Vision Document on the Technical Space of the Future

Homes are becoming more compact and, at the same time, more technically sophisticated. Heat pumps, ventilation units, water heaters, inverters—it all has to work. Yet in many designs, the utility room isn’t addressed until late in the process, when the floor plan has already been finalized. That’s why Interduct brought together industry experts and documented their perspectives on the utility room of today and tomorrow in a vision statement.

The reason is a set of factors that no longer add up. Many more homes need to be built, they must remain affordable, and there are too few skilled workers. Meanwhile, construction methods have barely changed. “In today’s conservative construction industry, a lot of work is still done on-site,” says Louis Nijssen, head of engineering at Bemar, a division of Interduct. “Even building systems are assembled from small components on-site.” “With everything going on in the market, we can’t keep doing things the way we do now,” says Ruud van Kasteren, commercial director of Robé, Interduct’s manufacturing company.

A discussion instead of a white paper

Interduct drafted the vision document in collaboration with experts from the field. “We want to spark the discussion,” says Van Kasteren. “And shed light on how we work in the construction industry. We can promote our solution extensively, but to really get things moving, more is needed. You don’t rally people behind the solution itself, but behind the vision.” Van Kasteren therefore does not see his own approach as the only way forward. “It’s good if more parties share the vision and can put it into practice. That creates enough room to maneuver.”

What "prefab" Means in Practice

According to Nijssen, the principle is simple. “Anything you don’t have to do on-site, you do in the factory under better conditions and with higher quality.” Drop-in ducts go directly to the concrete plant and are incorporated into the floor there. Shared ventilation ducts in apartment buildings come off the assembly line in pre-assembled lengths, complete with insulation and branch connections. “All the installer has to do is attach the brackets and make the connections,” says Nijssen. The utility room itself is the next step. It is currently built on-site for each unit, which takes many hours. Delivering a fully prepared module saves time and ensures better quality. It also makes the work easier. “This way, you can keep skilled workers on the job longer—including older ones.”

The benefit lies at the beginning of the process

Prefabrication does require a different sequence of steps. The building must be designed virtually in advance, stakeholders must come together earlier, and work planning becomes more intensive. Van Kasteren: “Right now, we start from scratch with every project. But 80 to 90 percent of the technical details have already been worked out, so you can save the time you’d otherwise spend in the preliminary phase.” The number of hours spent on the construction site also decreases, and errors and repair time are reduced.

A challenge for the entire supply chain

One company alone cannot change the way an industry operates. The entire supply chain must adapt—from designers and contractors to installers and manufacturers. According to Van Kasteren, there are plenty of companies willing to take this step. By sharing their vision, they hope to move the initiative forward a step further. ‎‎