction is rewriting the blueprint of Silicon Valley, marrying design-build expertise with prefab innovation to redefine how we build our future. In this episode, we sit down with Dan Rogers, President of Blach Construction, a pioneering force in the world of design-build and prefab innovation. Dan is here to reveal the secrets behind Blach Construction's meteoric rise and its commitment to revolutionizing the construction landscape. From the fusion of design-build and prefab innovation to adapting to industry trends, Dan covers everything relevant about Blach Construction in this evolving world of technology. More than that, Dan also shares the shift of focus to solution-making, ensuring the right cultural fit when hiring, and a unique approach to leadership that might make all the difference. Join us in exploring the transformation and innovation of Silicon Valley and stay ahead in the game.

Prefab is a topic so thoroughly discussed over the last 10 years that many start to tune it out when mentioned. After talking with Todd Grossweiler, Executive Vice President at Allison Smith Company about their approach to prefab, I wonder if we should start thinking of prefab not just as another process to complete projects, but as a vehicle to improve company culture.To build a great prefab process you should involve the entire team which increases employee buy-in and engagement.If done well, it can improve the working conditions of employees, which can improve job satisfaction.It can help the company run more efficiently which can help the bottom line and help the company win more business which helps the overall health of the enterprise for all involved. Todd Grossweiler has been with the Allison-Smith Company for the past 22 years. Todd graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology where he received a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering. He continues to seek out ways to innovate through processes, technology, and people. Maintaining good relationships with both his internal team and external customers is the foundation for his success.Todd believes that if you surround yourself with good people, then good things will happen. I sat down with Todd on the NECA convention showroom floor and our conversation energized me. Thank you for listening and please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review our show on your favorite app.To get a hold of us here at Keepin' The Lights On, please email: podcast@graybar.comTo reach Todd on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddgrossweiler/Find the latest from Allison Smith: https://allisonsmith.com/Waffle House: https://www.wafflehouse.com/Muss and Turners: https://www.mussandturners.com/ YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/e0voQI8UDu8