The Rise of Collaborative Innovation

As environmental change increasingly becomes a topic of serious concern, the construction industry is often regarded as lagging far behind. The old tried-and-true building practices are coming under fire for using outdated technology, non-sustainable methods, and environmentally unfriendly materials.

HITT Contracting wants to change all that and create a brighter future for the environment, as well as their industry partners. But, to do this requires creativity, innovation, and experimentation.

That’s why they created Co|Lab, a new collaborative idea sharing lab dedicated to driving change in the construction industry.

Changing the Future

 HITT Contracting Co|Lab is part co-working office, part hands-on research facility, with spaces for collaboration, education, and experimentation. The building itself is highly sustainable, featuring mass-timber construction, recycled materials, and an elevated rooftop solar array that manufactures more than enough energy to maintain operations. It’s a testament to the fact that the construction industry can indeed move forward.

Co|Lab’s in-house mock-up bays provide dedicated space for companies to test new products, technology, and processes. These collaborative maker spaces allow cross-functional teams of suppliers, subcontractors, architects, designers, and even customers to work together through firsthand experimentation—facilitating knowledge sharing, creativity, partnership, and collaborative innovation. One of the Co|Lab bays, for example, is dedicated to installing and testing a type of bio brick, which is made using bacteria that produce a molded calcium carbonate product in 72 hours, without the need for the high-heat processing of traditional bricks. Other tests to date have included an energy-saving approach to wiring, and new biocontainment construction options.

Through these types of hands-on, collaborative research projects—working right alongside building partners—HITT Contracting Co|Lab brings creative, new, sustainable solutions to market for their customers and the next generation of builders. It will be these innovative solutions and the company’s dedication to idea sharing that will lead the construction industry forward and make the world a better place.