factory os
factory os redefines multi-family affordable housing construction
Rick Holliday and Larry Pace have teamed up to try and cut affordable housing construction costs in half. They were gifted an old 258,000 square foot factory in Vallejo, CA, just east of San Francisco, where the Navy built submarines during World War II. They recently assembled a 156-unit apartment building for a development near Oakland, which was built in 10 days. “They build one floor approximately every two and a half hours,” said Pace.
They opened the factory in 2018, as they were fed up with rising construction costs. Pace says their efficiencies from off-site construction will translate into 3 to 5 story apartment buildings completed 40% faster and 20% cheaper than average projects constructed the traditional way.
As we all know, off-site factory construction only works financially at a large scale. Citibank has loaned Factory OS millions of dollars, and is a believer. Holliday says the company has $200 million in projects in the pipeline, including orders from Google for workforce housing, and from nonprofit developers for housing for the homeless.
They have started an Innovation Lab at the top floor of their factory. The center initiatives are:
- Collaborative Learning Resources
- Future Ready Design
- Lower Building Costs
- Standardized Design
- Lean Manufacturing
- Smart Home Technology
- Greener Construction