Build Better Podcast

The Hancock Whitney bank's New Orleans headquarters was in a historic but chaotic building - that was actually several buildings attached to each other. The bank executives wanted to bring teams together on single floors and create spaces with natural light for all. The only way they could do that was to build new or become a tenant. They decided on the latter because another iconic building suddenly had room for them right downtown. Now the clock was ticking. They had to move out, demo and build-out 10 floors and do it all in less than a year. After using DIRTT for several bank branches, including one damaged by Hurricane Katrina, they decided they would try the custom prefab for their new HQ. 

DaBella (https://dabella.us) is one of the fastest growing home improvement companies in the US. They feel the key to their success comes from their dedication to amazing service. And to attract and retain people dedicated to their clients' happiness, they knew they needed to give them a great workspace.Finding that wasn't so easy.They wanted a big single floor-plate filled with opportunities to meet people from different parts of the company and be ready to adapt when teams needed to change things up. They wanted to be in a location easy for their employees to get to and was in a community favorable for business. And they wanted to own their own building rather than lease. The only building that ticked all their boxes was a rundown, former call center. After talking to four different contracting firms, getting it up to the level they needed, on a schedule that would allow them to get out of their other leases, seemed impossible. Until they talked to the team at GRIT, the local DIRTT Partner in Portland. 

The CAST Tech high school in San Antonio Texas is a special school. Supported by the local businesses, the curriculum is designed to produce graduates armed with the tech skills that will almost assuredly get them a job and/or set them up for success in their secondary education. The building chosen wasn't an obvious one. While it is downtown, and close to the companies looking to support and later hire the students, the building is an old vocational school built in the 30s. On top of that, the entire schedule for demo and reno was a matter of months. It had to be ready when the school year started. So they really needed to think about building the interiors in a very different way. A way that would continue to support them as teaching methods and technologies changed over the years. Everyone, but the designer, was skeptical that integrated prefab would do the trick. 

In spite of the desperate need for more skilled tradespeople in construction, where wages are higher than many other industries, women are not applying. The reasons range from safety concerns to blatant sexism to just simply not thinking they even can apply. Shannon Boe and Staci Piasecki are DIRTTbags who come from the world of construction. In this episode of Build Better they talk about how things are slowly changing and how DIRTT, as a method of construction, could help change things faster. 

Doctor-owned and fast growing, the Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute needed changes to keep their edge in a highly competitive sector. They planned to simultaneously renovate and build a new wing, all while continuing to serve patients and keep infection rates low. Not easy if you're building conventionally with drywall. After much deliberation, they decided to go with DIRTT. Two years into the project, the DIRTT bid is the only one that's stayed the same.Join the KCOI team on their journey as they hit the halfway point of their construction project. If you've ever built or renovated, you'll be surprised to hear how calm and happy everyone is. 

Mariner chose passive optical networks (PON) as the IT backbone for the company. It’s unlimited bandwidth and 12-mile radius made them steer away from a conventional copper implementation. It also opened more real estate for extra employee perks.Watch the video case study following the build-out of Mariner Wealth Advisors' HQ.

This non-profit school wanted to give faculty and students better places to learn. They weighed costs, schedule and quality and found they could meet the needs of all three using an existing building and DIRTT. Even for the heavy timber design of a performing arts center.Watch the video case study of Greater Atlanta Christian School.

Everyone from the general contractor to the design team to the a/v provider knew conventional construction was not going to provide the first impression JDA wanted. After a trip to DIRTT headquarters in Calgary, they knew they found their answer.See the JDA build-out in the video case study.

The remote town of Taos is fiercely proud of their adobe architecture. So, when the local university bought the abandoned convention center for one dollar, they had a lot of “input” from the citizens. To say nothing of the task of turning it into a 21st century health sciences campus with the infrastructure their students needed.Watch the amazing transformation that preserves the adobe structure while transforming the interior into a modern health sciences school.