In construction there are obvious silos. Builders, contractors, architects and suppliers, all have distinct roles in the process driving them into niches with rare overlap and interface.
In the case of the KB Home ProjeKt BUILDER Concept home, the “collaboratory” approach created an avenue for interaction among all the parties involved. Giving the landscape architect early access to input on the home design; providing the technology partners face time to run through all the multiple ways to integrate in a seamless smart home solution; even capturing opportunities for improvements on products that were able to go back to production prior to being installed.
The suppliers and partners met early in the design phase and then again with the builder and architect to tie together details.
In addition, Kohler, invited several members of KB Home to their design center to review latest products, share design concepts, trends, and to develop space specific solutions.
“Getting the builder involved early is really important. It’s good for them to see the product,” says Elisabeth Sutton, director marketing, builder, projects and specifications at Kohler Kitchen and Bath Americas.
The Kohler team says that early access to the builder team gave them a clear understanding of the over-arching goal, and any requirements to meet the targeted sustainable certifications, allowing the supplier to ensure product could be aligned.
Other manufacturers found additional opportunities and value from participating in such a holistic design approach.
“Future of home is an ecosystem of products working in harmony and having access to suppliers allows to build correct partnerships,” says Ansul Rajgharia, business development manager, building and IT business, Schneider Electric. “Overall home performance will depend on different products working together, which is only possible through collaboration. Like a human body, home performance is maximized when individual parts work in tandem.”
Bryan Mitchell, marketing communications manager at Carrier adds that his groups work with the builder and architect is critical to perform a manual J load calculation that leads to selecting the right size system for optimal performance.
“Every home, from the position it faces the sun and number of windows to the climate variations and number of high humidity days, has unique needs,” Mitchell says. “This collaboration will ultimately ensure the builder installs a system that not only meets the temperature requirements but also controls humidity and indoor air quality.”
Whirlpool also found value in connecting on product placement, options, colors that brought together a more sophisticated visualization of the space and a more comprehensive programming of the smart home technologies.
“Knowing that we are placing products that will integrate with other connected suppliers will ensure a seamless experience for the homeowner,” says Renee Catania, associate brand manager, shopper marketing, contract at Whirlpool.
The impact and value of the collaboration is being tracked online throughout the project and until its reveal in Las Vegas in January 2019. Read more now.
