This a significant segment of construction workers—and this is not only about the numbers, critical as they are; it is also about the loss of knowledge that leaves with a generation that retires.

At the same time this sliver tsunami is happening, there is also another seismic change taking place. The industry itself is shifting from almost exclusively manual work to more digitally connected work, including drone surveying and other autonomous machinery. Change brings challenge and opportunity, and that is why it is pivotal for the construction industry to make a connection with Gen Z workers and future generations whose lives revolve around digital tech pretty much as soon as they can walk. But attracting a new generation of workers takes a concerted effort.

An important place to start is by understanding the economic and workplace forces that are shaping choices for these generations.

One of the primary changes is the cost of pursuing an education continues to go up. In the past 10-plus years, tuition has risen as much as 30 percent, CNBC reports. These costs are leading young people to take a hard look at what education means, and more are considering vocational training as a way to gain the experience that will translate into direct career opportunities. The construction industry is in a prime position to bridge the skills that many are looking for.

Combine that with the potential impact AI will make as it continues to mature and changes the landscape for traditional desk jobs. There is a very real opportunity to attract a younger crowd that could have a long-term impact on the industry. To do that means getting into schools to reach out to kids, as well as focusing on influencers, parents, and guidance counsellors to move past the old, outdated view of construction.

By making vocational training more ubiquitous, kids will be more open to the opportunities in the industry that are available to them. Initiatives like sponsoring builders’ clubs and hosting onsite tours can show kids what construction looks like and dispel some of the outdated views of the industry. It is also a way to showcase the modern, technology-driven aspects of the sector and emphasize the career security that comes with the field through ongoing labor demand. Mentorships and tuition reimbursement for training can be motivating for young people as well.

Further, there is an opportunity for the industry to reach young people who may otherwise not have options through the college system. The Ohio Construction Academy, for example, is a community school (or charter school) that is funded by the Ohio Department of Education. The academy offers students in Grades 9 to 12, or from the ages of 14 to 22, who live in the local community and do not possess a high school diploma or the equivalent, the opportunity to gain carpentry and electrical training. While enrolled, students spend part of the day working on their academic requirements to receive a diploma and the rest of each day is spent building their skills in a workshop adjacent to the classroom areas.

Like many good ideas, this academy was born from necessity. The central Ohio chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors saw the coming skilled trades shortfall and opened the academy to get ahead of it. “We decided to take a hands-on approach,” Barton Hacker, Chapter President and CEO, told a local news service. The academy is connected to an adult apprenticeship program that the Associated Builders and Contractors already managed.

A public-private partnership approach like this can create opportunities not only for the construction industry, but for youth who are looking for a career path.

Further north, in Canada, the government of Ontario launched what is called a Specialist High Skills Major where students can work toward a high school diploma but also focus their education on a particular economic sector like construction, mining, or agriculture. When they complete the program, they have a high school education and valuable training in their field of interest.

All of this can be very compelling to a young person coming out of high school who doesn’t want to take on excessive debt for education (while the prospects for long-term careers may be less certain than before). Vocational experience can lead to making good money quickly or even while learning. And career progression can move faster because of ongoing demand, with many individuals moving swiftly from a trade worker to a foreperson or project manager.

It is not only younger workers that will keep the construction industry going. There is also a huge, untapped pool of potential workers out there: women. Construction is often considered too heavily male-dominated to attract women to the industry, with men accounting for about 89 percent of the construction workforce in the U.S. The truth is that many women who might otherwise be interested in the field can be put off by accounts of harassment, an environment that is not conducive to family responsibilities, or even the reality that finding basic PPE to fit can be a challenge.

If the industry is serious about bringing in the next generation of workers, it needs to take an intentional approach to stomping out instances of harassment and providing mentorship opportunities to pair newly hired women with experienced workers who can take them through how to best work in a male-dominated environment.

In an opinion piece for the St. Louis Business Journal, Elizabeth Zucker, president of the St. Louis Business Unit, Clayco, talks about the value that women can bring to the construction industry: “Despite the urgent need for talent, women hold just 11 percent of construction jobs, with even fewer women holding leadership roles in both the C-suite and the field,” Zucker writes. “The unfortunate reality is that many women who pursue a career in the construction industry aren’t always put in positions to succeed and advance. A recent study from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that more than four in 10 women working in construction have seriously considered leaving their jobs because of discrimination, harassment, and being held to a different standard than their male coworkers.”

Zucker goes on to offer some ways to make the industry a better option for women. One of the most powerful ways to challenge stereotypes and break down barriers is seeing representation in jobs and careers that young people might not normally be exposed to. For example, the Clayco NOW (Network of Women) program supports a host of initiatives geared toward developing the next generation of female construction workers and leaders. Young girls in particular need exposure to the idea that the construction industry and skilled trades are a viable career path and need role models and mentors so they can see what success looks like. “If we want to close the labor gap and attract the next generation of construction workers, we must open the door wider and make women part of the solution,” writes Zucker.

Whether it is attracting women or young people in general, the construction industry needs to take a multifaceted approach to creating a healthy talent pipeline of workers before the impact of the silver tsunami is really felt. That means partnering with schools, using digital innovations to attract more people, and being intentional about mentorship programs to show students where a career in construction can take them. It will also likely take some soul searching to ensure that the work environment is an open one. Otherwise, coming back from a tidal wave could be extremely difficult.

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At a time when we’re more conscious than ever about greenhouse gases and climate change, it’s important to recognize that the substantial amount of energy used to demolish and create new buildings has its own significant impact. Campaigners against the demolition and redevelopment of London’s Marks & Spencer art deco flagship store in London claimed as much as 40,000 tonnes of CO₂ would be produced by the project. After years of opposition, the plan got the green light in 2024, but demolition has yet to start.

New solutions to traditional demolition and redevelopment are emerging, however. One that is gaining momentum is adaptive reuse, also known as recycling and conversion—making the most of what we have.

Adaptive reuse is the process whereby buildings are used in a different capacity than their original purpose. Typically, these buildings are at the end of their lifespan, so reuse allows for elements of their design, appearance, cultural heritage or historic significance to be saved from demolition in processes that consume a significant amount of energy. In this way, they also serve a function that could bring new populations through their doors. Historic places are transformed and vacant buildings become opportunities to revitalize communities as new homes, offices, hotels, and more.

Some of the most well-loved places in the world are adaptive reuse projects. The Tate Modern Gallery in London was converted from a former power station. The Distillery District in Toronto was home to an industrial distillery that’s been transformed into a pedestrian and commercial area with a theatre and outdoor performance space. And the High Line in New York City was re-imagined and repurposed from a former railway line into a public park and beautiful urban walkway.

Research backs the environmental benefits. When buildings are reused instead of demolished and replaced, up to 90 percent of their materials can be salvaged so they don’t end up in landfills, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Construction and demolition is one of the largest waste streams, responsible for an estimated 30 percent of total solid waste.

The World Economic Forum, in consultation with global experts and municipalities, has developed a model policy on adaptive reuse to support initiatives that ultimately create better communities. Projects work to “boost local economies and contribute to regional productivity and competitiveness by attracting investment and creating workforce development opportunities, including temporary and permanent jobs,” the policy states. It also outlines the potential to increase the market value of built assets, increasing property values and property tax revenues, creating a ripple effect of additional revenues for local governments to improve schools, emergency services, public transportation, and affordable housing.

