Cleaner, more durable design: Future of construction is already Built, says Andrè Davis

Built Interior Construction is “precision-cutting” cities of the future by injecting innovation into the slow-moving construction industry, said Andrè Davis.

“The challenges in our industry is that construction methods are so archaic,” said Davis, business development executive at the Kansas City interior construction firm, founded in 2016 by Russ Branden, David Anderson, and Mark Brandmeyer. “We really see [clean construction] as a trend and we’re really bullish going into this year. We think this is going to be an incredible year.”

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Built employs offsite, precision-cutting methods, as well as industry-specific procedures — called DIRTT (Do It Right This Time) solutions — that minimizes waste and decreases lead time on projects, he said.

“We use a lot of virtual reality and artificial intelligence to produce renderings for clients. When they want to look up their space in real time, we can send 2D and 3D viewings in a YouTube video so they can fly through their space, and say, ‘I like that wall. I don’t like that art piece and I don’t want it there anymore,’” he added. “In our software, we can accommodate that change.”

The struggles of the construction industry have forever been centered around a lack of skilled laborers and on-site projects: a non-issue with Built, said Davis.

“We think this is the way we’re going to build in the future,” he said.

The level of cleanliness that comes from precision-cutting perfectly suits the development of spaces in the healthcare field, though market-specific clients are not a focus for the firm, said Davis, noting previous projects like the Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute (KCOI), and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City’s Spira Care Clinic.

“We’re minimizing the infection-control process because we’re not hanging things off the wall — everything’s embedded behind glass,” he said. “It’s cleaner and then it’s more durable and it’s not capturing things that can spread disease. We’re really minimizing waste. When we show up on a site, we don’t even have dumpsters because we don’t need them. It’s very clinical.”

Built team

The addition of Neil Sommers — formerly of Clockwork Architecture + Design — to the Built team is expected shape the architectural division of the firm, he said.

Already growing an additional office in St. Louis, the current Built team of 10 has their sights set on a Midwestern expansion, he added, noting new headquarters are being discussed in Nebraska or even Oklahoma.

“We’re doing these massive projects,” Davis said. “But really — it’s just a cool story about three local owners that came together, started this company, and are getting a lot of traction right now.”