By Kaushal Diwan of DPR’s Innovation Group and WND Ventures
Innovation in construction goes beyond introducing new technologies—it’s about solving real challenges through strategic processes and piloting cutting-edge materials and solutions on active jobsites. DPR Construction’s new headquarters in Santa Clara, CA has become a testing ground for numerous innovations designed to make construction safer, more sustainable, and more efficient.
Sustainable Materials for a Reduced Carbon Footprint
The Santa Clara office project is a renovation of a 1980s building, nicknamed “the wedge” for its angled shape. The project incorporates mass timber construction to help offset carbon and uses a specialized lower-carbon concrete mix. Working with GPLA engineers and DPR’s self-perform work teams, the team developed a concrete mix that substitutes materials like fly ash, slag, and waste CO2 to reduce carbon emissions by 38% compared to industry standards. This mix is equivalent to removing 277 gasoline-powered cars from the road for one year, significantly improving the project’s sustainability.
Snap-Together Steel Framing for Greater Efficiency
DPR, in partnership with Hyperframe and WND Ventures, piloted a snap-together steel framing system in one of the most congested areas of the Santa Clara office. This system leverages Building Information Modeling (BIM) to create precise connections between studs, headers, and sills without requiring screws. Each component has a QR code that triggers visual installation prompts, initially viewed through Mixed Reality headsets but later streamlined for use on mobile devices. The pilot demonstrated three times the productivity compared to traditional steel framing.
Refining Robotics for Labor-Intensive Tasks
DPR has also integrated robotics into the construction process to reduce worker strain and increase productivity. Two robots being used at the Santa Clara site are Hilti’s Jaibot, an overhead drilling robot, and Dusty Robotics’ FieldPrinter, which streamlines layout by printing critical information directly onto floors. While the Jaibot is still being refined through feedback, Dusty’s FieldPrinter has become a standard tool in DPR’s projects, providing six times the layout efficiency.
Long-Term Facility Management with Digital Twins
DPR is focused on long-term building performance with the use of SiteLine, a facility management software developed by VueOps. SiteLine acts as a digital twin of the building, allowing teams to track and manage assets, make repair or replacement decisions, and improve facility reliability throughout the building’s lifecycle.
Piloting for the Future of Construction
Kaushal Diwan emphasizes that piloting new technologies and materials is crucial to advancing the construction industry. While not every innovation scales up to more projects, each test offers valuable insights that contribute to safer, more efficient, and environmentally friendly construction practices.
By combining sustainable materials, advanced framing techniques, robotics, and long-term digital management solutions, DPR’s Santa Clara office is helping forge a future for construction that is not only safer and more efficient but also more sustainable.