Top of mind for the construction industry is recognizing adaptive reuse as a strategy for maximizing the operational and commercial performance of built assets. There’s a general misconception that new energy-efficient buildings are the way to move toward carbon neutral goals and sustainability. In fact, as Autodesk reports, a new energy-efficient building can take anywhere from 10 to 80 years to offset the environmental impact of its own construction process. “Think of buildings as very large manufactured goods; prolonging the lifespan of existing structures is a sustainable strategy that’s becoming a necessity as the world population grows more urbanized.”

Adaptive reuse addresses carbon burdens that already exist in the built environment. As Carl Elefante, former president of the American Institute of Architects, has said: “The greenest building is the one that already exists.”

What makes adaptive reuse distinct from historic preservation? With the former, designers are not limited to using original building materials and methods. Instead, they can be innovative, incorporating recycled materials and leading systems. Projects can also earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, all while making the most of some stunning old factories with brick exteriors and large, light-filled windows.

The Roebling Lofts in Trenton, New Jersey are housed in a 1917 wire rope factory that produced wire rope for aircraft and cables for suspension bridges like New York City’s George Washington Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Famously, John A. Roebling’s Sons Co. provided wires for Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis for its celebrated 1927 transatlantic flight.

The Roebling Lofts project preserved the exterior masonry, steel, and heavy timber framing. In a nod to its history, the wire rope testing machine is on display in the fourth-floor residents’ lounge. Architects designed for solar panels on the roof and recycled materials for kitchen and bathroom counters, including Richlite, an antibacterial surface made from recycled paper and resin. The backsplash tiles in the kitchens are made from recycled glass.

In another plus, this adaptive reuse project promotes neighbourhood development and green transportation. The pet-friendly building is steps from the Roebling Market, local restaurants and businesses, and public transportation.

In Brooklyn, the 1930s-era Lewis Steel Products factory has become loft apartments. The LEED Silver-certified Lewis Steel Building spans an entire city block and showcases original features like 12-foot ceilings, exposed brick walls, and beams of steel and wood. Now the manufacturing-centered area has morphed into a hub for a diverse and artistic community. There’s close proximity to public transportation and locally owned restaurants and shops, and the building itself features bicycle storage. The development team also focused on reducing energy and water use.

When you think about places where abandoned structures remain signs of economic prominence in days gone by, Detroit is a front-runner because of the auto industry’s moving production out of the city. It’s turning around, however, to become a model for economic resurgence, with major investments in the downtown, including Ford Motor Company’s commitment to overhaul Michigan Central Station into a 1.2-million-square-foot innovation campus. The project stared by drying out the 600,000-square-foot structure, which had been damaged by the elements since the last train left the station 30 years ago.

Michigan Central opened in fall 2024 as a tech and cultural hub to promote innovation in autonomous vehicles and urban mobility solutions. The walkable community is anchored by the train station and designed to help residents and businesses connect with the surrounding neighbourhoods and the city at large.

Ford Chair Bill Ford, great grandson of company founder Henry Ford, said attracting top talent to Detroit is “getting better” but noted that “it’s a tall order” to convince workers from California or the East Coast to relocate to Detroit and work for Ford, CNBC reports. “If you can show them a place like Michigan Central, not just in its beauty, which alone is incredible, but then talk about the kind of things that will be going on there, then it becomes, I think, a really valuable resource for the company going forward,” he said.

Lori Ferriss, co-founder of the Built Buildings Lab, makes the case that reusing existing buildings is not only good for the planet; it’s good for business. Adaptive reuse projects are outperforming new construction by delivering faster returns, reducing risk, and spurring community revitalization. Ferriss’s report drives the point home, exploring how developers can find both profit and purpose in adaptive reuse for existing buildings.

“One message I heard from almost everyone I spoke to, and that I continue to hear again and again in the field, is that in addition to making money, reuse is often a labor of love,” Ferriss tells Urban Land. “There is a special sense of pride, accomplishment, and often stewardship that comes from successfully renewing existing buildings. In an industry driven by financial returns, I think it’s important that we also recognize the delight and sense of community that comes from adaptive reuse.” When done well, adaptive reuse represents a clear win-win-win for communities, residents, and the environment.

The post New Life for Old Buildings<p class="company">Adaptive Reuse for a Sustainable Future</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

The rising costs of these homes, coupled with the loose lending policies that allowed more and more people to buy them on credit without enough to back them up, eventually led to the great recession beginning in 2008.

In the aftermath of all the economic turmoil, more people started to reevaluate what they really needed in a home. This also coincided with a shift toward minimalism, wherein people rethink their material possessions and what is necessary to live a fulfilled life, shining a light on consumption habits and environmental and social impact. But, regardless of their philosophy, people still have to live somewhere.

So, what can you do if you want to keep things as simple as you can but still have a roof over your head?

Well, you can move on from the behemoth homes that continue to be built and go in the opposite direction: tiny homes and other living spaces. The rise of tiny homes over the past few decades has gone from a millennial trend to a solution that could have far-reaching, sustainable results. These are homes that are under 400 square feet. Not only does this help people achieve their goals for living simply, but it supports greener construction, as tiny homes are often built using reclaimed materials like wood, steel, and concrete. Building tiny homes means using fewer resources and less energy and can meaningfully contribute to urban infill, rather than sprawl.

This is significant because globally, buildings represent about 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Of that, 70 percent comes from building operations, like heating and cooling, and 30 percent comes about during their construction.

According to global data and business intelligence platform Statista, the average home size in the U.S. is about 2,500 square feet for ranch-style one- and two-story dwellings. Many of us can just about picture opening the door, waking into an entranceway, seeing stairs going up on your left and a living room to your right while the dining room and kitchen lie beyond. Compare that image to tiny homes that come in at about 400 square feet (although this can vary depending on zoning requirements). They can be built either on a trailer or on a foundation and can be lived in year-round. Generally, they are prefabricated in a factory but can also be built on site.

These homes certainly tick the box for simple or minimalist living, but to make them function well, one must put a lot of thought into meeting people’s needs. ArchDaily has some suggestions for making the most of the space, including using sliding doors for privacy and dividers without sacrificing an inch. Furniture should do double-duty wherever possible: a bed is not just a bed, but storage space as well; a bookshelf can fold out to be a desk; chairs slide out of wall storage and are pushed back in when not needed.

Infrastructure is just as critical in tiny homes as in palatial ones, but in different ways. One of the unique questions that comes with a tiny home is, will it be mobile or not? There is a certain appeal that comes with taking your home with you when you move to a different community, and it can be a big factor for people choosing a tiny home option. But if the owner is planning to stay put, it’s important to ensure the appropriate foundation is used for the lot the house is being placed on. This could be a concrete foundation, skids, or stilts, depending on the use case.

Architecture videographer and creative founder of Simple Dwelling, Anthony Richardson, tells the Guardian about the misconceptions of smaller living spaces. “There’s a really strong misconception that minimalism is empty, cold, white rooms,” he explains. “A simple home can have texture, it can have life and warmth to it… when you really break it down, minimalism is about the essentials.”

Another considerable benefit of compact design is the lower costs of construction and maintenance, which increases affordability overall for more people. In fact, retailers like Walmart and Amazon are offering preassembled tiny houses for a cost comparable to buying a car. These ones are really small—about 19 by 20-foot expandable prefab houses that come delivered by flatbed truck. More and more people are turning to these tiny homes not necessarily because of a belief in living small, but because of the growing costs of buying a conventional house as well as the downturn in construction that followed 2008.

Government housing departments and city planners are also taking a look at tiny homes because they may offer a solution to many of the issues surrounding housing and infrastructure. They can provide homes to the most vulnerable populations. In Canada, which is facing a housing crunch of low vacancy and higher housing costs, tiny home villages have emerged in many communities on government-owned parking lots as a way to help people living on the street experience a safer environment. They also have a much lower impact on a city’s infrastructure than constructing larger buildings to house people.

