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The 78 – A Home Grown Community Finding the Missing Middle Strength or Flexibility – The Debate Continues… apeiron-construction.com | JANUARY 2021We create boundless opportunity With a wealth of experience in reporting, content creation and publishing, Apeiron Media, Inc – publisher of Apeiron Construction – was set up with a clear vision to shine a light on pioneering organisations and professionals throughout the construction industry. We take a nuanced approach to storytelling and our clients benefit from a comprehensive integrated marketing opportunity through our detailed suite of online media. Apeiron Construction delivers stories from across the industry to offer high-end, thought provoking content to our readers. Conducting fascinating in-depth interviews with industry leading Executives, Managers, Presidents and CEOs allows us to gain insight and perspective while having the privilege of telling impactful stories. Our unique approach to content creation allows us to gain expert commentary on an ever-changing industry, from the people that know it best. As a media platform, we believe that our world is boundless. We want to share this world with our clients. WWW.APEIRONMEDIAINC.COMCHIEF EDITOR CREATIVE DIRECTOR SENIOR CONTENT DEVELOPERS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS DIRECTOR OF SALES DAVID O’NEILL LINDSAY BAILEY CIARAN DUNNE | MARK PETERS | PETER SWALE MARIA CAMPBELL | JIM DONOVAN WILL HENDERSON | EMMA JACOBS COLIN O’NEILL APEIRON-CONSTRUCTION.COM APEIRONMEDIAINC.COM L ast year was not one that anyone in the construction industry, or beyond, saw coming. The world is in flux and as societies around the globe make tentative steps towards recovery, it is natural that every success is placed within the context of the pandemic. This is not to say, however, that the construction world has stopped completely. In an industry full of innovation and bravery, projects are continuing, plans are being drawn up, shovels are breaking ground. It is both exciting and heartening to be able to offer a snapshot of projects taking place throughout the United States and Canada. Construction is bruised. It has been one of the hardest hit industries in 2020. However, it is not out completely. The stories collected in this issue showcase a small sample of the diversity, strength and resilience that is to be found on sites throughout the region. It gives me immense pride to welcome you to Apeiron Construction. Our aim is to discover and present innova- tion and skill, dedication and quality in their many forms. We want to share what interests us. Much is still happening in our industry. We want to find the best of it and bring it to you. Thanks for reading! | 3 APEIRON CONSTRUCTION A note from the EditorWith a rich foundation of culture and heritage, Chicago could quite easily choose to hang on to what it has. Instead, the city has plans to weave new threads into its tapestry by moving over and making room for a new neighbourhood. 8 The 78 — A Home Grown Community 6 3 Positive News Stories 12 Finding the Missing Middle 18 A Roadmap to Green Success 22 Strength or Flexibility – The Debate Continues… 30 Building the Destination – Working out of the Pandemic 36 Bridging the Border 42 Community Spirit in the Heart of America 48 Retraining for the Recovery | 5 APEIRON CONSTRUCTIONW hen people hear words such as autonomous, robotics and AI, they can be filled with fear and suspicion. Visions of robots that can do the job of a human at a fraction of the cost have long been a con- cern for workers in certain industries and construction is chief among them. The reality should not be perceived as such a threat according to Noah Ready-Campbell, Founder and CEO of Built Robotics. Ready-Campbell has paired his own skills gained working with Google with his childhood experiences of watching his father working as a carpenter and contractor. Built Robotics are look- ing to introduce their range of autonomous construction robots to assist projects in a revolutionary manner. The fleet of robots are the Autonomous Dozer, Excavator and CTL. Each robot is designed with safety as a key com- ponent, having been tested for over 10,000 hours with not one accident. Recently, the company has partnered with Mortenson, one of the largest builders in the US and known for their work on major wind and solar farms. This partnership focused on ‘earthmoving activities for renewables projects like wind and solar farms, which tend to be in remote areas, far from traditional workforce centers.’ This safe and innovative method of performing repetitive tasks is a big factor in the tentative acceptance of robotics in construction. While fears may still remain, Noah Ready-Campbell is clear that this technology is a support to the construction world, rather than an enemy. When asked if the industry has much to fear from auto- mated robotics, he is unequivocal. “The answer is no. The computers are not smart enough, but they can free up operators to do the more challenging and valuable work.” www.builtrobotics.com With all that is happening around us, it can be easy to miss some of the advancements that are being made in the construction industry. Let’s shine a light on some good news stories that are making our world a little better. positive news stories T he finishing touches are being put on a project to provide the world’s first community of 3D printed homes. ICON, a building and design company based out of Austin, TX, is working with the non-profit charity, New Story, to raise funds, design and build the homes. ICON identified what it sees as three barriers to meeting the need for housing in the Unites States and worldwide. The company believes that affordability, sustainability and availability are the critical problems in the housing crisis. In their view, traditional building methods are both inefficient and wasteful. In an attempt to not only answer this need, but revolutionize the way homes are built, ICON have developed and are now using ‘construction technol- ogies that advance humanity by using 3D printing robotics, software and advanced materials.’ The result | 6 JANUARY 2021A s the construction world wrestles with its carbon responsibilities and targets, a company in Canada is offering a glimpse into the cutting edge thinking required to reduce emissions to required levels across the industry. CarbonCure recently won the 2020 North Amer- ican Cleantech Company of the Year award, making it the first Canadian company to win the award. The company specializes in advanced technology that uses recycled CO 2 in the cement making process without a reduction in performance. The Carbon Dioxide is sourced from indus- trial emitters, meaning that the industry benefits twice over. The process, called CO 2 Mineralization, occurs when the Carbon Dioxide is injected into a wet concrete mix to form a nano-sized mineral called Calcium Carbonate. This becomes embedded in the concrete, strengthening the mix, improving the concretes performance and per- manently eliminating the CO 2 . CarbonCure is aiming to decrease emissions by 500 Megatonnes annually and is currently providing concrete to numerous concrete manufacturers across the United States. The company’s CEO and Founder, Robert Niven, believes that the technology his company is bringing to the industry is a positive on every conceivable level. ‘Our vision is that concrete decarbonization and profitability are not mutually exclusive. Instead, our strategy is to cre- ate retrofit solutions for the concrete industry with very low barriers to adoption. These solutions reduce the car- bon footprint while boosting profitability, raising quality, increasing resource circularity, and creating a differenti- ated sales advantage.’ www.carboncure.com of this innovation was that in 2018 they became the first ever company in America to secure a build permit for, and build, a 3D printed home. This achievement in Austin, TX led to hugely ambitious targets in tackling homelessness around the planet. The site for this ground-breaking community is in Tabasco, Mexico and the first phase has been launched. This partnership is providing 3D printed houses to 50 families that are living on less than $3 a day. More information on this project and the organizations involved can be found at: www.iconbuild.com newstorycharity.org/3d-community ICON 3D-Printed Homes Community in Tabasco, Mexico Photo Credit: Joshua Perez ICON 3D-Printed Homes Community First Village in Austin, TX Photo Credit: Regan Morton Photography ICON Vulcan 3D Printer Extruding Lavacrete Photo Credit: Regan Morton Photography | 7 APEIRON CONSTRUCTIONWith a rich foundation of culture and heritage, Chicago could quite easily choose to hang on to what it has. Instead, the city has plans to weave new threads into its tapestry by moving over and making room for a new neighbourhood. | 8 JANUARY 2021WRITTEN BY MARIA CAMPBELL I t is a city famed for its striking architecture and, in 1885, it was the location of the world’s first modern skyscraper. Though the building was modest by modern standards, the pioneering nature of the city has long been evident. Chicago hums with bold styles and building work of huge historical significance. Its skyline is as synonymous with the city as crime novels and it is the birthplace of the influ- ential Chicago School style of architecture that was the platform for Frank Lloyd Wright to reinvent architecture as an artform. It is not, however, a city that wants or needs to look backwards. A megadevelopment costing $7bn will gradually rise in the city over the next two decades and with it, the Chicago skyline will have some competition and the 77 existing neighbourhoods will have a new addition. The 78 is a new ‘built-from-scratch’ neighbourhood that is currently being prepared for development and is located on a 62 acre site that borders Chinatown’s Ping Tom Park, Roosevelt Road, Clark Street and the Chicago River. When completed, it will be a hub of progressive and innovative businesses and community led initiatives like gardens, breweries and restaurants. The neighbourhood will be built on land that has been vacant for almost a century. This will change the landscape of Chicago immeasurably and bring a new found sense of community to the other- wise empty space. The land was acquired by the devel- oper Related Midwest in 2016 and the project was green lit in 2019. Master Planner on the project will come from architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. ‘Our vision for The 78 is to create Chicago’s next great neighborhood,’ said Curt Bailey, president of Related Midwest. While it is clear that the scale of this project is enormous, the idea behind it is relatively simple. Related Midwest identified an opportunity to create a city within a city, bringing with it a new identity and community spirit. | 9 APEIRON CONSTRUCTIONNext >