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
| Aug 11, 2010
Modest recession for education construction
Construction spending for education expanded modestly but steadily through March, while at the same time growth for other institutional construction had stalled earlier in 2009. Education spending is now at or near the peak for this building cycle. The value of education starts is off 9% year-to-date compared to 2008.
| Aug 11, 2010
'Feebate' program to reward green buildings in Portland, Ore.
Officials in Portland, Ore., have proposed a green building incentive program that would be the first of its kind in the U.S. Under the program, new commercial buildings, 20,000 sf or larger, that meet Oregon's state building code would be assessed a fee by the city of up to $3.46/sf. The fee would be waived for buildings that achieve LEED Silver certification from the U.
| Aug 11, 2010
Decline expected as healthcare slows, but hospital work will remain steady
The once steady 10% growth rate in healthcare construction spending has slowed, but hasn't entirely stopped. Spending is currently 1.7% higher than the same time last year when construction materials costs were 8% higher. The 2.5% monthly jobsite spending decline since last fall is consistent with the decline in materials costs.
| Aug 11, 2010
Luxury Hotel required faceted design
Goettsch Partners, Chicago, designed a new five-star, 214-room hotel for the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The design-build project, with Saudi Oger Ltd. as contractor and Rayadah Investment Co. as developer, has a three-story podium supporting a 17-story glass tower with a nine-story opening that allows light to penetrate the mass of the building.
| Aug 11, 2010
U.S. firm designing massive Taiwan project
MulvannyG2 Architecture is designing one of Taipei, Taiwan's largest urban redevelopment projects. The Bellevue, Wash., firm is working with developer The Global Team Group to create Aquapearl, a mixed-use complex that's part of the Taipei government's "Good Looking Taipei 2010" initiative to spur redevelopment of the city's Songjian District.
| Aug 11, 2010
7 Keys to Unlocking Energy Efficiency in Schools
Today’s best K-12 schools are embracing the sustainability ethos in their design and construction, and that can mean a healthier, more comfortable indoor environment and improved learning. Some studies contend that ample amounts of daylighting, for example, lead to higher test scores. High-performance HVAC systems that constantly draw fresh air into a classroom seem to help both teachers ...
| Aug 11, 2010
Great Solutions: Green Building
27. Next-Generation Green Roofs Sprout up in New York New York is not particularly known for its green roofs, but two recent projects may put the Big Apple on the map. In spring 2010, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts will debut one of the nation's first fully walkable green roofs. Located across from the Juilliard School in Lincoln Center's North Plaza, Illumination Lawn will consist ...
| Aug 11, 2010
Giants 300 University Report
University construction spending is 13% higher than a year ago—mostly for residence halls and infrastructure on public campuses—and is expected to slip less than 5% over the next two years. However, the value of starts dropped about 10% in recent months and will not return to the 2007–08 peak for about two years.
| Aug 11, 2010
World's tallest all-wood residential structure opens in London
At nine stories, the Stadthaus apartment complex in East London is the world’s tallest residential structure constructed entirely in timber and one of the tallest all-wood buildings on the planet. The tower’s structural system consists of cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels pieced together to form load-bearing walls and floors. Even the elevator and stair shafts are constructed of prefabricated CLT.
