The Offsite Construction Summit Offers Affordable Housing Ideas, Solutions in Denver

The speaker line-up in Denver included offsite construction architects, manufacturers, and a variety of other industry experts. Dean Dalvit, AIA, PE, principal at Texas-based EVstudio, kicked off the day-long event by presenting "Opening the Playbook on Architecture and Engineering Design for Success in Modular Development." The session was aimed at developers of all experience levels and offered critical “dos and don'ts” using case studies as examples for each phase of architecture and engineering in modular construction projects.

"I’m always excited about presenting at these events," said Dalvit, "because it's an opportunity to help advance the industry by sharing our experiences and lessons learned with others. The more we all do that, the stronger the industry continues to become."

Jim Schneider, Executive Director of PCI Institute Mountain States, then took attendees inside the incredible effort to build at the top of Colorado's Pike's Peak using precast concrete. Schneider's presentation, "Pikes Peak Visitor's Center and High Altitude Research Lab," detailed this unique project that utilizes 424 pieces of precast concrete hauled up the mountain from the concrete manufacturer in Colorado Springs.

Kam Valgardson, General Manager of Irontown Modular, then spoke on the advantages that building mid-size modular buildings can bring to manufacturers, followed by a short presentation from John Killingsworth, Associate Professor in Colorado State University's Department of Construction Management on the Modular Building Institute's sponsored research into waste reduction practices in multifamily construction.

Three additional presentations took place in the afternoon. Eric Schaefer, Chief Business Development Officer at Fading West Development and
Bleecker Seaman, President of Fading West Capital Partners, shared the details of what it takes to make an attainable housing project work. Stuart Emmons, Principal at Oregon-based Emmons Design, presented "System Thinking to Increase Affordable Housing." And, finally, Loren Groeschl, Sales Consultant for Premier SIPs, spoke about the advantages of offsite construction versus site-framed building envelope systems.

In addition to the speakers, the Offsite Construction Network’s Denver Summit featured over thirty exhibitors, including Barricade Building Products, ISE Structural Engineers, Soukup America, Whitley Manufacturing, MiTek, ICC NTA, LLC, Premier Building Systems: Premier SIPS, FIBO, Synergy Modular, Douglass Colony Group, Palomar Modular Buildings LLC, Rockwool, ROC Modular Inc., Lindapter, Proset Construction, Inc., NRB Modular Solutions, hsbcad North America LLC, Homeway Commercial, Tri-Merit, EVstudio, Simpson Strong-Tie, Johns Manville, LAI Design Group, Guerdon, ProSet, Inc., Wesco Distribution, Inc., Nashua Builders, RW America, Irontown Homes, PFLMEP, Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US, Greenheck, and the Modular Building Institute.