Construction is generally considered to be the world’s largest industry, and yet, it is well known that its productivity levels suck. Over the last half century, the industry has experienced something in between meager and negative productivity growth.
It is for this reason that, for as long as I can remember, people have been trying to figure out how to turn development and construction into something more repeatable and less custom — something like a product.
Now, there can be a bit of a stigma associated with this moniker. Architects don’t often like to think of their work as being a product and references to modularity can sometimes evoke feelings of cheapness (think manufactured homes).
But I think all of this is quickly changing. And at the end of the day, we are going to need to start building like this if we have any hope of making housing more affordable within our cities.
Here’s an example.
Back in 2021, I wrote about a new modular housing company called Juno. They had just broken ground on their first project in Austin (a five-story 24-unit building), and they were in the media talking about how they had more or less reduced the building down to 33 standardized parts.
The multi-family space has since softened in Austin, and I don’t have any inside knowledge of how this project went, but the building is now complete and being leased up. And regardless, I think it’s an important case study to look to. This is where our industry is heading.