Alberta-based Teacup Tiny Homes has built and sold 100 homes in the province, and its founder Jennifer McCarthy tells The Globe and Mail how tiny homes should have a place in future planning for communities, through modular builds. She describes these tiny homes as akin to “open-concept bachelor suites” that could be built into the mix of housing types, providing people with an option while minimizing the impact on the surrounding area. “I believe the future of the tiny home industry will include more modular builds,” she says.

Whatever form they take, we expect to see more tiny homes popping up in community planning in the years to come. As we continue to face environmental challenges and urban pressures, tiny homes stand out not just as a novelty, but as a meaningful part of the housing conversation—small in size, but big in potential.

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This may be an accurate image now, but for many reasons, it should not be the future. Women for these positions are a valuable untapped resource.

Slowly, more women are starting to get into the trades in general, and into construction and electrical work in particular. And this is good news for all of us, not least because of the shortage in skilled trade workers that is already starting to hit.

“The skilled labour workforce is constantly shrinking,” writes Merina Shriver in a ForConstructionPros.com article. “The industry is bracing for impact as it faces the silver wave… The skilled labour shortage started and has continued due to a few factors.” He talks about the problem of labour shortages and possible solutions including recruiting women.

Shriver spoke with Josh Nickell, Vice President of the equipment segment at the American Rental Association, who explained, “If we’re all fighting over a small group of people, then that’s still not going to solve our problem long-term. What we think about as an association and as an industry is how do we get to people younger?” An example of how his association is trying new things comes from the Girl Scouts. “We participate a lot with the Girl Scouts. It’s a group of people who like to work with their hands [and] to be outside, it’s a really good potential group for us long-term that is underrepresented in the construction industry and in the rental industry.” The partnership seems a smart approach to engaging girls in these hands-on lucrative trades at a young age.

Taking a closer look at the construction industry, there were about 300,000 job openings in construction in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. This number has remained more or less the same for the past seven years. Currently, women make up only about nine percent of the overall construction workforce. This has several implications, especially for people who are not college-educated. That’s because construction is also an important employer of workers who do not have a B.A., employing about 10 million people who don’t have a degree. In fact, skilled labour industries like construction and electrical work are among the industries that pay the highest hourly rates to people who don’t have a degree; comparable roles in healthcare and education for women who do not have a degree actually pay about 19 percent less. Unfortunately, most of the women employed in the construction industry can be found not on the construction sites but in the office in support and administrative roles.

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges to attracting more women to the construction industry might be the construction site itself. Walking into an environment that is overwhelmingly dominated by men can be daunting to begin with. Add the fact that many sites do not include a women’s restroom, the equipment and harnesses are designed for men, and there is little to no accommodation for childcare, of which women by far have the larger share of the responsibility. All of these add up to make a difficult situation that is much more complicated for women. Industry stakeholders need to recognize and address these issues and make change.

In the electrical industry, the numbers are even bleaker. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that only about two percent of electricians are women, BBC News reports in an article that outlines the backdrop of some pretty sobering numbers for the industry. The U.S. faces a major shortage of electricians, with an estimated gap of 1 million workers. This figure comes from Rewiring America, a nonprofit dedicated to electrification. The organization highlights the growing need for skilled professionals to install solar panels, heat pumps, and electric vehicle charging stations—essential components of the nation’s goal to achieve 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035. “There are 80,000 openings for electricians each year on average over the next decade just to replace workers who either retire or transition to different jobs,” said Sam Calisch, Rewiring America’s head of research.

And beyond the big numbers that we have just seen, there are impacts that are hitting much closer to home.

For a sense of how difficult things are becoming, take a look at California where demand for more solar panels and alternative sources for electricity continues to grow, but the available workers to provide these services can’t keep up. Installing home EV chargers for the rising numbers of consumers who are buying electric vehicles is just one example. With these types of services in high demand, getting an electrician out for an emergency call is fast becoming a long shot. Borin Reyes, who owns Boyes Electric out of Oakland, California, illustrates the state of the industry in a Grist article:

“Customers are literally looking for electricians every single day,” says Reyes. “We’re not taking emergency calls anymore because we don’t have the manpower.” And this is not limited to just his own business. “It is a problem finding people right now. Most of the electrical companies, you can ask around, all of them are busy.” And it’s not going to get better any time soon because companies like Reyes’ are not able to find experienced people who are looking for work—because they are already hired.

Another problem facing the electrical industry is that the feeder schools turning out the next generation of electricians are facing shortfalls on funding and a shortage of instructors who can teach the trade.

The bottom line of where we are right now for construction and electrical work is that there is far too much demand and not nearly enough skilled workers, yet many industries are leaving half the population out of the workforce. So, the solution seems straightforward, right? If more women entered and stayed in construction and electrical work, there would be enough workers to fill existing job openings. This is starting to happen in the utility and transportation industry, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The construction and electrical work industries are lagging behind.

When it comes to finding ways to increase the number of women entering the construction and electrical industries, informing women and changing the impressions they receive of these industries at a young age are critical to changing the course of things. That starts with challenging the assumption that these industries are not for women. Of course, it’s all very well and good to say that, but prospective employees want concrete examples of how they will learn to work with modern tools and technology, develop transferable skills, and work on solving interesting problems and diverse projects. They need to understand that there is a lot of satisfaction in the work, and yes, the pay is very good. The best way to achieve all this is to hear from women themselves who are working in the industries.

As for getting them while they’re young, these industries as a whole need to find ways to make construction and electrical work a real option for girls as they go through school. That means being willing to invest in pathways that lead to apprenticeships as well as opportunities to experience and explore new technologies in these industries.

Initiatives are sparking. As ForConstructionPros.com points out, organizations like the National Association of Women in Construction are running leadership academies and scholarship programs to help remove barriers to women entering and progressing in the industry. In Maine, Governor Janet Mills signed an Executive Order to promote the recruitment, training, and retention of women in construction. The Los Angeles Metro launched the website Women Breaking Ground to give women information about joining apprenticeship readiness training. And the Arizona Builders Alliance offers a Women in Leadership Program to support women’s advancement in leadership roles.

Making change is not only critical for the future of these industries; it is critical for all of us as we need to make investments into our aging infrastructure as well as adapt to new demands that emerging technologies like AI will need. The time to wait and hope that women may start to enter these industries on their own is over. It is up to industry to make this a priority if construction and electrical companies want to continue to thrive.

The post Facing the Silver Wave<p class="company">Women Needed in Trades</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

And truth be told, while the planning and work that went into architecture advanced to become more complex and intricate, these were still flat drawings. The process of taking a concept or a sketch and turning it into a potential design required a lot of resources, time, and effort.

The design field remained relatively unchanged until the introduction of computers, which revolutionized architectural practices. While the exact timeline of this shift is open to interpretation, the profound impact on architecture is clear. Today, with advanced technologies working in harmony, we’re witnessing transformative changes in building development and, above all, in the planning process.

One of the most significant advancements in architecture is the rise of architectural visualization, which offers architects and designers the power of instant creativity. This technology uses interactive 3D modeling to transform initial sketches into highly realistic images, allowing concepts to be refined and adjusted long before construction begins. “Traditionally in architecture, you have blueprints and scale models, and 3D modeling has been around in force for the last 20 years,” Jeff Mottle, President and CEO of CGarchitect Digital Media Corp., tells Autodesk in the December 2021 article, ‘4 tips to get started with virtual reality in architecture.’

