February is already upon us and McKinstry’s work on projects across the country is in full swing. I’m proud to say that our platform provides unique opportunities for us to explore, invent and create an ever more efficient built environment.

That efficiency takes many forms if you’re building a 40-story skyscraper, retrofitting an elementary school or servicing a boiler. But, the underlying need is always the same: Today’s built environment costs more than it should to build, operate and maintain.

There’s no shortage of strategies for making the built environment more efficient, and—when you consider that construction is one of the least productive sectors of the U.S. economy—there’s also no shortage of opportunity. So, what will this new paradigm of efficiency look like for McKinstry in 2019 and beyond?

An excellent starting point is our burgeoning South Landing development in Spokane, where construction is expected to finish in 2020. Six months ago, we broke ground on the zero-energy Catalyst Building. At five stories and 159,000 square feet, Catalyst will be one of the world’s largest zero energy buildings. It will also be the first office building in the state constructed out of ultra-sustainable cross-laminated timber (CLT).

Catalyst is just the beginning. Just a few weeks ago, we announced the second facility within our innovative South Landing development. The four-story South Landing Hub facility will house a central energy plant, office space and a full restaurant. Sharing energy resources across multiple facilities via the central energy plant boosts efficiency and creates a living laboratory where we can test new district energy strategies that can be replicated across the built environment.

These examples of our innovation are possible because McKinstry’s platform allows us to explore the unknown and learn new ways of doing business. That openness to learning is why we entered into new partnerships with two startups in 2018.

With Optio3, we’re unlocking building system data to better serve building owners, managers and occupants through artificial intelligence (AI), advanced analytics and automation.

With Visual Vocal, we’re exploring potential applications for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) platforms within the construction and facility service markets.

I look forward to the continued growth of those partnerships in the months and years to come.

Every year I think, “There’s never been a more exciting time to be with McKinstry.” This year is no exception. I look forward to creating an ever more efficient built environment with all of you.