Construction technology paid off for Fond du Lac community development officials when Kaukaunabased Keller Inc. presented them with a planning solution that would take most of the speculation out of spec building. Rather than constructing a multi-million-dollar facility and then hoping for a buyer, Fond du Lac was able to develop a “virtual spec building” that can be used to attract potential tenants without substantial financial risk to the city. Dyann Benson, the City of Fond du Lac’s community development director, said there are other advantages to creating a virtual spec building. Because the plans for the proposed 79,000-sq. ft. facility in the Fox Ridge Industrial Park are already approved by the city and state, the project is “shovel-ready” and can be operational in six months or less, rather than the more typical 9- to 12-month timeframe. And, because the facility is only virtual at this stage, it can be customized to the buyer’s requirements, with minimal additional approval time required by the state. Bob Poch, corporate manager at Keller who headed up the virtual spec building project, said the virtual plan allows potential buyers all the advantages of viewing a bricks-andmortar building. “You can fly around the exterior at different angles, you can walk through the building as if you were physically walking through an actual building,” Poch said. “You can get just about any view you want, inside or out, and you can import furniture and equipment to see how that will look.”
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Poch, who previously served on Fond du Lac’s economic development organization board, said he believes architectural virtualization like that used on the Fox Ridge project can offer great appeal for other economic development groups that want to stimulate buyer interest without incurring the upfront cost of constructing a spec building. More than that, he said, technology in general has improved the design and construction industry’s ability to serve its clients. “I believe the biggest impact has been that the software we use today helps our clients better visualize what the project will look like when it’s all said and done,” Poch said. “It also helps us and our clients make better decisions in the planning process. The model is so real, it brings the building to life.”
Enabling collaboration, efficiency
Most design and construction professionals would agree with that assessment, likely adding that technology has also enabled them to work more efficiently. Pamela Talavera, chief operating officer at Appleton-based Consolidated Construction Company, said the merger of existing and new technologies has created efficiencies that would have previously been impossible. There’s a potent set of tools when you take a mainstream technology like videoconferencing, mix it with industry-specific applications like construction management software and building information modeling platforms (see “Technology at work in construction,” page 20). www.newnorthb2b.com
It doesn’t have to be a foreign language.
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