by Web Editor | Jun 29, 2018 | News
Offsite design-build company Katerra and India-based manufacturing technology company KEF Infra have announced a merger that will see the newly formed KEF Katerra begin conducting operations in India and the Middle East. KEF Katerra, according to MEP Middle East, already has $3.7 billion in bookings.
Both companies use offsite manufacturing and technology as part of the “end-to-end” building services they provide. KEF Infra also uses robotics and automation in its manufacturing business and produces items like pre-cast concrete, prefabricated bathroom pods and aluminum and glazing facades. Katerra said it will also employ KEF Infra’s pre-cast technology in the U.S. market.
In addition to housing, the company will focus on building community infrastructure assets like hospitals and schools. Post-merger Katerra will have a total of 20 offices and 3,400 employees around the world.
Earlier this month, Katerra sealed the second of two acquisition deals in as many weeks. Those transactions, intended to increase the companies’ design capabilities in the U.S., saw the company enter into agreements with Portland, Oregon-based Michael Green Architecture and Lord Aeck Sargent in Atlanta. After those deals were complete, Katerra had 31 U.S. state architecture licenses plus credentials in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, and saw its staff size double. Green’s area of expertise is in the use of mass timber, and it designed the T3 mass timber office building in Minneapolis. One of Lord’s focuses is sustainable, urban projects.
In addition to its plans for growth through mergers and acquisitions, Katerra also said it would open six manufacturing plants by March 2019, including a Spokane, Washington, facility that will produce mass timber. The 250,000-square-foot plant is expected to generate 4.6 million cubic feet of cross-laminated timber annually. The five other Katerra plants will manufacture standard wood panels and trusses.
From Construction Dive: https://www.constructiondive.com/news/katerras-new-company-with-indian-manufacturer-kef-already-has-37-billion/526840/
by Web Editor | Jun 4, 2018 | News
Tall timber construction, hyped as one of the next big things in architecture and construction, has slowly gained traction as a small number of multistory projects have started to showcase the possibilities of a more sustainable type of building. A new business deal between a construction startup and a pioneer in tall timber design may help speed up more widespread adoption of this technology.
Earlier this year, Katerra, a Silicon Valley startup focused on the construction industry, received $865 million in funding from the SoftBank Vision Fund, a billion-dollar venture capital firm that has invested in leading startups such as Uber. Katerra has used some of its sizable bankroll to acquire Michael Green Architecture Inc. (MGA), a Vancouver-based firm and one of the pioneers of tall timber construction.
Katerra, which bills itself as a tech firm, has pitched itself as a disruptor in the staid construction industry, suggesting that its innovative technology, and focus on vertically integrating the building process, will allow it to build better, faster, and cheaper than conventional firms.
The acquisition of MGA, the eponymous firm whose founder is considered one of the leaders in tall timber design and architecture, suggests they see wooden buildings as a big part of the solution.
Currently valued at $3 billion, Katerra has built a sizable construction firm since launching in 2015. The Menlo Park, California-based company employs 1,500 people, has booked more than $1.3 billion in new projects, and has constructed an operational facility in Phoenix to manufacture its own material. The company’s goal is to be a one-stop shop, offering design, manufacturing, and construction services.
From Curbed.com: https://www.curbed.com/2018/5/30/17409466/construction-startup-tall-timber-katerra-michael-green
by Web Editor | Dec 2, 2016 | News
The seven-story T3 tower features 220,000 square feet of prefabricated CLT timber panels and nail-laminated timber cladding.
It became the largest timber building in the U.S. when it opened Wednesday in Minneapolis. Designed by Vancouver-based Michael Green Architecture and Architect-of-Record DLR Group, the office building is named T3, which stands for Timber, Technology, and Transit.
“As businesses compete to attract and retain staff, T3 offers a modern re-interpretation of the historic building that appeals to young professionals,” says Architect Michael Green. “It celebrates the robust character of historic wood, brick, stone and steel buildings, but provides state of the art amenities, environmental performance, and technical capability needed for competitive businesses in Minneapolis.”
In addition to being constructed of sustainable lumber, the building will sequester about 3,200 tons of carbon.
StructureCraft, who worked on the project, said the building, which resembles nearby historic warehouses in the district, features a structural system around a fifth of the weight of a similarly sized concrete building. StructureCraft says it was able to construct the 180,000 square feet of timber required in less than 10 weeks.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/tallest-timber-building-us-opens-its-doors?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news
by Web Editor | Apr 18, 2016 | News
B.C.’s focus on heavy timber and mass wood construction is reshaping the construction industry, creating a new type of construction expertise, while also showing the private sector that mid and highrise wood structures can make economic sense.
“Since the beginning of this year, we are starting to see more interest from developers in these projects and the City of Vancouver is also interested in them,” said Eric Karsh, structural engineer and co-founder of Equilibrium Consulting Inc., a Vancouver firm that specializes in large timber, engineered structures. “We are now just beginning to see developers seriously consider eight-to-10 story solid wood buildings.”
The City of Vancouver is providing equivalencies such as reduced parking for the construction of wood buildings, which can translate into a plus for developers, he said, and there is the growing realization that the prefabrication approach offered by mass timber construction can expedite construction and reduce costs.
“We are developing details that show these buildings are cost efficient enough and developers are beginning to take notice,” he said.
That interest is a change from earlier attempts to kick-start private sector involvement. In 2012, wood advocate and architect Michael Green and Karsh published the Case for Tall Wood study, which advocated for wood highrises up to 20 stories and spoke with builders and developers regarding wood’s viability for mid-and highrise use.
From Journal Of Commerce: https://journalofcommerce.com/Resource/News/2016/4/BC-focus-on-wood-reshaping-the-construction-industry-1014906W/
by Web Editor | Jul 31, 2015 | News
Developer Hines has broken ground in Minneapolis’ North Loop on its all-timber office building, the first commercial property in the U.S. to use an engineered wood material for its interior and structure.
The Houston-based real estate company announced Monday the start of construction on the 220,000-square-foot, seven-story office building (being called T3 for its emphasis on timber, transit and technology) that has garnered national attention.
Hines hired Vancouver-based Michael Green Architecture, in conjunction with DLR Group, to design the building. Michael Green is among the world’s foremost experts in heavy timber construction and an advocate for timber as a sustainable building material. While old-growth timber — the kind needed to support the weight of a tall building — is unavailable for construction today, an engineering process that presses smaller pieces of wood together can re-create the load capacity of heavy timber.
Following the initial announcement in November, the Wall Street Journal showcased the project, saying it will be the tallest modern all-timber structure in the U.S. once completed. Hines said Monday that it expects the building to open in early fall 2016.
From the Star Tribune: https://www.startribune.com/developer-breaks-ground-on-modern-all-timber-office-building-in-north-loop-minneapolis/318684551/?utm_source=WIT073115&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=WeekInTrees
