How an Ontario firm designed modular housing to feel airy and cozy – and not at all drab

It’s surprisingly easy to find a dozen online articles or videos with titles such as “Why Modular Has Not Clicked in Commercial Construction” or “Why Modular Building Hasn’t Revolutionized Construction.”

Writing in the Harvard Business Review in 2023, Mark Erlich begins with a 1926 quote by Walter Gropius predicting a “fundamental shift” towards “industrialization,” hinting that it’s doubtful the Bauhaus school founder thought that shift would take a century … or more. In every piece, authors list the known advantages of modular – controlled climate, assembly line speed, viewing the almost-finished-product before delivery and almost zero waste – and the unanticipated roadblocks that have occurred since, such as the “steep learning curve” and “snafus with design, manufacturing, transportation and assembly,” writes Sebastian Obando in the Construction Management Association of America newsletter MCX.