flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

WeWork takes on a construction management app provider

Office Buildings

WeWork takes on a construction management app provider

Fieldlens helps turn jobsites into social networks. 


By John Caulfield, Senior Editor | June 13, 2017

To accommodate its rapid growth, WeWork, the coworker office space redeveloper, has acquired Fieldlens, whose app streamlines jobsite communication and management.  Pictured is one of WeWork's locations in Hollywood, Calif.  Image: WeWork

WeWork, the New York-based urban workspace designer and redeveloper that’s one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S., has acquired Fieldlens, a six-year-old producer of construction management applications that allow for more efficient on-site communications.

Most construction projects “are broken social networks,” says Doug Chambers, Fieldlens’ founder. His company’s app helps make a jobsite environment more like Facebook or a social feed, where everyone on site is communicating in real time, all the time.

An example Chambers gives is a project manager who is walking a site, and using the app on his smartphone to send observations, pictures, confirmations, and directives to other crew members. Chambers says that on one jobsite in Buffalo, N.Y., the Fieldlens app is facilitating 1,000 interactions per day, on average, among the 80 to 100 workers on site.

“Fieldlens lets people get back to work,” and not get bogged down on a lot of administrative and paperwork duties, says Chambers.

For the past two years, WeWork has been one of Fieldlens’ biggest customers. And its use has “ramped up pretty rapidly” over the past six months, says Chambers, as WeWork “has grown like crazy.”

Founded in 2010, WeWork currently has more than 120,000 members globally working out of 149 locations in 45 cities in 13 countries. WeWork so far has redeveloped more than 8 million sf of space to coworker offices. It is about to expand into India and Colombia.

In a recent blog, WeWork’s Chief Product Officer David Fano said the company is opening between five and 10 new locations a month. “And we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of global demand.” The company has also recently expanded into co-living redevelopment.

“WeWork is a train moving at 200 miles per hour,” says Aaron Fritsch, WeWork’s head of product systems and operations. “We’re a mission-driven company, and what we love about Fieldlens is how it’s focused on changing and improving the industry. It saw that there’s a better way that [project management] could be done.”

 

 

WeWork had been one of Fieldlens' biggest customers before it acquired the six-year-old company this month. Image: WeWork

 

Fano said that WeWork is “obsessed by the intersection of technology and the construction industry.” And among the things that Fieldlens’ app brings to the table, says Fristch, is a continuous feedback loop that bridges the communications gap that too often separates not only jobsite personnel, but also designers and facilities managers.

As a single company WeWork and Fieldlens will continue to develop and refine construction tools that are made available to the industry at large. “As part of WeWork, we’ll have more resources to continue to focus on our goal of making the work-lives of construction professionals more efficient,” says Chambers.

Related Stories

Office Buildings | Jun 16, 2016

Ability to focus, not perks, is top concern for office employees

Open-plan offices found to worsen distraction problem.  

High-rise Construction | Jun 15, 2016

WilkinsonEyre designs diamond-patterned Bay Park Centre for Toronto

A sloping plaza with trees, grass, and gardens connects the two downtown towers.

Office Buildings | Jun 14, 2016

Let's not forget introverts when it comes to workplace design

Recent design trends favor extroverts who enjoy collaboration. HDR's Lynn Mignola says that designers need to accommodate introverts, people who recharge with solitude, as well.

Movers+Shapers | Jun 13, 2016

THE DISRUPTORS: The Millennial generation is imposing its will on design

AEC firms, particularly those that design hotels and offices, gain a competitive edge by knowing how to appeal to the largest share of the American workforce.

Office Buildings | Jun 10, 2016

Buildings that invest in wellbeing see healthy returns

Healthy workers are more productive workers, but fitness can be tough when employees at the office for 50 hours a week. Perkins+Will's Janine Grossmann offers the wellness components that landlords and companies should prioritize.

Office Buildings | Jun 10, 2016

Form4 designs curved roofs for project at Stanford Research Park

Fabricated of painted recycled aluminum, the wavy roofs at the Innovation Curve campus will symbolize the R&D process and make four buildings more sustainable.

Office Buildings | Jun 7, 2016

Incorporating places to rejuvenate into office design

Workspaces are geared toward socializing and collaboration, but people need quiet, calm places where they can sit alone and focus. Gensler's Penny Lewis offers three ways to design rejuvenation places into office settings.

Market Data | Jun 3, 2016

JLL report: Retail renovation drives construction growth in 2016

Retail construction projects were up nearly 25% year-over-year, and the industrial and office construction sectors fared well, too. Economic uncertainty looms over everything, however.

Building Team Awards | Jun 1, 2016

Multifamily tower and office building revitalize Philadelphia cathedral

The Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral capitalizes on hot property to help fund much needed upgrades and programs.

Building Team Awards | May 26, 2016

Cimpress office complex built during historically brutal Massachusetts winter

Lean construction techniques were used to build 275 Wyman Street during a winter that brought more than 100 inches of snow to suburban Boston.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Adaptive Reuse

Detroit’s Michigan Central Station, centerpiece of innovation hub, opens

The recently opened Michigan Central Station in Detroit is the centerpiece of a 30-acre technology and cultural hub that will include development of urban transportation solutions. The six-year adaptive reuse project of the 640,000 sf historic station, created by the same architect as New York’s Grand Central Station, is the latest sign of a reinvigorating Detroit.




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