special supplement
story, 101,000-square-foot student-housing
project at UC Davis. Across the street from
Yosemite Hall, an Emerson Hall replace-
ment project, which is twice the size, is up
next.
Student housing projects are usual-
ly very dense, with a lot of rooms, spac-
es, walls, doors and ceilings. A lot of this
framing is typically done with wood, per-
formed on-site with a subcontractor. But
DPR Construction, based in Redwood City,
proposed a new model. Its Digital Building
Components division uses digital tools to
prefabricate building elements and handle
all engineering and design work. In win-
ning the job, Digital Building Components
created a building information model, a
3-D structure embedded with information
about the actual structure. For instance,
the model will have data such as the mate-
rials, thickness and finish for a wall.
This highly detailed building informa-
tion model is downloaded directly to the
fabrication machinery, which builds frames
in modules rather than individual studs and
pieces, says Nils Blomquist, DPR Construc-
tion’s business unit leader for Sacramento.
While the student housing project is a
form of vertical integration, DPR hires de-
sign firms for many of its design-build proj-
ects and subcontractors for much of the
construction trades. According to Blom-
quist, DPR doesn’t feel the need to fully in-
tegrate on all projects.
“We’re not so much focused on doing
vertical integration for its own sake,” Blom-
quist says. “But we’re looking for ways to
optimize delivery of projects so they’re
consistent, fast, cost-effective and safe.
That may lead to vertical integration, or it
may not.” n
Russell Nichols is a freelance writer who focus-
es on technology, culture and mental health.
His work has appeared in The Wall Street
Journal, The Boston Globe, Governing
Magazine and Government Technology. On
Twitter @russellnichols.
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