Category: Offsite News
Listen to the Podcast Hear the story of how furniture giant IKEA combined forces with European construction giant Skanska to form BoKlok, a major offsite homebuilder that is successfully tackling the affordable housing challenge in Scandinavia. Jerker Lessing, Head of R&D for BoKlok, explains: Why architects were not involved in the early development process The… Read more »
Building inspectors perform a vital role in the construction process, but few young people are adopting this as a career. George Williams, a Salt Lake City building inspector is 34. While attending ongoing training at his local branch of the International Code Council (ICC), Williams had this to say; “Without fail, I was the youngest… Read more »
While the way in which houses are built hasn’t changed much in the last five decades, its about to. Smart home technology, renewable energy sources and the automation of off-site construction are combining to create the perfect storm for major change. Throw the current construction labor shortage into the mix and you have these new… Read more »
Building Information Modeling (BIM) has taken a long time to find its footing in the construction industry. That’s what we’ve come to expect from a sector that has historically been reticent to adopt change. Apprentices learn from mentors who have been building the same way for decades and aren’t likely to shake things up. With… Read more »
One of the many reasons for the growing housing shortage in the US is that people are “aging in place”. According to one study, people stay in their homes twice as long as they did in the 1920s. Homeowners aren’t updating their homes before placing them on the market, leaving buyers with unsatisfactory choices. “We… Read more »
During the 1970s, prefab was huge. Designers and builders recognized that they could save time and build cheaper and more accurately if they produced homes in factories. According to the US Census bureau, only 2% of single-family homes were prefab or modular in 2016. So why are there so few prefab houses today? From movie… Read more »
The building industry is not keeping up with demand. Labor shortages mean not enough new homes are being built and that results in higher prices. The number of workers who are 24 and under has declined by 30% in 48 states, according to the analysis of U.S. Census data by Issi Romem, chief economist at… Read more »
Labor shortages and increased demand through urbanization has led to a global housing shortage. The construction industry hasn’t changed much in the last 50 years but to meet this growing challenge, it must evolve to build houses in a way that’s faster, cheaper and more environmentally friendly. To meet this challenge, Metsä Wood’s Mikko Saavalainen,… Read more »
There is a pervasive myth that millennials will be a generation of renters. While they are off to a late start, millennials are investing in starter homes faster than the construction industry can build them. The perception that younger home seekers would rather rent than buy may have been true during the housing recession years,… Read more »
The age of concrete is over. Increasing urbanization means that over 70% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050 and, with the US building industry accounting for 39% of greenhouse gas emissions, construction needs to find ways to be more sustainable. Now wood construction is offering a renewable alternative that is revolutionizing… Read more »
Join us as we head to
Philadelphia, November 12—14, 2024
