On-Demand-Construction for the Instant Gratification Generation

The globe has gone crazy for "on-demand." We now watch on-demand television programs and read print-on-demand books. We've become an "instant gratification" generation that lusts texting, I.M.'ing, emailing, and more. Even driving to the video store takes too much time now since we can download our movies right from the computer. Remember the vinyl record? Remember cassette tapes? Remember CDs? They're gone now. Instant music downloads have replaced them.

A similar phenomenon is happening in the commercial construction arena. Conventional construction techniques are giving over to on-demand-construction in which structures are prefabricated into sections which are then packed into shipping containers that are then transported to a construction site. Now construction crews are able to put together a building in a matter of weeks or even days, rather than months or years.

The green advantage to this type of speedy construction? Less field time means less energy expended. Also, the materials that go into the prefabricated sections can be better controlled, and that's good for sustainable and LEED-certified building practices.

But there's another advantage to on-demand-construction: Construction savings.

Says Brian Phillips, a LEED AP and principal at Interface Studio Architects, who recently constructed an 80,000 sq.ft, 5-story, 72-unit, modular student housing complex for Philadelphia's Temple University, "The ability to fabricate elements of the building outside of Philadelphia County allows for a more competitive labor rate. Also, if time is money - the speed of modular is a savings."

While construction-on-demand presents an exciting and money saving alternative to conventional construction methods, one wonders if that becoming a generation of speed builders also means becoming the generation that makes too many mistakes. Maybe the Chinese are able to construct an fifteen story hotel in 6 days, but just how safe will the building be should another earthquake occur, even if that building is said to be earthquake resistant? The new, speedy, on-demand-construction trend should progress slowly. New construction methods are always welcome, but not at the expense of safety and quality.

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