Andrew Staniforth’s Post

Our team is killing it at Assembly OSM! Such a huge accomplishment to get the largest grant from NYSERDA!

Modular works! Want to know why? This article hones in on an awesome precedent for why modular construction actually works, but I have a slightly different take on what it will take in the US! 1. You need a bad enough problem. We've seen modular come and go, and even watched the pioneering Operation Breakthrough (which ended up spearheading modular everywhere else besides the US) get cancelled. Why is that? It's because at that time, it didn't actually solve a problem in the US. We still built enough housing! Today is different. The labor shortage is pronounced. Climate change is here. And regulation (which should be there -- performance or prescriptive) is at an all-time high. We've hit that turning point in the problem. 2. Alignment. The article nods to the fact that modular manufacturers, architects, government officials, and leaders in the timber industry were all rowing in the same direction aiming to solve the same problem. This is key to changing something as large and entrenched as the way we build billions if not trillions of dollars of housing. We've started to see that at an increasing pace. Just look at HUD's Innovative Housing Showcase from last week! 3. The right business model. I don't think anyone would disagree that the economies of countries like Japan and Sweden are fundamentally different than the US. When we've tried to deploy the equivalent of a 10-acre factory here in the US... it hasn't gone well. It's because housing is primarily (even affordable housing) a private and capitalist function. That embeds a much higher degree of market correlation and cyclicality. That means demand on the mega factory will inevitably fluctuate. Assembly OSM's model has been developed specifically to address this. Let's keep promoting modular, championing others' successes, and driving housing to become more accessible and affordable for all! #housing #modularhousing #nytimes #venturecapital #deeptech #contech #constructiontech MOD X The New York Times NYC Department of Buildings New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Francesca Mari Amir Hamja

Well it's not every day that you get to hire someone who has credits in a Pixar Animation Studios film (Turning Red) and has also worked on self-driving car technology... But my amazing cousin is looking for her next role in Computer Graphics and Software Engineering! Let me know if you are interested and I can make the introduction. #computergraphics #animation #venturecapital #softwareengineering #softwaredev

Where are we going to find 740,000 new construction workers each year? Investors always ask, why is now the right time for modular? It's simple. We are having a perfect storm of crises. One that was highlighted by Business Insider is the massive labor shortage. We are at crisis levels with the need for 740,000 new workers annually just to keep pace with today’s demand!! So let's not let a crisis go to waste! Assembly OSM’s approach shifts much of the production of buildings to controlled efficient environments. This isn’t about removing labor, it's about providing jobs that the next generation wants - safer, comfortable, potential for advancement, enabled by the latest technology. Offsite provides all of that! So if you can unlock more production by addressing the labor shortage, what can you do? 1. Achieve Efficiency at Scale: Assembly allows for greater speed and lower risk. Imagine buildings built twice as fast! 2. Sustainability: Assembly’s approach reduces on-site waste and increases our capacity to implement sustainable practices and materials because of our high fidelity digital model! 3. Cost Control: Our costs are locked in earlier! Good bye change orders. Comment below on how can we further leverage technology and innovative thinking to overcome the housing and climate crisis?💪🏗️ #ConstructionInnovation #ModularConstruction #SustainableBuilding #LaborShortage #HousingCrisis #venturecapital #proptech #constructiontech

“It’s not enough to do less bad, we need to do good! Let’s not set our target to net zero… let’s build to net negative carbon” - Allison Bernett “Let’s do it!” - me

Debunking the Myth of the Expensive Modular Factory ... Who doesn’t love a massive, expensive factory? I know I do! 🤩 Tesla’s gigafactories, with their immense scale and harmonious design, are a geek’s dream. But, while some have tried to replicate this model in our industry—cue memories of Katerra and their colossal factories—we’ve seen how those stories ended. 📉 So, why do gigafactories work wonders in automotive but falter in offsite construction? Here’s the breakdown: Standardization 📏 - Teslas are the epitome of standardization. Our industry strives for this too, but the intricacies of building codes and site-specific requirements make every project uniquely challenging (have you ever seen a standardized lot in NYC?). This blocks our industry from just copy pasting the automotive playbook into construction. Cyclicality of the Real Estate Market 🎢 - The reality of opening a large factory is the massive upfront cost that needs to be spread over a consistent pipeline. However, real estate is notoriously cyclical, affected by interest rates, cap rates, and political climates, with development coming in waves. 🔄 The Solution? Agility. The ideal factory must transition from an empty shell to full production within weeks. It should be equipped for a fraction of the cost yet produce volumes at the speed of the expensive gigafactory. Well... that's what Assembly OSM is doing! In the coming weeks, we're set to transform this empty warehouse (which, between us, is already pretty cool 😎) into a factory capable of constructing Manhattan skyscrapers in 50% of the time! Stay tuned as we transform this space! It's going to be awesome! 🏗️✨ #modularconstruction #climatetech #housing #nychousing #venturecapital #deeptech #modular #housingcrisis #climatecrisis