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The dream of high-quality, mass-produced affordable homes has been around since the 50s. Despite successful projects, such as SOM’s 1943 Oak Ridge pre-fab development, the industry as a whole has not adopted off-site construction techniques at scale. The construction industry continues to take a project-by-project approach using in-situ techniques. While every other industry shows a secular trend of increased productivity, the construction industry stands alone with steadily declining efficiency over the last couple of decades. Large investments by industry players such as Katerra and Google’s Sidewalk Labs, as well as the emergence of a number of innovative startups suggest a shift in an industry ripe for disruption. Modular constructions holds the promise of delivering cost and time savings, but also presents significant challenges to adoption.

Join Mithun partner Craig Curtis for “Modular Construction: Has Its Time Finally Come?” to explore structural changes in the industry that have fueled the adoption of modular construction and consider the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. Why have efforts to industrialize construction failed in the past? Where does the industry stand today? What potential impact do technological advances or the high cost of housing have on the future of off-site construction? What impact will this have on the practice of Architecture? Has modular construction’s time finally come?

Craig’s co-panelists include BoKlok director of research and development Jerker Lessing, Sidewalk Labs director of buildings innovation Karim Khalifa, DMDmodular CEO Ewelina Wozniak-Szpakiewicz, and ModX founding partners Ivan Rupnik and Ryan Smith.

Date Posted: 01.28.2021