Once upon a time in a virtual room THE POWER OF ICE SHINES AT OCULUS
Tech Powered Trees PLANTING TREES ACROSS NORTH AMERICA
Case Study NURSING SCHOOL IN TAOS
Arab Health 2018 STATE-OF-THE-ART HEALTHCARE SPACE
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Message from Mogens As we wrap up and celebrate our success at the Arab Health
Yes, this market is far more receptive to new and innovative
Show here in Dubai, lets remind ourselves of just how big
ideas than our North American experience. However,
this whole thing is and how far we’ve come: Who could
we would never have seen this tidal wave of acceptance
have imagined a company from Calgary, Alberta, Canada
without the commitment, investment and perseverance of
would become such a significant player in the Middle Eastern
our Partner in the region. The first two years in this market
Healthcare market in just over 7 years?!
were disastrous for both NMG and DIRTT. Yet, together
Put that up against the reluctance we often meet in North America. Many still fail to embrace our disruptive technology and solutions designed to help them. If we could somehow duplicate this type of enthusiasm and acceptance in our home market, we would already be a billion-dollar company. Let’s first talk about how and why this sophisticated pavilion was built. Particularly up against the sea of exhibitors clamoring for this important market at the Arab Health Show. It all starts with the DIRTT culture: The driving force behind our business. Our Partner in the Middle East, NMG, exudes the DIRTT culture throughout their own organization. It’s based on a belief and understanding of the vision and, more important, what it takes to make the vision a reality. To get there you need a Team of passionate, hardworking people (both DIRTT and NMG) with the perseverance and total confidence that success is the only possible outcome. Our
we persevered. Now, seven years later we are the absolute Healthcare Brand in the Middle East! During the show itself we finalized two large contracts: 65 new ICUs for the El Mousa Hospital (we’ve had two previous successful installations with them) and 48 ICUs for a private hospital in Riyadh (three and a half years after the initial meeting). Just think about the enormous investment in capital, people and time. It’s no coincidence NMG was our largest Partner in 2017 and will show a further increase of at least 50-percent for 2018! We’re leaving this show with one question on our minds, if we can do this here, there is no reason we cannot see exponential growth in our own backyards where the construction industry is in an even bigger labor quandary. All it takes is true commitment, passion and vision. It ain’t simple but it is straightforward.
sustainable solutions and technologies are light years ahead of anyone else in the world, but to see all this come together in only THREE DAYS is still stunning. Once again DIRTT and NMG, even using the same bones as the past two years(!), created the ultimate show stopper in Dubai.
DIRTT ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS | Diggin’ It | February 2018
Mogens
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Arab Health
It’s always about the people. Culture is the only thing that matters. We’ve always had a culture that breeds this mentality that we’re going to get the job done together, no matter what it takes. That attitude gives us total confidence. Just look at everyone’s face at the build. Everybody at the DIRTT booth is having fun; you’ll see no one with a frown. – Mogens Smed
Let’s talk speed. We built a 3,600-square-foot, two-storey, state-of-the-art healthcare space in three days. Yes really. The timber frame structure was standing in less than nine hours. And all this was done amidst the chaos of a tradeshow. We all know time is money – and this is as true as ever in healthcare construction. Sustainability is in our DNA. The entire timber structure was reused from last year. A much better alternative to filling a landfill year after year. We repurposed the timber staircase while updating the look with glass railings – thanks to the precision of DIRTT for all of that lining up on site. DIRTT timber is harvested from sustainablymanaged forests in Switzerland. Compared to steel or concrete, timber is far superior on the sustainability scale. It’s all about teamwork. And in this case, that also means partnership. The Arab Health project was only possible because of DIRTT Partner NMG. NMG’s
Arab Health 2018 construction wrap-up
knowledge of the Middle East’s construction industry, coupled with their extensive healthcare market understanding, makes them a force to be reckoned with. Materials or labor? Where our clients’ investment goes was front and foremost during the Arab Health build. Especially as we watched the waste and debris pile up
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at neighboring exhibit spaces. The Arab Health project is a micro example of all the challenges we face on a standard construction site – but we wrap them up into four days. And just like any project, DIRTT brings powerful front-end and downstream cost benefits. The ICE team does it again. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any cooler, the ICE team has brought a virtual guide to Dubai to tour visitors through the DIRTT booth. You can follow this tour guide while wearing an Augmented Reality (AR) headset. ICEvr is helping attendees experience the space together. Great experiences are always more fun when they’re shared, right?
The entire story is showcased on the Arab Health 2018 Blog. Check it out and share it with your network.
A new extension of ICEreality.
