Since the Black Street houses have been under construction, the team has been spending a lot of time at SMI (Structural Modulars, Inc.) – the factory where our homes are being constructed. Part of being obsessive about our designs means that once our construction drawings are handed off to the factory, we then shift to making sure that everything is built to our standards. It’s important for us to keep an eye on the construction process from start to finish, so while the houses were on the factory line, we were frequenting SMI about twice a week.
In an effort to educate people in the industry about offsite construction, why it’s the future, and to see behind the scenes of our homes being built, we co-hosted factory tours with some of SMI leadership team. Architects, developers, homebuyers, realtors, product partners and fans joined us to see behind the walls and get a crash course on modular construction.
Led by our VP of Projects, Ankur as well as our friends Rich and Randy from Structural Modulars, Inc., everyone was able to take a tour of every station of the factory and see the benefits of off-site construction firsthand.
The houses in the factory were finished ahead of schedule (yay!), so our visitors saw the almost-finished boxes and what the factory is capable of doing (like being able to work on the bottom of a house from a pit in the factory or have a zero-waste policy for scraps as they work). As visitors walked through the first floor of 5456 Black Street, they were able to see for themselves how spacious and open a 16 ft x 40 ft first floor feels. Visitors were also invited to walk through the second floor of 5454 Black Street to see its two bedroom layout with carpets installed in the bedrooms and almost everything installed in the bathrooms – tiles, mirrors, and vanities included!
What’s next? We’ll be shipping the boxes from SMI to Pittsburgh very shortly. Stay tuned to see that update!