“VR plays into these traditional methods because the two fit closely together, more closely than the manufacturers actually realize,” he says about the misperception that VR is more for gaming than for architectural solutions. While being immersed in a haunted mansion battling monsters is a fun pursuit, walking through a concept kitchen with gleaming countertops, a linear Sputnik chandelier, and geometric-patterned tiled floors can be just as immersive and inspiring.

As Mottle notes, virtual reality is a big component of architectural visualization, and it has been around longer than you might think. It goes back to 1968 when the first head-mounted device attached to a computer was developed by Ivan Sutherland, regarded as the “father of computer graphics” and an associate professor of electrical engineering at Harvard University. (He’s in the National Inventors Hall of Fame.)

But his revolutionary head-mounted device was a long way from what Meta or Apple are currently offering. In fact, it was so heavy it required an elaborate suspension device to lower it onto a person. From there, like a lot of other forms of technology, VR advanced through breakthroughs and practical needs. Virtual maps were developed in the 1970s and more realistic advancements came in the 1990s. Augmented reality also began to surface at this point, used to augment the visual field of a user.

But, like other forms of technology, the virtual reality hype exceeded what it could deliver, and the tool fell out of vogue for a time. Fast-forward to the 2000s and this technology has brought new possibilities to conceptual design.

In 2023, Enscape, a visualization tool, and Architizer Journal teamed up to conduct a survey of more than 2,300 architecture, engineering, and construction professionals who responded to questions about the leading trends in architectural visualization. The survey revealed that more than 75 percent of these professionals said that they use real-time rendering at least twice a week, and most of them were using it to explore materials or finish options as well as create visualizations. On top of that, 55 percent of respondents said that they are either using AI or experimenting with it in their work.

Why? There are several advantages to using visualization rendering in projects. For one, it helps architects show clients what the building will look like when it is completed, and it can also provide instant visualization of changes or iterations of the design. It can also help designers spot potential issues before they become real delays in later phases of the work.

One of the big advantages architectural visualization offers is reducing costs throughout the design process, from improved communications to more exact measurements. And then there are the advantages it adds to the editing of a design. Changing things like fixtures, window treatments, and integrated appliances in a building takes far less time now than it did in the past.

There are several tools in the visual architectural space and one that is generating interest is Gendo, an AI-based visualization tool that provides rendering services that many firms would otherwise have to outsource. It creates beautiful computer-generated images, or CGI, in minutes, not days, based on 2D sketches including intricate and complex visualizations. It also allows for editing of these images like changing colour and lighting. Additional structures can be included or removed during the editing process of the design.

“Mainstream generative image platforms can be really impressive, but they simply aren’t fit for purpose when it comes to architecture and design,” George Proud, Gendo CEO and Co-founder, told The Architect’s Newspaper in July 3024 for the article, ‘Meet Gendo, the new AI platform used by Zaha Hadid Architects, David Chipperfield Architects, and others for in-house renderings.’

“Gendo has been designed specifically for these professionals; we’ve built an AI platform that speeds up design work and allows creativity to flourish,” the article reads. “We’re eliminating the burdensome processes currently involved in visualizations and instead making it an efficient, instinctive and empowering experience.”

The tool also allows designers to step into their designs and explore what it is actually like to walk through them. This can dramatically change the decision-making process because design is now based on what a working group is seeing and experiencing instead of just a theoretical understanding of what a structure may look like. Virtual reality can bring the client into the design process to experience the project while decisions can still be made and before any actual construction takes place. VR in architectural design is still relatively new to clients and because of that, it can help set firms apart.

Taking all of this one step further, when architectural visualization and 3D printing are used together, the process from first concept to actualization is accelerated.

A December 2023 ArchDaily article, ‘Building the Future with 3D Printing and Real-Time Visualization,’ highlights how California-based Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects, or EYRC, uses both technologies and collaborates with builders to design and print a single family home using visualization. The primary visualization tool used was Enscape’s technology—the company behind that big architectural visualization survey and the real-time rendering tool which, with the right add-ons, also includes information about energy efficiency, simulated energy use, and carbon emissions based on designed decisions.

“Early in the process, we were able to use Enscape to share the design intent with the Mighty Buildings team,” Jessica Chang, Associate/Digital Practice Lead at EYRC told ArchDaily. “For example, when we developed different striated 3D-printed textures on the envelope, Enscape renderings were critical to compare the shadow effects of these options. We also used Enscape to coordinate MEP items, visualize material transitions, and locate areas that need special attention and detailing.”

Just as computer technologies have come together to change the process of design and architecture, the new frontier could represent the convergence of the detailing and efficiency of architectural visualization and the control of materials that comes from 3D printing. The end result ultimately creates a more sustainable way to design and construct the next generation of buildings.

The post Real-Time Rendering<p class="company">Transforming Architecture and Design</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

Psychological studies have shown how buildings and urban environments can have both negative and positive stimulation on people just as they walk down a street.

In Michael Bond’s BBC article, The hidden ways that architecture affects how you feel, Colin Ellard, a researcher into the impact that architecture has on people at the University of Waterloo in Canada, noted, “When we ask people about their stress, they say it’s no big deal, yet when we measure their physiology we discover that their responses are off the charts. The difficulty is that your physiological state is the one that impacts your health.”

One of his consistent findings are that people are affected by a building’s façade. A creative and interesting design can have a positive effect on people; reactions are measured through monitoring skin conductance, a marker of psychological arousal. Smart phones have also been used to monitor people’s emotional state as they walked past a series of generic, big box-type retail buildings, for example, and their mood dropped significantly. However, when they passed by a block of restaurants and smaller stores, they reported that they felt much more engaged, and their mood levels also improved.

Beyond these mood-altering effects, the impact of architecture can be significant in a healthcare setting. In an article published in the journal Pain in February 2008, researchers noted how hospital design can have a negative impact on patients’ recovery. Lighting in a building plays a role. In a 2005 study, patients recovering from spine surgery were assigned different rooms with various levels of light. It turned out that those who stayed in rooms with the most light required 22 percent less pain relief medication, compared to the patients who recovered in more dimly lit rooms. There was also a strong statistical tie to a higher rate of death in rooms that were dark compared to the ones that were brightly lit.

The January 2013 journal Building and Environment published an analysis that examined the physical structures of schools in the United Kingdom to see if there was a connection to learning outcomes. Researchers followed 750 students across seven schools, looking at how six design parameters impacted learning progression, including colour and complexity of the buildings that provided environmental stimulation. Design elements were found to have up to a 25 percent impact on the progression of the students, influencing aspects of focus and engagement.

When architecture is well thought out and executed, a lot of good things happen.

An inspiring example is the 230,000-square-foot $465 million Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Opened in the spring of 2024, the building sits partially in Theodore Roosevelt Park. It’s constructed at the same height as the older museum buildings that flank it, but with flowing, gentle curves. The areas of the surrounding park also have a new landscape design, developed with community input, which features more pathways and seating areas.

From the outside, the Gilder Center is composed of curving lines that have an organic feel as if the center could have grown right out of the park it sits in. With bird-safe fritted glass, the building’s surface features Milford pink granite, which matches the museum’s Central Park West entrance (sourced from the original quarry!). The diagonal pattern of the stone panels was meant to evoke both the sense of geological layering and the design of the richly textured surface of the masonry on the museum’s 77^th Street side.

Walking inside gives you the sense of entering a cavern that winds from one space to the next, very much in keeping with the experience of discovery and natural history. These rounded spaces were built by spraying concrete directly on the rebar without using a formwork, a method known as “shotcrete.” And not only is this an impressively designed space; there is also science happening in real time at the museum. The building contains several areas where research leads to new discoveries that are in turn shared with people visiting the museum—a unique immersive experience!

