A fund controlled by the ecommerce giant Amazon is among the entities that invested a total of $6.7 million in the latest round of financing raised by Plant Prefab, a design and prefabrication company with a 62,000-sf factory in Rialto, Calif., which since May 2016 has produced modules for custom single- and multifamily homes.
The sources for Plant Prefab’s Series A funding included Amazon’s Alexa Fund, which provides up to $100 million in venture capital to support voice technology innovation. “Plant Prefab is a leader in home design and an emerging, innovative player in home manufacturing. We’re thrilled to support them as they make sustainable, connected homes more accessible to customers and developers,” stated Paul Barnard, director of the Alexa Fund.
It could not be ascertained at presstime whether Amazon’s investment was contingent on Plant Prefab including voice technology in its designs and products.
Plant Prefab, which was founded in 2015, claims to be the first home factory in the U.S. that’s focused on sustainable construction, materials, processes, and operations. It also asserts that its patented building system reduces construction time by 50%, and construction cost by between 10% and 25% in major cities.
Steve Glenn, Plant Prefab’s CEO and Founder, explains that increased urbanization, coupled with a growing population and climate change concerns, are driving demand for quicker methods to build houses. He also states that more consumers are demanding homes that use less energy, water, and resources, and that minimize indoor air pollution.
Plant Prefab supplied the modules for a 16-unit dorm in Berkeley, Calif. Image: Plant Prefab
Its multifamily projects include a 16-unit, 6,600-sf dorm project for the nonprofit Urban Adamah (an educational farm and community center that integrates practices of Jewish tradition and sustainable agriculture) in Berkeley, Calif. The dorm was designed by NYC Design.
Plant Prefab’s design partners include Kiernan Timberlake and Yves Behar.
Another of Plant Prefab’s investment partners is Obvious Ventures, which supports startups that attempt to create solutions to big world problems—such as the shortage of affordable housing—in a profitable a scalable way. “With increased costs, labor shortages, reduced affordability, and the enormous impact housing has on carbon emissions, there are few challenges more important than creating more accessible, healthy housing,” said Andrew Beebe, managing director of Obvious Ventures.
Venture capitalists are placing their bets at a time when modular and prefab construction is steadily increasing for both the residential and commercial sectors. For example, this week Ramtech Building Systems announced that it had completed 11 multi-use, relocatable modular building projects. These included five portable classroom buildings to be used as offices at two separate locations for XTO Energy—four at the company's regional operations center in Carlsbad, N.M., and one at a satellite facility in Coyanosa, Texas. The other six buildings were manufactured and installed for the Loving, N.M., office and transportation center of Schlumberger, the oil drilling firm.
Turner Construction has been working on a three-story office building that was constructed in New Jersey, shipped by barge across the Hudson River to New York City in 19 sections, and assembled at night. Turner expects to complete this project by January.
Related Stories
| Dec 29, 2014
New mobile unit takes the worry out of equipment sterilization during healthcare construction [BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report]
Infection control, a constant worry for hospital administrators and clinical staffs, is heightened when the hospital is undergoing a major construction project. Mobile Sterilization Solutions, a mobile sterile-processing department, is designed to simplify the task. The technology was named a 2014 Great Solution by the editors of Building Design+Construction.
| Dec 28, 2014
Robots, drones, and printed buildings: The promise of automated construction
Building Teams across the globe are employing advanced robotics to simplify what is inherently a complex, messy process—construction.
| Dec 28, 2014
AIA course: Enhancing interior comfort while improving overall building efficacy
Providing more comfortable conditions to building occupants has become a top priority in today’s interior designs. This course is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.
| Dec 28, 2014
Workplace design trends: Make way for the Millennials
Driven by changing work styles, mobile technology, and the growing presence of Millennials, today’s workplaces are changing, mostly for the better. We examine the top office design trends.
Sponsored | | Dec 22, 2014
Harnessing the power of wind energy
Wind is generating a great deal of attention these days. I’m talking about wind power that occurs naturally in the atmosphere that is then converted into mechanical energy and then into electricity. SPONSORED CONTENT
Sponsored | | Dec 16, 2014
Deconstructing 2014
With 2014 coming to a close, we decided to take a look back at the year in construction. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Dec 2, 2014
Nashville planning retail district made from 21 shipping containers
OneC1TY, a healthcare- and technology-focused community under construction on 18.7 acres near Nashville, Tenn., will include a mini retail district made from 21 shipping containers, the first time in this market containers have been repurposed for such use.
Sponsored | | Nov 26, 2014
A conversation with Paul Raiford, Director of Energy Services
Q&A with Paul Raiford, Director of Energy Services with Williams Scotsman. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Nov 24, 2014
Must see: Plans released for underwater city that could house 5,000 people
The design centers around a floating, 500-meter-wide sphere linked to a resource center on the ocean floor via a 15-kilometer, helix-shaped path.
Sponsored | | Nov 19, 2014
Build green while you work green
Leading general contractors, including Skanska USA and Turner Construction, are implementing sustainable modular jobsite offices throughout the country. SPONSORED CONTENT