David Baker Architects: The New Multifamily Modular.… · the modular design process frontloads the schedule with a lot of early architectled design decision making and team collaborations

1/15/2018 David Baker Architects: The New Multifamily Modular

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The New Multifamily Modular

Image: OxBlue Construction Cameras

By Yes Duffy, AIA, LEED AP

This is a shared resource fordevelopers, architects, contractors,and consultants. It’s part of anongoing effort to collectively build onour latest modular endeavors.

To discuss modular design andconstruction or potential modularprojects with DBA, please contactPrincipal Daniel Simons, AIA, LEEDAP, [email protected].

At DBA, now more than ever, we get asked, “What does it take to go modular?” The time savingand cost saving appeal of “going modular” varies broadly and depends on a variety of factors,which can make or break the potential benefits. Should modular be appropriate for your projectneeds, here's an unpacking of the specifics of “going modular” into a set of working strategies thatDBA has developed over the years as an innovator of multifamily modular technologies. DBA has designed over 1,000 units of multifamily modular buildings in a variety of project typesand construction types, and our approach is constantly evolving as the industry and technologiesmature. The following working strategies were born from our experience in the Bay Area housingmarket, yet may apply nationally as well.

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The Union Flats pairs with Station Center Family Housing to bring a wide range of housing options to

the emerging neighborhood. Another modular development is currently in design for the site to the

north. Image: David Baker Architects

Scaffolding is about to come down on this

corner of the Union Flats, modular housing in

Union City. Image: David Baker Architects

The Union Flats is the largestmultifamily modular development inNorthern California. At right, UnionFlats Construction Timeline video byGuerdon Enterprises.

01:49

First, Learn from the PastFactorybuilt housing has fascinated architects for nearly a century, despite the fact that very few

projects were ever realized. The few that were—such as Habitat 67 by Moshe Safdie in 1967—

served as aspirational prototypes, but they were unable to fulfill the promises of cost effectiveness

and faster delivery. Forty years later, a handful of developers and contractors have taken on the

risks associated with this “new” product delivery method, with mixed results.

Despite the absence of any modular “silver bullet” outcomes, high cost construction markets have

forced continued interest in pursuing more multifamily modular prototypes across the US, in an

effort to circumvent high construction costs and make up for local labor shortages. The lessons

gleaned from these new experiments have collectively “moved the needle” closer and closer to

making multifamily modular a cost effective reality—at least in the hot housing markets of Los

Angeles, the Bay Area, and New York City today.

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Image: David Baker Architects

Quantify and Prioritize Tradeoffs of Modular to Your Specific Project NeedsEach project is different. The modular industry touts a long list of tantalizing advantages, yet few ofthese assumptions have been widely tested and the results vary greatly. However, the factory builtapproach offers advantages, some of which may not only be beneficial, but may even benecessary.

In one example, DBA designed the 243 unit modular Union Flats in 2015 for WindflowerProperties, and according to developer Fei Tsen, the schedule was so tight that going modular wasthe only way to realize the project, because it provided a significant time savings over theconventional construction approach.

Other purported advantages of modular can include more predictable scheduling, less disturbanceto the neighborhood, greater labor consistency and predictability, reduction of waste, andincreased job site safety. According to the industry, if all benefits are taken into account, in hotmarkets, construction costs can be decreased by 20 to 50% by going the modular route today.

Colorcoded details coordinate scope between factory and sitebuilt contractor. Image: David BakerArchitects

Begin with an Experienced Team with a Collaborative and Innovative MindsetInterdisciplinary team collaboration and innovation are has been critical for our projects. Aconventional construction job typically has only one of each consultant, each progressing with theentire development of the project, each relying on decades of industry standards.

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However, with modular, you have essentially two separate contractors (the factory contractor andthe site built contractor) and potentially twice the number of consultants. To accommodate for this,the modular design process front loads the schedule with a lot of early architect led design decisionmaking and team collaborations between the factory contractor, the site built contractor, and thestructural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and civil engineers.

After delivering the mods, the modular team hands the project over to the site built team.Coordinating this effort in terms of individualized scope, assembly sequencing, and detailing takesan all team effort and a collaborative mindset in the early phases of the design.

It’s important to allow for flexibility, innovation, and team learning in the early stages, as there are alot of moving parts and a relatively unconventional team structure early on. Contracts, bidding,financing, and scheduling are atypical and require more upfront investment and resolution.

Understand and Manage the Permitting Process Early

The permitting process for modular construction is different from the process for conventionalconstruction and varies from state to state and from city to city. For example, in California, weproduce two different drawing sets, which are approved by two different agencies. We refer tothese as the “state set” and the “city set.”

At the state level, the Department of Housing and Community Development reviews and approvesonly the factory built portion of the project. At the local city level, the local jurisdiction approves allsite built work (the foundation, the podium, the roof, and the exterior building skin). The localjurisdiction also reviews the code compliance of the entire building holistically, although that istypically shown in both sets. The clear coordination and scope delineation of these two separatesets has been critical to pulling permits on time. This documentation effort is one of the“inefficiencies” of drawing production when it comes to modular.

Finished interior, straight from factory. Image:David Baker Architects

Restricting the construction to the corridor.

