flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Silicon Valley is here. Get over it.

Building Team

Silicon Valley is here. Get over it.

AEC firms continue to have angst about a tech-industry takeover of the market. One expert’s advice: “Embrace technology. Do not fear. You can shape it.”


By David Barista, Editorial Director | August 17, 2018
Oracle Corporation headquarters, Redwood Shores, Calif. Photo: Pixabay

Oracle Corporation headquarters, Redwood Shores, Calif. Photo: Pixabay

‘For the people who were mentioning the fear from Silicon Valley. I am Silicon Valley. Get over the fear. Silicon Valley has already stepped into construction, and I am part of it.’ 

AEC technophile Rohit Arora—who joined the design-build startup Katerra in April as a Product Excellence engineer—put his thoughts on AEC tech innovation quite bluntly at BD+C’s Accelerate Live! conference this past May. But it needed to be said.

Talk after talk at the event referenced the AEC market’s ongoing angst about a tech-industry takeover of AEC, with traditional companies getting squeezed out by hotshot VC-backed startups and enterprising design and construction firms. Arora’s advice for the traditionalists: “Embrace technology. Do not fear. You can shape it.”

I don’t need to tell you about the profound impacts that technological advancements are having on architecture, engineering, and construction. However, I suggest that the pace of innovation and the rate of tech adoption by AEC firms have taken on a Moore’s law-like stride.

This past April, while attending an industry event targeted at GCs and subcontractors, I sat in on a two-hour breakout session focused solely on disruptive construction technologies (yes, 120 minutes!). The speaker, a well-known AEC technology expert, flipped through slide after slide—well more than 60 slides in all—each with a specific technology tool or application, and how construction firms are utilizing the innovation. Labor tracking, BIM/VDC optimization, multi-user VR coordination, indoor drones, rules-based clash detection, exoskeletons, smart tools, 360 cameras for creating detailed 3D models, and AI for everything from construction scheduling to language translation on the jobsite. The applications went on and on, and that talk was just for construction companies. The speaker could easily put together a two-hour talk on emerging tech for architects. And one for engineers. And one for building owners and facilities professionals.

And based on the amount of venture capital funding that is flooding into the commercial construction field, two hours may no longer be enough to cover emerging technologies. JLL, in a new report, found that VC firms invested a record $1.05 billion in construction technology startup companies during the first half of 2018. That is nearly 30% more VC funding than during the same period in 2017, and it adds to the more than $3 billion in funding since 2009, across 478 construction technology deals.   

In my nearly two decades covering commercial construction, there has never been a more compelling time to report on this $500 billion industry. On one hand, it’s exhilarating to see the incredible opportunities that lie ahead for enterprising firms. On the other hand, I empathize with firms that are struggling to keep up.

Watch all 19 Accelerate Live! talks. 

Related Stories

| Sep 11, 2012

About 170 events planned nationwide for fourth annual SteelDay September 28

SteelDay is a national event featuring free educational and networking opportunities for the design and construction community and the public.

| Sep 11, 2012

New York City releases first energy benchmarking data for private buildings

City is first in U.S. to disclose private-sector building energy data from a mandatory benchmarking policy.

| Sep 7, 2012

Net-zero energy pioneers on the el-hi frontier

Getting to net-zero is not easy, but the promise of eliminating energy bills and using state-of-the-art technology as a learning lab can make a compelling case to reach for net-zero.

| Sep 7, 2012

The keys to success in the K-12 school market

When educators and school administrators describe their vision for new K-12 school buildings as ‘21st-century learning spaces,’ they’re not exaggerating. Many new schools are truly different in concept from their counterparts of only a few years ago.

| Aug 24, 2012

Skanska hires Miller as procurement manager

Miller brings more than 25 years of construction procurement expertise.

| Aug 24, 2012

KLMK Group forms strategic alliance with Taylor Construction Management

KLMK's expertise in the capital delivery process and TCM's global platform combine to provide an integrated solution with an unparalleled impact for health care related industries.

| Aug 24, 2012

Study predicts how health economic, delivery and buildings play a role in the next decade

Study also finds accountable care organizations, pay-for-performance and aging population will have greatest impact over next five years.

| Aug 24, 2012

ABI downturn moderates as negative conditions continue

South the only region reporting increase in design activity.

| Aug 24, 2012

Texas ACEC to host Morrissey Goodale's "One-Day MBA" seminar

This one-day blitz of business management training will include topics such as building a branding machine, the market for mergers & acquisitions, drama-less ownership transition, building high-performance teams, and transformational project management and delivery.

| Aug 21, 2012

Under 40 Leadership Summit slated for October 3-5 in Chicago

Attendees will be given an exclusive technical tour of Wrigley Field, led by Steven J. Jacobsen, CDP, who has been retained by the Chicago Cubs to create the business plan and high-level concepts to evaluate the feasibility of various renovation options for this iconic sports venue; and Carl Rice, Cubs’ Vice President, Baseball Operations.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021