For instance, the Ancient Biomolecular Lab, funded by the National Science Foundation, is open to researchers and makes possible the extraction of genetic and protein data from sample fossils, feathers, skins, prehistoric artifacts, and other organic materials.

The museum also includes the Institute for Comparative Genomics, where researchers map the evolutionary relationships among organisms to help better understand infectious diseases. They also have access to the Ambrose Monell Collection for Molecular and Microbial Research, a frozen-tissue facility that can store up to 1 million DNA specimens in nitrogen-cooled vats and serves as a repository for the U.S. National Park Service.

But it is the design that really creates the bridge between research and education and how strongly the natural world is so powerfully interconnected.

Chicago-based architecture firm Studio Gang is the mastermind behind the Glider Center, with lead designer Jeanne Gang explaining of the project to Dezeen Magazine in April 2023: “Architects in the last few years have been doing object buildings: it looks like something from the outside, a fancy shape or something like that. But that’s not at all what we were doing here because we really started by making the museum more connective.”

But what quickly became apparent was how the interior would be the centerpiece, bringing research, exhibits, and visitors together through the design. “So it ended up being the interior structure that was the most important architectural element,” Gang adds. The center’s interior was inspired by the caves and canyons of the American Southwest and the subway infrastructure underneath Manhattan, for which the shotcrete method is generally used.

The result is a curving, flowing interior that people can have a childlike experience in, following the rounded halls from one exhibit to another.

Beyond enhancing a visitor’s experience, architecture can have therapeutic benefits. In a November 2018 article for Metropolis titled, How Architecture Can Help Address America’s Mental-Health-Care Crisis, writer Katie Okamoto notes, “More than ever, behavioral-health architects must consider how to design physical and programmatic thresholds that facilitate productive exchange—between patient and caregiver, patient and researcher, patient and community or family. These thresholds not only support the therapeutic functions of care environments but also battle stigma and remove barriers to treatment.” As part of this article, Tim Rommel, Director of CannonDesign’s behavior-health studio, comments on the impact of mental health issues. “Mental health issues cost this country more in terms of GDP than the first five leading physical ailments combined, and that includes cardiovascular diseases and cancer. I think our society is starting to realize that and take steps,” he says.

Okamoto writes that more people are turning to design-driven solutions for better well-being. For example, CannonDesign’s Margaret and Charles Juravinski Centre, part of St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, which treats people with acute mental disorders, includes a therapeutic mall that offers patients a fitness facility, bookstore, billiards and table tennis, as well as a salon. The intent is to open up the space and provide people with more freedom. Along with this, the inclusion of nature and natural light into buildings consistently shows a benefit to patients, reducing anxiety and increasing opportunities for physical activities.

It is becoming readily apparent that layering in concepts of people’s experience and well-being is an expectation of clients, and designers and architects need to explore these concepts in their work.

The Richard Gilder Center, for one, is a great example of what’s to come, as Sean M. Decatur, President of the American Museum of Natural History, said in a release: “As a scientist, I’m excited that the Gilder Center will reveal more of the cross-disciplinary processes of science and be a powerful springboard for an even deeper integration of the Museum’s ongoing research with our exhibition program and education initiatives—all while inspiring our visitors to appreciate and learn about how all life on Earth is connected… it heralds a new era of exploring the wonders of nature at the Museum.”

The post The Experience of Architecture<p class="company">NYC’s Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

For better or worse, we spend up to 90 percent of our time indoors. And the air quality in our work and living spaces directly impacts our well-being, a lesson learned in the pandemic. In fact, a Harvard study in the International Journal of Indoor Environment and Health found that about 35 percent of all sick days are associated with poor indoor air quality.

“It’s fascinating to see how [this] transition is happening. Before the pandemic no one was talking about indoor air quality with the same fervor that they are now,” says Aedan Fida, CEO of Blade Air in Toronto, a young, entrepreneurial company that is disrupting the air purification industry. “The desire for better indoor air quality is the key takeaway that people and building managers have as a result of the pandemic.”

Blade Air launched in 2017, and has introduced state-of-the-art, sustainable purification systems to public buildings across Canada and has improved the quality of the indoor air that many thousands of people have breathed.

Indeed, it’s amazing what a side hobby in university can spark. Joe Fida, Aedan’s brother, dealt with the stress of his engineering program by growing exotic fruit, a formidable challenge in Canada’s cold climate. So, he designed an enclosed indoor system for his growing plants.

Things worked well until he came across an inefficiency with carbon filters. They were big, heavy, and had to be replaced every couple of months, which was not easy. Joe, a natural problem-solver, decided to focus on improving efficiencies with the filter and reducing waste.

He presented the concept of a replaceable carbon filter and it resonated with Aedan, a business student at York University who originally planned to study law and have his own firm one day. But this was a big idea that also inspired his good friend and fellow business student Giancarlo Sessa.

As Aedan recalls, “The product itself didn’t necessarily matter; what mattered was the ethos of the company. We wanted to drive significant change and focus on sustainability. And when Joe brought this idea forward to us, it ticked all those boxes and we were like, ‘all right, guess we’re doing this.’” From there, they were able to get the business up and running, raising almost $500,000 while still in university between grants and strategic investors.

All this ingenuity landed the founding trio, Aedan Fida, Joe Fida, and Giancarlo Sessa on Forbes’ 30 under 30 list in 2022. And in 2023, The Globe and Mail named Blade Air the fifth-fastest-growing company in Canada.

How does it all work? Blade Air uses a suite of technologies to address clients’ needs, helping them address their indoor air quality needs while lowering their operational, logistical, and energy spend. Its main product is the Pro Filter, an electromagnetic filter that replaces existing pleated HVAC filters. While pleated filters have been the dominant filter in use for decades, as the need for improved air quality increases, the technology from the past is no longer able to address the needs of today’s buildings and Blade Air’s Pro Filters provide an added efficiency advantage unparalleled in the market. Additionally, the air quality systems from Blade Air use limited power and last longer than standard pleated filters on the market, spelling huge sustainability and cost-saving wins for customers.

One of the company’s more prominent projects was for the Distillery District in Toronto, which is a collection of historic warehouses dating back to the early 1800s, once used for whiskey production but now home to trendy shops, restaurants, residences, and offices. In 2021, the District’s management was looking to improve the indoor air quality of the buildings. Blade Air worked out a long-term installation that would help deliver better air quality while also addressing sustainability needs.

Previously, the Distillery District system was not getting the desired IAQ results they were looking for, and it quickly became apparent that Blade Air’s Pro Filters, which capture micro particulates that standard filters allow through, were a great solution. Not only could the filter outperform a HEPA filter in the viral range, but it also had a zero retrofitting cost and is applicable for use across asset age or usage. In making this change, the team was able to lower the pressure on the system while improving indoor air quality.

From there, they tested the system in the buildings to see the difference, going to a third-party lab to take live culture samples. The results showed Blade Air was able to maintain the system airflow and improve the air quality by two-and-a-quarter times while reducing energy consumption by 70 percent. It is this benefit of also reducing energy consumption and emissions that is at the forefront of Blade Air’s solutions.

“When we think about sustainability, we think about it in two ways,” Fida explains. “There’s the impact that we have on greenhouse gas emissions: reducing the amount of waste, reducing electricity consumption in some cases, and reducing the amount of natural gas required to heat and cool a space, as well as the materials that we’re using to build our units.”

Second, he says, is the question of diverting or recycling waste to make the products sustainable, which goes back to the firm’s founding goal of creating healthier spaces for people. “We want to give them the best opportunity to have those Breathable Moments™ and not be worried about anything else that’s going on in the air.”

