Reflections on 10 Years of Modular Construction

From its roots in the Industrial Revolution, modular construction has sought to be viewed as a disruptive technical and social opportunity. Standing here at the edge of our tenth year in the modular world, I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on our tiny corner of a rapidly growing industry.

What was a slowly changing cultural landscape, accelerated by the Covid pandemic, has evolved into a real need for outdoor gathering spaces. We have developed many informal outdoor dining, beverage, and social spaces that act as strong community building blocks. I see this trend amplifying in the future. As the nature of work-life balance evolves, people are going to rely more on these hubs. The closer to home the better. This is a huge opportunity to promote social connection and vibrant places—the cornerstone of a democracy.

With the acceptance of modular buildings, there has been growing support in the legislative and permitting world. In the early days, we needed to reach out and educate the cities and counties we worked in. Here, ten years later, we find most public officials aware of the state programs and happy to support our projects. That said, there still remains a challenge between the speed and efficiency of factory built modules and the very slow process of traditional site development. Hopefully we will see this evolve over time.

From a technical perspective, there have been gradual changes to materials and methods over these years. Industry wide, we hope to see more new technologies enter the market at scale. The construction industry remains by and large both conservative and resistant to change. UrbanBloc’s model of continuous innovation within the constraints of our system has allowed us to introduce more and more options to the function, aesthetic, and resilience of our units. Ten years on, our units have proudly become an industry standard.

We owe our success to our brave clients who have embarked on a new adventure with us. They’ve placed trust in our abilities to listen intently, meet their needs, and deliver beautiful projects. Here’s to many more decades of trust and partnership ahead.