A new factory in Delta, B.C., is aiming to prove that robots can build wood-frame, mass-timber, multi-family homes faster, greener and better than conventional tradespeople and building systems can.
In May 2021 Intelligent City began planning urban housing projects in their factory. It held its official opening of the facility October 14.
The company is focused on the construction of mid- to high-rise urban housing through the use of mass timber, design engineering, robotic manufacturing, and proprietary software. It is currently working on projects totaling 2,880 homes in Canada and 1,400 homes in the United States—many of which are supported by BC Wood, an agency that promotes building with mass timber, according to a company release.
Intelligent City’s first project is a multi-family complex in Vancouver with completion expected in 2022.
Co-founders Cindy Wilson and Oliver Lang, who have worked in architecture for 25 years, have led the company since it began in 2008.
“Today marks a very important milestone for Intelligent City. We are leading the housing industry through a product- and platform-based approach to address affordability, livability and climate change issues. We are now the first in the world to use advanced robotics to automatically assemble mass timber building systems that meet the latest building code and net zero standards,” Lang said.
He added that the factory can produce “turnkey housing projects.”
Intelligent City recently received about $460,000 in funding from the B.C. government, under the CleanBC Building Innovation Fund.
““This type of tech and ingenuity are the type of solutions that advances B.C.’s building sector in a sustainable way. Using mass timber is key to creating a more resilient forest sector, it’s the construction material of the future and it allows us to rethink what’s possible,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation in a statement.
A YouTube video from the company explains how the Intelligent City robotic construction works.
