Construction Market Update: Modular Methods Going Mainstream

Just as expected, the modular construction industry is going strong in the new year. In January, we outlined a few predictions discussing how modular methods could help building pros mitigate safety risks on the jobsite and accelerate construction timelines. From supporting green building initiatives to creating safer working conditions, below are a few highlights that showcase how the modular prefab method is making a positive impact and helping several industries find success in 2021:

Energy-efficient Starbucks built in just six days

A first-of-its-kind for the coffee retail giant, Starbucks will open a sustainably constructed drive-thru store in Canada using an energy-efficient modular system with near-zero construction waste, according to a recent press release. Assembled and built in less than a week’s time, the store is specifically designed to reduce energy needs for heating and cooling compared to standard construction builds.

According to Construction Dive, other restaurant brands have embraced modular building as a way to cut costs, shave construction time and lower their carbon footprints. Late last year, Chick-fil-A opened its first restaurant built with a modular construction process in just 12 weeks, compared to the typical 23-week average for “scrape and rebuild” projects.

Modular bathrooms to become a mainstay in Season’s Retirement Homes In just a few months, 147 SurePods bathrooms will be heading to St. Catharine’s Seasons Retirement Community, a new assisted living facility opening in Ontario, Canada. To ensure the bathroom pods were perfectly designed for St. Catharine’s residents, the materials and fixtures were carefully selected by the Season’s Retirement Homes design team.

In the development of future retirement communities, Season’s Retirement Homes will enlist SurePods to deliver beautifully designed bathroom pods for seamless “plug-and-play” installs. The code-compliant pods offer the added value of cost certainty and de-risking jobsites, in addition to offering quality, consistent bathroom facilities to residents across Season’s Retirement Homes’ entire portfolio.

Take a video tour of the Season’s Retirement Pod:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R53mstD22D8

National news segment explores “How Modular Construction is Shaking Up the Industry”

Informally referred to as the “CNBC for millennials,” post-cable TV network Cheddar breaks down the modular construction process for its viewers and explores how modular building methods offer solutions to address several factors the construction industry currently faces.

Ayall Schanzer, Chief Strategy Officer, iBUILT, points out the economic advantages that modular construction presents, including helping offset rising materials costs and addressing the construction industry’s skilled labor shortage. He also discusses how modular building methods are helping the construction industry overcome several new challenges presented in 2021, noting that “off-site manufacturing provides an alternative and eliminates a lot of the risk and a lot of the costs associated with traditional onsite construction.”

At the end of the segment, the news anchor calls modular building “almost like [it’s] the trifecta,” with respect to its ability “lower construction and operating costs in addition to [speeding up] construction in the process.”

Ready to take advantage of the modular benefits for your next project? Let’s talk. Our prefabricated bathrooms can shave 2-4 months off construction timelines. If SurePods’ modular bathroom pods sound like a match for your next project, let’s talk. We have a checklist of technical issues we review with the project team based on our extensive experience to make projects seamless. To get started, contact us at [email protected].