Sustainability is also on the minds of many company executives. And certainly, there is greater scrutiny now on how companies operate and the steps they’re taking to reduce their carbon footprint, including in their building facilities. As an example, Blade Air is presently working with a number of large organizations to outfit their office and retail locations, working with their sustainability teams to help them achieve their corporate goals.

“They view sustainability very similarly to how we view it, where it’s about the people as well as the planet,” Fida says. “So, they’re looking for a way to create a better working environment for their employees where they can enjoy the benefits of enhanced indoor air quality while also helping them work toward achieving the carbon-neutral goals that they’ve set for themselves.”

During the pilot phases of one specific project, the customer realized that the Blade Air product alone was achieving nearly 90 percent of the annual target for energy savings with the filters in place. Now the goal is to outfit all the company’s locations across Canada.

“We just focus on showing clients that we can repeat the same result time and time again and let the product speak for itself,” says Fida. “We are adamant believers in having our product validated through third-party field testing, and we understand that the clients are expecting results for their tens of thousands of people or employees who are going be in these spaces. We need to live up to the expectations that we’re setting.”

Overcoming the odds against moving from start-up to success takes a lot of work and in-the-moment learning. Fida credits the team of people he works with as integral to the company’s growth and performance—and to everyone enjoying the ride.

“I think the biggest takeaway that I’ve had as an entrepreneur is that it’s not about you. It’s not about your business partners. It’s ultimately about the team that you build and the collective goal that you work toward,” he says. “We’re just incredibly fortunate to have found them all and we’re doing our best to show our appreciation of them every day. I think one of the best pieces of advice I ever got from a mentor was that, ‘It’s not how, it’s who.’”

What does the future look like for Blade Air and the air filtration industry? The company is doubling down on what has worked and what will illuminate the path forward. The team has a North American supply chain; it is using as much recyclable material as possible to build a truly green product; and it is focusing on that triple bottom line of people, planet, profit, and driving real change.

Blade Air, starting with just three people, has expanded to about 30 part-time and full-time employees and has just completed a second acquisition to support a move into the residential market. All this shows the confidence of the team and the opportunities in the market, with an eye on expanding into the U.S.

The air filtration and purification industry has been around for a long time, and many of the biggest players in the market have been there for 50 to 100 years. However, new technologies that Blade Air and others are commercializing are beginning to disrupt the space and change how air filters are designed and incorporated into buildings.

As Fida sees it: “We aren’t looking at revenue numbers, we aren’t looking at dollar figures; we’re looking at our ability to drive impact and change, and we genuinely believe that we can change the world. Our technology can move toward the carbon-neutral goals that have been set in a very meaningful and impactful way,” he emphasizes.

“Today, when you look at the Global Cooling Pledge for COP 28’s (2023’s UN Climate Change conference) announcement of a cooling reduction of 68 percent by 2050, we’re able to deliver up to a third of that target right now. You don’t have to wait another 26 years. We can drive a third of that change right now.”

The post Breathe Deep – Young Entrepreneurs Deliver Cleaner Indoor Air<p class="company">Blade Air</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

Virtually every material and construction technique used in the institutional building was chosen because it lowered or even captured carbon emissions, setting the bar high for future sustainable design on campus and beyond. Materials included hempcrete, a combination of hemp mixtures and lime which captures carbon from the atmosphere while it sets. The foundation was made from reusable steel piles and light wood framing instead of engineered wood. It’s a beautiful, relaxing space with plenty of natural light.

“We sought to create an addition to campus that encourages interdisciplinary action of climate change, both as an example and through its eventual use,” UBC architecture student Katie Theall told UBC News on April 13, 2023 for the article ‘Come for the selfie, stay for the sustainability.’ “As a sustainability living lab and flexible collaboration space, we hope Third Space Commons will inspire future building industry leaders and cultivate innovation.”

Buildings like Third Space Commons exemplify how green principles are becoming more of a mainstay within the design and construction industry. Right now, the use of green materials and construction methods has steadily increased to the point where the World Economic Forum points to pent up demand for green buildings, with about 65 percent going unmet in New York City for instance.

And while in the past, some would have been deterred by the additional costs of applying green construction processes or sourcing green materials, the benefits that come from a sustainable focus are becoming more widely known and sought out. The commercial real estate market is seeing a premium for green buildings. In the Los Angeles market, for example, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) noted that LEED-certified spaces garnered $2.91 per square foot, while traditional non-LEED certified buildings are earning $2.16 per square foot. These buildings also enjoy operational cost savings and have delivered an increase in asset value of 10 percent or more, making them more appealing to potential owners.

In the bigger picture, sustainable design, construction, and operations combine to deliver buildings that reduce carbon emissions, energy, and waste. These buildings also help to conserve water and lower our exposure to toxins with safer methods and materials, making the construction industry better for people and the planet.

So how is green construction advancing today? To a very high degree, green construction is adding jobs to the industry, according to the USGBC. Sustainable construction has created millions of jobs and contributed billions of dollars to the U.S. economy. And the market for green materials has been valued at approximately $475 billion and is expected to grow to more than a trillion dollars by 2033, reports GlobeNewswire.

Primary green construction materials include bamboo, rammed earth, cork, recycled glass, straw bale, aerated concrete, earth blocks, recycled steel, and hempcrete (used to construct the Third Space Commons building at UBC). Each has specific uses in structures and furnishings, but all have advantages in reducing waste and minimizing energy consumption. In fact, simply making traditional concrete contributes an estimated eight percent of the world’s global emissions—almost three times the emissions that are produced by airline travel.

A recent example of innovation combines two longtime materials, steel and concrete, to form a new material that both holds building up and brings emissions down to nearly zero. The process, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, uses electric furnaces in the steel industry to recycle cement that is recovered from buildings that have been demolished. As one of the researchers, professor Julian Allwood, told the Wall Street Journal in the May 23 article ‘New Green Cement Production Method Could Bring Emissions Close to Zero,’ “It’s remarkably simple, and I think when we started, our concern was that it was quite a simple substitution. So, would it work if nobody did it before? Improbably it did work.”

Typically, when steel is melted down for recycling, a compound called flux is used to eliminate impurities. While effective, this creates a “dirty” byproduct known as slag. The researchers used recycled cement instead of flux when the steel was melted and the slag in this case ended up being usable cement. The whole process of building demolition has more green potential than ever before with salvaged materials and recycled cement.

There are in fact several current techniques that are becoming more common across the construction landscape. One of those is prefabrication. The idea behind this is that if you can build as much of your building as possible in a controlled environment, you can reduce the level of waste produced while improving the overall quality of a structure. A May 20, 2020 article on For Construction Pros, ‘5 Techniques for Sustainable Building Construction,’ points to the example of McGough Construction which prefabricates forms for projects like the concrete structure for the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul, Minnesota. The company used 3D models to prebuild the forms inside its warehouse and away from the impact and unpredictability of the weather. From there, the team transported the components to the site and assembled them, much like a giant model.

Another important way to improve on the environmental impacts of construction projects is to reduce the waste generated by sorting haulers. Now the sorting of materials can be done by pickers, and some projects are now able to process up to 90 percent of waste leftover from the construction work.

The construction site itself is also an opportunity to make construction a greener process. Avoiding water runoff from a site is a major way to reduce contamination of surrounding areas. Silt fences can contain water used on a site and “walk-off mats” can help remove lead and other toxins from a site that would otherwise be carried around on workers’ boots.

