Dive Brief:
- The Coalition for Smart Construction, a combined entity between Virginia Tech and HITT Contracting that aims to help the construction industry advance via new technology, has announced the first recipients of the initiative’s seed grants in an Aug. 25 news release.
- The group selected five initial projects for the seed grants, which ranged from $30,000 to $75,000 apiece, for a total of $280,000, according to the release.
- The coalition targets projects that include advanced materials and manufacturing; construction operations; energy; sustainability and digital and human interfaces.
Dive Insight:
Projects with construction applications that were selected for grants include:
- A first-of-its-kind construction prototyping facility centered around mass timber construction, which aims to improve construction efficiency and enhance workforce development.
- An exploration of a cradle-to-cradle approach for building design and construction using precast concrete elements to reduce the massive accumulation of construction and demolition waste.
- An effort to use artificial intelligence to track printed concrete quality and to use surface waves to track the setting times of the printed concrete.
- The development and testing of a customizable modular construction system, based on an adjustable set of parameters, using oriented strand board sheets, cut into parts by computer numerical control milling machines.
- The development and validation of a process and technology for an industrialized construction system that optimizes digital fabrication, automation and human labor.
“This opportunity is about researchers and industry members working together to take the construction industry to the next level,” Brett Hitt, co-chairman of HITT Contracting, said in the news release. “With faculty and industry input, we were able to identify specific growth areas where we want to see progress. Our hope is that this funding will jump-start projects that address concerns in these areas, leading us into the future of construction.”
The projects, which were chosen in January, are currently underway, according to the release. Researchers will present their findings at a research showcase to highlight opportunities to extend the initial work and create new collaborations.
The Coalition’s partnership with HITT extends to the use of forthcoming space in the builder’s new headquarters. The initiative leased 40,000 square feet of ground floor space in the building, which HITT hopes will establish a nationally recognized construction innovation hub.
Andrew McCoy, associate director for research and innovation for the Myers-Lawson School of Construction at Virginia Tech, said that there were areas, such as national defense, that the initiative would like to strengthen its chances of funding in the future.
“The industry has been slow to change, and so one of the ways to do that is to bring together different groups that really are invested in that change, and then we work together towards making it happen,” McCoy told Construction Dive.
On the prospect of federal funding cuts and how that could affect the Coalition, McCoy said he was excited by new funding opportunities the group could pursue, particularly in the private sector.
“We're trying to create an atmosphere where we can bring industry and work with them in a way that solves their needs and brings a lot of different voices around the table,” he said.