DBA's interlocking "nested" modular units. Image: David Baker Architects

Focus on Design Innovation from the Inside Out

Multifamily modular buildings are often indistinguishable from their site built counterparts, yet theinternal systems design and construction detailing are often unconventional. At DBA, we continueto develop design solutions that capitalize on the efficiencies of going modular, from reducing onsite expensive labor inside finished units to streamlining factory production methods to increasingthe efficiencies of craning and setting modules.

One example of this approach is to maximize factory based work and minimize expensive site builtwork. By minimizing onsite construction to only corridors and exterior walls, modules can arrivewith completely finished interiors—from flooring to fixtures and furnishings.

In cases where two modules become connected into one unit, we ensure that mate lines arecoordinated and minimally impact the unit interior. On one recent project, we worked with GuerdonModular to help increase factory efficiencies and save costs by minimizing the number of modularmetal frame jigs used in the project. We also cut the shipping costs and crane time in half byutilizing the full shipping size of the module (16’W x 12’H x 74’L) and constructing the corridors,stairs, and elevator shafts in the factory.

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A 3D shop drawing from the ZETA Communities factory. Image: ZETA Communities

Prototype the Mods and Critical ConnectionsEach factory contractor uses a different system for translating architectural drawings to shopdrawings and ultimately to the factory floor. As we design for modular efficiency early in theprocess, we can really reap the benefits of those efficiencies at scale. However, the opposite isalso true: an error either in the drawings or on the factory floor, unchecked, can scale to hundredsof costly errors once the mods are delivered.

This increased risk is best mitigated by having the architect and consultants review not only thefull scale mod prototypes, but also the shop drawings for every mod. Despite the highrisk natureof this critical coordination effort, there is still no standard for how this process is carefullyexecuted.

On the Union Flats, DBA worked with Prefab Logic to manage the translation of architecturaldrawings to shop drawings on the factory floor.

Using only two mod widths for entire development makes for an efficient factory build. Image: DavidBaker Architects

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A variety of unit types with a fixed mod width allows for the design to better meet the nuanced needs of

market and client. Image: David Baker Architects

A variety of unit types with a fixed mod width allows for the design to better meet the nuanced needs of

market and client. Image: David Baker Architects

Once the mods are set, it is extremely

important to begin to seal up all mate lines and

provide robust weather protection on the entire

building, as this is a unusually vulnerable

moment for the entire project.

Design the Workflow from Factory to the Freeway to Set and Secure (andCheck the Weather!)Many factors can quickly damage a finished mod once it leaves the factory. Water damage,structural stresses, tight roadway widths, high winds, and human error can easily damage a mod intransit. The need for sensitive coordination from the factory to the final resting place is unique tomodular construction.

DBA worked with Cannon to develop a method that minimizes the risks and maximizes theefficiencies of craning a 50,000 pound, 74 foot long finished mod 85 feet into the air and then setsand secures the mod quickly. Critical stack sequencing, multiple crane positions, temporarywaterproofing and protection, and setting and securing of the mods was efficient and safe. AtUnion Flats, Cannon was able to stack the entire 243unit building in three weeks.

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Once the mods are set, it is extremely important to begin to seal up all mate lines and provide robust

weather protection on the entire building, as this is a unusually vulnerable moment for the entire project.

Many thanks to all of ourcollaborators in this effort thus far:

Holliday Development Factory OS Guerdon Modular Fei Tsen, Windflower Properties Larry Pace, Cannon Constructors Carol Galante, Terner Center forHousing Innovation BRIDGE Housing Tipping Structural Murphy Burr Curry SDEDCI FARD Emerald City Envision Housing 180 Santa Cruz

Looking into the FutureThere have been very few innovations to the way we produce housing since steel framing was

introduced nearly 100 years ago. The rest of our economy has evolved significantly, yet the

construction model has remained relatively unchanged, until now. The latest innovative efforts to

pursue modular multifamily housing have proven that progress and promise in this arena is

positive, despite a significant amount of early investment in testing new technology.

As more cities, architects, factory contractors, site contractors, and engineers work together to

establish best practices for financing, permitting, and construction, we may begin to see the

relative risk level of modular become comparable to conventional construction, or even surpass it

as the process becomes more predictable.

We may also see more predictable pricing, predictable scheduling, and predictable contractor

performance as more projects come online nationally, however, this is still conjecture at this point.

As architects, we drive the design, yet we also aim to streamline consultant coordination and the

documentation process from our desk to the factory floor, where ideally, our 3D BIM model

becomes the shop drawings, gaining new efficiencies and minimizing costly coordination errors.

We also seek to better capitalize on the unique assets of each factory to a point where we are not

just building conventionally in a factory setting to save money. We are invested in using the factory

setting to innovate new methods for making better performing, better designed buildings, and

perhaps even new factory optimized building typologies.

David Baker is the Chief Design Officer at the new Factory OS modular, right here in our backyard

on Mare Island. DBA currently has more than 1,000 units in design in a variety of project types,

from high tech microhoteling to market rate apartments to single room occupancy residences for

homeless populations.

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David Baker Architects: The New Multifamily Modular.… · the modular design process frontloads the schedule with a lot of early architectled design decision making and team collaborations