In addition to the new processes and techniques making construction greener, some classical construction techniques are seeing a resurgence because of the benefits they can offer the environment. For instance, long before modern HVAC existed, builders would rely on architecture to help stabilize indoor conditions. Known as passive solar design, the actual positioning of a building as well as the placement of windows was carefully thought out to make the most of natural heating and cooling. These principles can be paired with modern HVAC technology to further reduce energy consumption by a building.

In the same vein, traditional processes to harvest rainwater for gardens and toilet flushing is also being put to use to reduce the strain on municipal water sources and lower bills for building owners.

The main purpose in bringing back traditional techniques is not to do away with modern design and technological advances. It is to make those advances even better by applying time-tested solutions to find further efficiencies that can reduce energy use and resource stress. And all of this is even more important as the need for affordable housing is being felt almost everywhere. Although there is growing demand for more homes, if construction is sped up without incorporating sustainable design, the impacts of more building will only further complicate our climate issues.

On the face of it, using greener techniques and materials may further add to the cost of building and construction. But by and large, costs for more efficient buildings are only about three to four percent higher than building to minimum code requirements. When compared to the overall reduction in expenses during the lifetime of the home—including heating and cooling as well as savings on water and reducing waste—the upfront costs tend to fade fast. And there is also the boost in value that greener homes enjoy in the market. The University of Texas at Austin analyzed the resale value of homes in the Austin region and noted that homes that are LEED-certified showed an eight percent increase in value while homes that were built to other green standards also saw a six percent increase in value, as reported by the USGBC.

Certainly, there are a lot of reasons why green construction is moving from niche to mainstream in both commercial and residential construction. The benefits are not only helping the Earth but are boosting many companies’ bottom lines while enhancing quality of life for inhabitants. Let’s call it a win-win-win.

The post What’s New in Sustainable Structures<p class="company">Greener Methods and Materials</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

Accelerate, put on the brakes, or make a turn, and our tires wear just a little. But all that speeding up, slowing down, and cornering adds up to more than 6 million metric tons of tire dust in the atmosphere each year. That means particles in lakes, rivers, oceans, and places as far away as the Arctic.

And that’s just the tire dust from driving. The average car owner will also replace their tires about every five years. That is a colossal amount of more than one billion tires bound for landfills each year, while an estimated four billion tires already sit there.

There are not a lot of easy solutions to this problem. Part of the issue is that most car tires are made with vulcanized rubber, which includes sulphur and other chemicals that improve the durability of rubber but also make them much harder to break down. So, one of the more appealing ways to deal with tires that are no longer on the road is through the circular economy.

Finding new and different ways to use old tires can go a long way to extending their lifecycle and reducing their impact on the environment. One company playing an especially important role here is Dinoflex.

Quality floors
Founded in 1989 in Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Dinoflex has been manufacturing high-quality, sustainable rubber flooring from recycled tires for 35 years.

All the rubber comes from within 500 miles of its factory and that means the company is scooping up rubber that would otherwise end up in landfills. The importance of this work has become ever more obvious as the impact of climate change is seen in the company’s own backyard, with the traditionally damp Pacific Northwest experiencing drought and wildfires as a result.

“Being in business for 35 years in any industry isn’t easy. But there are some core values that Dinoflex has held to throughout its history,” says Mark Bunz, CEO of Dinoflex. “It takes a winning culture centred around a group of people with a desire to be better every day.”

One of those core values is innovation that extends from process to product to customer activities. “This helps us introduce unique products and strengthens our partnership with customers,” says Bunz.

It certainly doesn’t hurt that this rubber flooring is also beautiful—from dark interlocking mats for home and commercial gyms to vibrant colours and textures for inspired living and workspaces, retail showrooms, and many more such applications.

The Dinoflex difference
The process of turning tires into flooring is called vulcanization. Remember how tires are made from vulcanized rubber to make them last longer? When recovering the tires and converting them into flooring, a combination of solvents and ground-up rubber is used to bring the rubber back to its natural state. From there, the material is converted into flooring, which opens up new options for material that would otherwise be landfill. Additionally, Dinoflex’s manufacturing approach sets it apart from other companies.

While most companies manufacture rubber in cylinders, Dinoflex flooring is moulded in block format. This makes a big difference because rubber that is formed using cylinders tends to want to snap back to its original form. But because the rubber that Dinoflex produces is made flat to begin with, the flooring stays flat—exactly what you want from a floor.

The company has doubled down on this process with its “Made Flat, Stays Flat™” guarantee that ensures rapid installation and a product that will never curl for the life of the installation.

A great example of Dinoflex’s creative solutions in action is Flyover in Chicago, Illinois. This interactive virtual reality tour allows people to experience the city in a 360-degree theatre at Navy Pier. To help bring this to life, Dinoflex delivered 13,000 square feet of rubber flooring that included 94 circles, which contained numbers displayed throughout as part of the immersion.

Then there is the company’s delightful work at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital. When you walk into the main lobby of the hospital, you will see a floor covered by bright, kid-friendly colours displayed in overlapping circles. Because it is made from the durable rubber of converted car tires, the flooring will stand up to the thousands of big and little feet that pass through the facility every day.

Cutting-edge cutting
What makes these complex designs possible is water jet cutting. As the technique suggests, the technique uses water pressurized up to 392 MPa (MPa stands for megapascal). A pascal is a single unit of pressure, and a megapascal is one million pascals. And yes, 392 of them can accurately cut through just about anything.

When this technique is used in rubber flooring, it can create almost any unique design. Dinoflex offers multi-coloured logos and geometric patterns that can be developed for a guaranteed fit with a client’s existing flooring with minimal variation. While a lot of these projects are for commercial purposes in collaboration with architects and designers, Dinoflex can also provide custom solutions for spaces as small as 300 square feet, in colours of the client’s choice.

Beyond the processes used to guarantee the quality and durability of Dinoflex’s flooring, the company’s innovation has led to more by-products—which would otherwise have been relegated to landfill—used in flooring production.

“We have added our post-industrial by-product to the backing of our Stride Fitness Tile, which helps to increase the impact insulation class level,” Melanie Haskell, Vice President of Sales at Dinoflex, explains. (Impact Insulation Class, or IIC, is a measure of how much sound a floor can absorb as people walk on it.) These gym tiles are engineered with an impact-absorbing grid to reduce sound and vibration.

“Another program we have launched is our Armor X, which is a unique, dual-layer flooring solution. Its polyurethane wear layer and fitness backing contains post-industrial by-product and is incredibly durable, impact-resistant, and self-healing, so there’s no need for costly repairs from indentations,” Haskell adds. “It’s the perfect choice for any fitness application.”

The ultimate goal is to achieve zero waste, something Dinoflex is on track to accomplish. The team is regrinding the manufacturing waste and incorporating it into its products like outdoor tiles for landscape and rooftop spaces, as well as the backing material for its Armor X flooring.

All this innovation and effort have continued to pay off for the manufacturer. The company recently announced a $10 million expansion to its Salmon Arm facility, which is Dinoflex’s third notable investment since 2018. It includes new equipment and automation that significantly increases the company’s capacity to meet the fast-growing demand within the commercial space as well as retail verticals.

This investment is not only a sign of growth; it’s also a commitment to even more innovation, says Bunz. “We’re an industry leader because of our world-class products and focus on innovation,” he says.

In-house innovation
Research and development takes place in-house, a differentiator in the industry and a win for business partners who can review various iterations quickly. “We can do our own testing and launch products much faster. This is a huge advantage and can shave months off timelines for clients.”