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Once upon a time in a virtual room By Mike Iannone
Oculus – the company that makes the VR goggles – engaged us to design phone booth pods. I’ve nicknamed these pods “A-Lone Space”. When I went to present to the team at Oculus, the power of ICE technology shone. With the incredible support of the VR team in Calgary and all the preparation they did, I was excited to present DIRTT’s next-gen VR to the “experts”. I virtually set up a 5’ x 8’ pod in a hallway where one will be installed. As I was setting up, the Facility Manager at Oculus struck up a conversation with me. She noted the “Thank You” card Oculus sent to DIRTT that I had made the background for the laptop. As many of you
I was concerned about the size, but now I see this is exactly what we want.
know, DIRTT was actually a Kickstarter investor in Oculus in its early days. The Facility Manager put on the goggles and was positioned
controllers, she pointed her finger at the door, pulled the
outside the door of the pod. She could hear background
trigger and the door opened. “Okay, Wow!” She stepped into
office noise that we programmed into the headset.
the ‘room’, ‘closed’ the door behind her and the office noise
Hand controllers of the new tech allowed her to see her
went quiet. She turned the lights on and off. She turned on
virtual hands while wearing the handset. Using the hand
the computer monitor sitting on the height-adjustable desk, which happened to display the homepage for their proprietary conference software. She raised the desk to standing height. At this point, I assumed her laughter was that of approval. Then came the moment that defines the strength of ICE technology. Using her virtual hands, the Facility Manager explored the extent of the space and declared, “I was concerned about the size, but now I see this is exactly what we want.” She took off the head set and handed it to a team member who said, “you mean these guys are using our tech with their tech to show us what they are going to build for us, right here in our building?! That’s amazing and how we always hoped this tech would be used.”
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I was proud to tell the Oculus team that our ICE team knew how transformative this tech would be for our industry, which is why we invested in it early. The irony of Oculus employees lining up to take a turn on DIRTT’s equipment was not lost on me. We went into our design meeting and there was a question about some furniture that was not in the VR model. I had that option in my ICE file, so switched on ICEreality on my iPad to show them where it would sit. One of the Facility Managers looked at me and said, “Who are you guys? You’re really on it.” When asked, I gave the Senior Manager a ball park price +/- 20%. Clearly sold on the concept and total solution, price became a low priority. She asked if we could get ten of them delivered in four weeks. It was my turn to laugh. Just to put a bow on the whole thing, one of the senior people asked me about ICE as I was leaving. They loved the interactive 3D and real-time design reconfiguration. I told him we have a patent on the combination of video game imaging and design
Who are you guys? You’re really on it.
software. The concept was inspired by early exposure to the first-person video game, DOOM. He said, “Really? The inventor of DOOM works here.” Sometimes the stars just align. So boys and girls of the DIRTT-iverse, have some fun, sell some environments and get your butts into VR!
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When doing good is good for the planet For anyone who didn’t see our (digital) holiday greeting card, we made a promise to plant trees in communities across North America. Tree Canada is planting trees in urban communities that need greenery and fresh air the most through their Green Streets Canada program. In collaboration with Arbor Day Foundation in the United States, all our donated trees went to Aransas County in Texas, hit by Hurricane Harvey. Tree planting powered by technology Homeowners in Aransas County will use the power of technology to select the best location for their trees. They’ll use software to find their house, choose a native tree and then they get interactive. The software helps them select the optimal place for planting their tree to: •
Save energy
•
Capture storm water
•
Absorb air pollution
•
Lower carbon
And to top it off, the software even tells homeowners how much they can expect to save on energy costs each year. The Forest Service then recommends the best time to plant their tree for their area. Trees should start arriving at homes by mail at the end of February. Watch for more updates as this initiative rolls out.
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Remote town turns convention center into nursing school The small population and rural location of Taos, New Mexico makes building anything there expensive and difficult. On top of that, Taos is famously proud of the town’s adobe architecture. Citizens do whatever it takes to preserve it. So when the University of New Mexico was able to buy the old, adobe, convention center downtown for one dollar – the team wasn’t sure it was such a bargain. Then they found DIRTT. Enjoy and share the latest case study video:
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DIRTT in the news Varcoe: After big shakeup at DIRTT, Smed vows he’s in for the long haul Calgary Herald See what Mogens had to say about the future of DIRTT in his recent interview.
DIRTT in the community Making a positive impact in the communities where we live, work and play is at the heart of our culture and business. You may recall DIRTTbags in Calgary raised a whopping $40,000 over the holiday season. And DIRTT committed to matching those funds. In January, we were thrilled to support two of our community partners with donations of $9,200 to both AARCS (Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society) and Inn from the Cold. We know these funds will make a meaningful impact in the community.
AARCS is a network of people concerned about the welfare of abandoned, abused and surrendered animals in Alberta.
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Inn from the Cold offers shelter, sanctuary and healing to assist homeless children and their families achieve independence.
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Happy 70th Birthday, Mogens!
Visual identity... kicked up a few notches What does DIRTT mean to you? What does it mean to our clients? These are just some of the questions we asked over a year of revamping our visual identity. And as DIRTT grows, we’re getting to know ourselves better and what matters to our clients. Our new visual identity represents a stronger understanding of ourselves and how we’re changing the world. You can see our evolved look in this edition of Diggin’ It and in everything new we’re putting out to the world. If you want
It’s not every day you turn 70. To celebrate the milestone, DIRTTbags held a (not so surprise) surprise lounge night. DIRTTbags made a special video filled with birthday messages from some who’ve
to leverage the new visual identity, you can find everything you need on myDIRTT.
Have questions? Check out the FAQ.
worked closely with him over the years.
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HAVE A STORY THAT SHOULD BE FEATURED IN DIGGIN’ IT? MarComm@DIRTT.net
DIRTT ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS | Diggin’ It | February 2018
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