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An ambitious plan to change how we build housing
Builder ^ | December 10, 2018 | Fast Company

Posted on 12/15/2018 4:16:54 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet

Fast Company reports on a Chicago company that is betting big on modular apartment construction.

Just beyond the snowy streets and neatly packed three-flats of Chicago’s southwest side, the factory at 3348 South Pulaski appears like a low gray monolith, spanning nearly 10 normal blocks and serving as a boundary between the residential neighborhood and the city’s industrial freight hub.

Inside, the Chicago general contractor Skender is setting up what amounts to an apartment factory: An assembly line that will crank into gear in the spring, producing standardized apartment units ready to be bolted into a steel-framed stack on a building site. Modular construction is more than a century old, and in contemporary America, it’s seen mixed success–but the 63-year-old general contractor, which launched a separate entity for its modular arm, Skender Manufacturing, last year, believes the technology is worth investing in.

On a recent afternoon, its executives showed off the company’s first prototype: A white-walled one-bedroom (fully furnished with a Nest thermostat, Crate and Barrel 2 platform bed, and scent diffuser) that glowed like a beacon on the otherwise darkened factory floor. When the first apartments come off the line next year, they’ll be transported only a few miles away for assembly on a 110-unit condo building in the city’s West Loop. After that, the company plans to begin production on a three-flat design and healthcare-focused hospital rooms....

(Excerpt) Read more at builderonline.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: agenda21; apartments; chicago; modularhousing; zoning
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1 posted on 12/15/2018 4:16:54 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

As opposed to NON-healthcare-focused hospital rooms?


2 posted on 12/15/2018 4:19:52 PM PST by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

They’ll make great crack houses!


3 posted on 12/15/2018 4:20:16 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (Democracy dies when Democrats refuse to accept the result of a democratic election they didn't win.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Reminiscent of the movie, “The Lathe of Heaven”

Notice: There will be no individual thinking allowed, no antique door knockers, no window coverings until approved by the HOA and no use of the freight elevators on weekends or after 5 pm on Fridays.

“Give me land, lots of land underneath the skies above.
Don’t Fence Me In”.


4 posted on 12/15/2018 4:22:28 PM PST by V K Lee ("VICTORY FOR THE RIGHTEOUS IS JUDGMENT FOR THE WICKED")
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Simply gorgeous! /s

Stack up enough of them and we'll look like the Soviet Union...


5 posted on 12/15/2018 4:32:02 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

No Thanks!

I would rather live in a tent, during the winter in Fairbanks, Alaska.


6 posted on 12/15/2018 4:33:41 PM PST by txnativegop (The political left, Mankinds intellectual hemlock)
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To: V K Lee

HOA’s are a people problem regardless of the techniques used for construction.


7 posted on 12/15/2018 4:34:52 PM PST by posterchild (anti-science: thinking a fetus is distinct from a tumor and sex is determined by chromosomes)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Modular construction is more than a century old, and in contemporary America, it’s seen mixed success–but the 63-year-old general contractor, which launched a separate entity for its modular arm, Skender Manufacturing, last year, believes the technology is worth investing in.


Notice sperate entity and worth investing. Anyone here investing? But there will be some one that will invest. It might work in some cases, but it won’t solve all our problems. more power to them.

Europe has many old buildings, we build them and tear them down the next year. pros and cons both ways.


8 posted on 12/15/2018 4:36:16 PM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

It looks just like the tunnel-digger housing units in the TV series Better Call Saul. Like imitating art.


9 posted on 12/15/2018 4:37:42 PM PST by sparklite2 (See more at Sparklite Times)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I’ve thought about this often. Start from scratch and think through all the things that make a home safe, comfortable, easy to maintain, and aesthetically pleasing. Think through all the potential threats including fire, earthquake, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, etc. Make it affordable and make sure it has its own power source - no grid. Might and up with a tee-pee. LOL.


10 posted on 12/15/2018 4:39:24 PM PST by Fester Chugabrew (Lock. Her. Up.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

They’ll make great crack houses!


Especially with the built-in scent diffuser ...


11 posted on 12/15/2018 4:39:48 PM PST by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now it is your turn ...)
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To: txnativegop

I would rather live in a tent, during the winter in Fairbanks, Alaska.


Nome AK, if you are serious ...


12 posted on 12/15/2018 4:40:54 PM PST by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now it is your turn ...)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

I once inquired as to why so many US structures have straight lines and sharp corners, very few curves. The physics that introduce stability, and the economy involved were the answers.


13 posted on 12/15/2018 4:42:26 PM PST by Fester Chugabrew (Lock. Her. Up.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

How will all the Governmental and Union officials decide how to change the bribe structure that has been built up over years for standard construction?


14 posted on 12/15/2018 4:45:51 PM PST by jim_trent
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To: 2ndDivisionVet; null and void

[ Nest thermostat ]

Oh cool. Built-in spyware! LOL

Just kidding.


15 posted on 12/15/2018 4:46:12 PM PST by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Different types of factory built and (I hate to use the term) other disruptive methods are coming fast.

This contractor is wise to be on the leading edge. Others may not be so lucky.

There’s an outfit in Baltimore using a heavily robotic and automated factory to build complete panels that include siding, insulation, electric, plumbing, windows and drywall. Each panel is simply bolted together.

I’ve been in the factory and it’s impressive.

Several tech companies are using their knowledge to build houses with some very unique ideas.

I know of a company that uses some sort of bacteria to grow bricks on site in a brick factory trailer. Saves thousands in transportation costs.

A large lumber chain has several plants that churn out precut lumber laser marked with assembly order. Almost no waste. When they introduced it four years ago, they had one plant. I think I heard that they have 8-10 now.


16 posted on 12/15/2018 4:47:00 PM PST by cyclotic ( Democrats must be politically eviscerated, disemboweled and demolished.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Nothing new, been done before several times.

Just hyping his product.

Yawn.


17 posted on 12/15/2018 4:47:19 PM PST by Sequoyah101 (It feels like we have exchaged our dreams for survival. We just ha va few days that don't suck.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Great Chicago wants to look like Caracas


18 posted on 12/15/2018 4:47:21 PM PST by Nifster (I see puppy dogs in the clouds)
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To: Fester Chugabrew
There's a house not far from us with almost all curves and nary a straight line. It was incredibly expensive to build...


19 posted on 12/15/2018 4:53:55 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: V K Lee
Reminiscent of the movie, “The Lathe of Heaven”

How so? It's been a long time since I saw that movie.

20 posted on 12/15/2018 5:06:13 PM PST by metmom ( ...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith......)
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