Headlines parading around the building technology space for the past decade have been monopolized by the allure of new methods of construction.
Namely, modular, prefabrication, and now 3D printed homes.
These Katerra-esque plays that build in factories and promise lower meaningfully lower costs, exponentially faster builds, with more efficient supply chains and product delivery standards.
But the reality on the ground is different: Two thirds of today’s buildings will still be here in 2040. A potentially more lucrative problem to solve is: how to transform EXISTING building stock into better performing assets.
What do we mean by better performing assets? Quite simply, it’s producing more cash flow for its owners (or net operating income, NOI).
An improved NOI could arrive from many different channels: energy optimization, increased occupancy and reduced delinquency through a better resident experience, reduced maintenance costs and improved property operations.
As a venture capital firm focused squarely on the built environment, our team sees hundreds of emerging construction and property technologies per year that can quickly be leveraged for a profitable retrofit—spanning from data science tools for asset repositioning through concierge amenities. Some of the emerging categories (and solutions) catered to the Modern Retrofit Stack include:
- Location Data for Asset Repositioning: Understanding evolving demographic data and neighborhood trends is critical to determining how you reposition an asset.
- Smart Retrofitting with IoT and Demand Response: IoT devices like smart thermostats, water leak detection, and energy automation and monitoring systems. Demand response systems add another level, allowing buildings to respond to utility price signals to reduce energy consumption during peak demand periods.
- Decarbonization/Electrification: The implementation of energy-efficient materials like triple-pane windows, green infrastructure like living roofs and walls, can improve energy efficiency and manage stormwater runoff, while solar panels or wind turbines can provide off-grid renewable energy sources right on-site.
- Generative A.I. for Concept Design: Get to faster iterations on your retrofit designs through concept design sketching tools or text-to-image generative design tools.
- Robotics and Automation: Automated robots and drones are reshaping the industry by improving accuracy and efficiency in retrofit-oriented tasks like preconstruction, jobsite management, framing, drywalling, building inspection, surveying and more.
- Reality Capture: Reality capture gives owners and construction managers the means to visualize project progress in real-time without having to visit the site.
- Amenitization: Modern amenities related to loyalty (through cash back) and concierge services, air quality sensors and systems, natural lighting solutions, larger outdoor / rooftop space, and even wellness products like cold plunges and saunas (sometimes, the writer includes his wishes too).
- Prefabrication, Modular Construction Panels: Prefab and modular construction methods can add a modern aesthetic while accelerating retrofitting timelines and reducing construction waste and embodied carbon.
- Integrating EV Charging Infrastructure: With the rise of electric vehicles, it’s vital to consider integration of EV charging infrastructure and smart electric panels to meet tenant demands.
Leveraging this modern stack has the potential to transform the painstaking process of renovation and breathe new (cash-flowing) life into your assets. My ask: Try one solution from the above and see for yourself.