Smart Construction Gains Ground
In San Mateo, California, tech-focused real estate developer Veev wants to turn the U.S. housing crisis into an opportunity. The state needs about three million more housing units.
Veev has multiple backers, including homebuilding giant Lennar’s future-focused LenX arm. Veev says its panel construction method is faster cheaper, and eco-friendlier than the typical builder’s approach. Its steel-frame structures have smart sensors and use electricity sources sparingly.
The company started with accessory units for home properties, and it’s now doing full-sized homes in its factory, TechCrunch recently reported. Veev has already partnered with Lennar to build a townhome community with more than 100 units in Northern California.
Veev’s version of housing materials are specially designed to be lighter, stronger, and lower in waste and carbon emissions than their traditional counterparts. And the company says its end-to-end manufacturing process gets homes ready for buyers about four times as fast.
Software-Guided Techniques Transform Mass Residential Construction
Veev is not alone, of course, in harnessing high tech to take on the housing crisis. As Deeds.com reported early this year, the 3D-printed housing trend is rising to the occasion, from Habitat for Humanity to Lennar. We’ve also taken a look at Mighty Buildings, which collaborates with other builders to transform mass residential construction through its state-of-the-art 3-D printing tech. Machine learning, robotics and other evolving technologies help developers produce models quickly, while nimbly working around the shortages of people and building materials that are slowing down work at traditional building sites.
☛ The pandemic caused production slowdowns, and throughout 2021, builders faced supply chain delays in a time of strong demand for housing. By early 2022, some builders let buyers move into unfinished homes.
Machine learning doesn’t just speed up manufacturing to better meet demand. It can enhance planning on many levels. Algorithms can be trained to check measurements for materials, allocate equipment, and predict the weather.
In construction, artificial intelligence (AI) can:
- Keep projects within budgets and timelines.
- Generate a range of possible plans and predict their outcomes.
- Deliver training to technicians.
- Provide 3D building models that guide the installation of electrical and plumbing systems.
- Direct autonomous robots at the factory as they manufacture building components.
- Permit detailed engineering processes to be tweaked in real time, assisted by virtual reality.
- Deploy robots on construction sites that monitor the work under way.
- Alert managers when people need to step in and avert construction mistakes.
- Control self-driving bulldozers and other construction machinery.
- Monitor and flag risks in the factory or construction site.
- Track compliance with regulations and operating procedures.
Because every site and project feeds data into the algorithms, machine learning continues to do better each time it approaches a task, advancing the field of smart construction as it develops. And once smart homes are up and running, developers and property managers can continue to apply artificial intelligence, as sensors enable a continual flow of data about built structures.
This Los Angeles Company Uses Design Algorithms in Modular Housing
Cover is a company that makes backyard cottages for the 21st century. Whether you call them accessory dwelling units, backyard studios, granny flats, or in-law cottages, these small offices and homes help reduce sprawl and increase density in a subtler way than large-scale multi-unit construction can.
Based in Los Angeles, Cover creates panel-based structures that can be designed, installed, and ready for new residents in just a few weeks. The startup sees its opportunity in a growing trend: upzoning for backyard dwellings and the trend in inclusive deed restrictions that help more people become homeowners.
The price for a finished modular cottage from Cover? It depends on the size. Quotes include the city charges and permit fees, as well as the cottage itself and the installation work. At this point in the technology rollout, you can expect something in the area of $250,000 for a 600-square-foot dwelling with a bedroom. (That price makes sense in Los Angeles!)
So, how does it work? Designers plan templates for the modules. These basic plans are kept in a software database. Then the client’s preferences come in. Cover collaborates with each client to create a unique plan for the new building. This involves the selection of style elements and feature preferences that fit the building’s planned use.
The team will then visit the property to take measurements and gather site information. When that’s done, Cover’s design algorithms get to work!
There are, of course, all the usual compliance issues. Site-specific zoning comes into play, and the permitting phase is likely to take several weeks. After that’s sorted out, the foundation is installed. Then the super-strong but lightweight floor, wall, and roof panels arrive at the installation site. The composite panels, unlike drywall, are easy to move without damage.
It’s an efficient process. Heavy construction machinery is unnecessary. If all goes well, assembly can be done within a month.
The result is an energy-efficient building. Sunlight direction is integrated to ensure just the right angles to take advantage of nature’s own energy sources. Cover manufactures the windows according to LEED standards, and seals its pre-fab panels with closed-cell foam insulation. And the whole manufacturing concept prioritizes waste reduction. Seams become lighting or audio speaker tracks, or safety sensors. Plumbing and electrical systems run overhead, and are easily accessible for modifications through the ceiling panels.
So far, Cover is known for its backyard studios and extra housing for extended family (children returning from college; parents who want to live nearby for safety and to be with their families). Cover now wants to build standalone homes and multi-unit buildings. To that end, it’s moving its operations into a bigger factory. Cover also wants to help clients build extensions. The software will let owners plan their own new modules. Then, a team from Cover can install the extensions in just a few days.
Sounds like Cover is as much about becoming a software technology leader as it’s about producing buildings. And that’s precisely the image Cover is going for. The company’s funding has been led partly by Tesla investors.
Looking Ahead: How Will This Concept Evolve?
While AI-assisted, modular building technology may now be an expensive answer to the nationwide housing crisis, it’s still in its earliest innings. Proponents of technological innovation frequently cite Wright’s Law. This formula, developed in 1936, holds that at every time production reaches the point of doubling, costs go down by a predictable amount. Put simply, this means we can rely on prices coming down as the use of a workable AI-powered innovation spreads.
Because sustainability is so important today, we can also expect breakthroughs in materials science. Companies like the ones discussed above should be able to do much more with recycled materials as the field advances.
Finally, an issue that must be addressed is the potential displacement of human workers. Will the spread of AI and robotics put people out of jobs? Industrial innovators say it’s not that kind of zero-sum game. Instead of displacing people, robotics and AI will change manufacturing by placing machines in dangerous, error-prone, or repetitive tasks, and create more opportunities for humans in the fast-growing areas of technology.
Supporting References
Mary Ann Azevedo for TechCrunch: Real Estate Developer Turned Prefab Home Builder Veev Closes on $400M in Fresh Funding (Mar. 1, 2022).
Connie Loizos for TechCrunch: Cover, a Modular Home Builder That’s Modeled in Ways After Tesla, Has Raised a $60 Million Series B (Oct. 28, 2021).
Sumana Rao for Trimble.com: The Benefits of AI in Construction (Mar. 1, 2022).
Lauren Shanesy for Builder: Firm Uses Software to Design Custom, Prefab ADUs in Three Days (Sep. 28, 2017).
And as linked.
Photo credits: Expect Best and Vecislavas Popa, via Pexels. Photos are decorative only, and are not actual representations of products mentioned in this article.