The expansion comes at an important time, as applications for recycled rubber surfacing are quickly expanding beyond the typical applications of sport and fitness. Customers are looking for more vibrant and pastel colour concepts for high-traffic spaces like restaurants, event spaces, and retail showrooms. With this growth, Dinoflex can now offer designers more options to include recycled rubber in projects for new builds and renovations. Ultimately, that’s also good news for the environment as green construction innovations come to the forefront.

“What manufacturers do now will reach far into the future and ensure the safety and protection of the Earth, as well as their customers and their employees,” says Bunz, happy to mark the company’s impressive 35 years while looking ahead. “By emphasizing products and creating sustainable processes, we’re also attracting new customers. It’s the direction our world is heading. Environmental responsibility is the future of business right now.”

The post Rubber Reimagined – Turning Old Tires Into Fine Flooring<p class="company">Dinoflex</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

No, the largest industry in the world today is construction, generating about 13 percent of the entire world’s GDP. And while it operates on a truly massive scale, construction also has a notoriously difficult time achieving maximum profitability because of the constant struggle to keep the industry fully staffed.

For years, the construction industry has seen a shrinking pool of labour that includes everyone from people in trades to company leadership. In turn, this takes a toll on those working on construction projects, with 75 percent of construction workers expressing concerns about fatigue, Forbes magazine reports.

For some stark context, in the United States, the application rate of young people looking for work in fields like plumbing and electrical dropped by a whopping 49 percent in 2022 compared to 2020, according to data from the online recruiting platform Handshake. This contrasts with the growing demand for these technical jobs being spurred on by infrastructure needs, especially green construction projects.

Add to these woes the fact that more than 20 percent of those working in the industry will soon be older than 55, and it becomes clear that the industry needs to find more ways to attract younger people to the ranks.

“Many Gen Zs don’t know the skilled trades utilize the latest technologies with engineering, design, estimating and management, and programming of various systems to work properly,” says Blake Howe, a recruiter and skilled trades advocate in L.A.

“In addition, you can learn a skilled trade and go to college as well. I work with many HVAC, electrical, and plumbing professionals who are in the field earning a great living and go on to get four-year degrees in construction management or mechanical and electrical engineering,” he says. “It takes a proactive approach from the parents, education system, and community leaders to promote the skilled trades to the future generations as a viable option. The skilled trades labour shortage is at a critical stage. We must change the narrative.”

Ironically, at the same time these labour shortage problems plague construction companies, young people graduating from college are struggling more and more to find adequately paying traditional white-collar work, plus being burdened by ballooning debt that graduates in the past did not experience.

How bad is the debt situation? Right now, according to the U.S. Department of Education, 45 million people across the country are in debt to the tune of nearly $1.3 trillion (that’s 1.3 with eleven zeroes!).

But this may also be a potential motivator for younger people to look at construction and related trades for employment. The average salary for carpenters in 2021 was $48,000 a year and $59,000 a year for plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This, combined with the fact that the education costs for these jobs are significantly lower than typical college degree programs, can make the idea of better job prospects with less upfront costs more appealing.

Beyond recruitment, when companies do land new employees, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the employees will stay for the long run. But all is not lost; there are several important categories that companies can invest in if they want an edge in the merciless contest for talent.

Now is the time to start taking some serious stock of what younger employees are looking for in a construction career—what is needed to adapt to the changing demands of the workforce and change the narrative.

A clearly defined compensation program is an important piece of the recruitment and retention puzzle. Going into a project or joining a company that spells out what employees will be rewarded for can boost the appeal for potential workers. Most programs are either direct—including salary, hourly pay and bonus pay—or indirect, which includes various benefits. While direct is by far the most common approach, there are elements of indirect compensation that can be used to set a company apart in the market. These can include health and dental benefits and retirement plans.

Beyond compensation, companies also need to be willing to embrace technology. This is especially important for younger employees who will form the workforce for many years to come. For instance, Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) have only known wireless technology and social media, while older generations have had to adapt to these technologies.

This means Gen Z employees have a much different set of expectations when it comes to technology. If companies are slow to adopt innovations or still use aged processes like timecards and paper spreadsheets, young employees will easily be turned off.

Mike Vorster, professor emeritus at Virginia Tech, and the author of Construction Equipment Economics, puts this point simply for the For Construction Pros trade journal: “To attract the best students from engineering and construction management schools, a company’s technology must be current.”

The industry itself may need a bit of an update to encourage more young people to join. Trade programs in schools are, of course, crucial to providing young people with more information about construction earlier in their educational journey and formative years. But school is not necessarily the primary source of information for most young people. That means getting on social media channels and using video, video, video to get their attention.

Then there’s the topic of apprenticeships. With the cost of living the highest it’s been in years, and with many young people struggling to get a foothold in white-collar jobs, apprenticeships can offer an easier bridge to a career. Apprenticeships can also provide construction companies with that much-needed early connection to potential employees. The United Kingdom has an appealing apprenticeship model that’s common practice for both large firms and small contractors. Young people can learn trades while they are still in school, and the results are positive for construction companies as well.

While some employers, especially smaller ones, may not be excited about paying for apprenticeships, up to 25 percent of the costs of these apprenticeships are usually recovered by the company through the revenue and profits enabled by taking on more projects. The other significant advantage of these programs is the pipeline of potential employees, which helps to avoid time-consuming and costly recruiting.

Sam O’Neill, a former plumbing apprentice, talks about the benefits that come from this model in For Construction Pros: “I knew I could never afford a four-year college, so an apprenticeship program was my ideal choice. I loved learning on the job while going to trade school, and I’m still working for the same housebuilder. I recently bought a house of my own. Many of my counterparts who went to university can’t afford to leave their parents’ home.”

A lot of this is made possible through the government in the form of either direct funding or by way of reimbursement. In the U.S., training for trades is also becoming more of a focal point as the recently signed bipartisan bill Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21^st Century Act is supporting apprenticeships as well as trade schools.

Another (fairly obvious) way to alleviate construction labour challenges is hiring more women, who remain stubbornly underrepresented in the sector. Women currently make up a small fraction, just under 10 percent, of construction workers.

This disparity has also created spin-off barriers to women entering the industry, like a lack of suitable protective equipment, most of which is designed for men, and the outdated but persistent perception that construction work is a job for men. There is also the lack of flexible work scheduling for childcare, which leads many women to more amenable work and careers.

“Childcare is clearly a growing concern and has great potential as a talent attraction,” says Herb Brownett, a construction financial management consultant in Pennsylvania, in For Construction Pros. “Several companies are using new and creative childcare solutions to differentiate themselves in the eyes of both current employees and potential new hires,” he writes.

“One converted a training room into an area where office employees can bring children to work with them on occasion. Others were experimenting with flexibility options to make it easier to care for children. One of my clients investigated starting a company daycare centre but found the licensing and liability issues to be daunting.”

Not addressing these issues for women means the industry loses out on building a fully staffed workforce and so loses out on its bottom line. A survey conducted by Deloitte focusing on women in manufacturing revealed that companies that made a point of employing more women reported increased returns on investment and higher valuation.

Not only is this a challenging time to recruit and keep employees in construction, but it also feels like the industry is on the cusp of more change.

One of the biggest is the shift in what it means to work for a company. The growing gig economy emphasizes contracts that provide more flexibility to people who want to work for different builders in different parts of the country. That also means that they may not even be looking for long-term employment with any company.

At the same time, advances in AI, robotics, and automation are wowing people around the world and the question that’s on many people’s minds is just how much these advances will deliver. Will companies be able to do more with fewer employees and close the gap in the shortage numbers? And if that is a solution, what are the implications going forward? Construction companies may also have to rethink what their workforce will look like and what skills will be most important in the years to come.

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