Vestis SmartWall For Blockhouse Life
Innovating New Modular Products That Simplify Our Lives
The SmartWall Allows The Blockhouse Life Design To Create A More Functional Space Without Sacrificing Any Amenities.
Vestis SmartWall being installed.| Image: Vestis Systems
We are tinkerers at heart and believe in innovating new modular products that simplify our lives, so when the Blockhouse Life SmartWall opportunity presented itself, we knew we wanted to be involved. What is the Blockhouse Life SmartWall? The SmartWall is an innovative new system that houses the plumbing, electrical, and data, all in a single wall. The SmartWall allows the Blockhouse Life design to create a more functional space without sacrificing any amenities.
“The SmartWall is an innovative new system that houses the plumbing, electrical, and data”
The backstory is Vestis Systems co-founder Andy Barrett working on a new project called Blockhouse Life. It’s a sustainable living community that builds net-zero “Blockhouses” that start at 240sqft and go up to 960sqft. Andy is a think outside the box kind of guy and has a background in lean- manufacturing from Vestis Systems and Berg Co. The goal for Blockhouse Life was to conserve as much functional space as possible, so early on in the design process, the question arose “could the Blockhouse design have a single wall that housed plumbing, electrical, and data without sacrificing amenities and guest experience” well the answer was yes, but it came from an unlikely manufacturing company. After Andy, the Blockhouse team, and Baker Construction looked for a single wall system solution, they decided it would be best to build a “SmartWall” specifically designed for the Blockhouse Life design. This is where Vestis Systems comes in.
Vestis Systems has been around since 1883 and knows how to innovate. We primarily focus on modular architectural products that can simply be installed in the field, but tinkerers are in our DNA. Dan McGee is the other co-founder and General Manager for Vestis Systems. Dan is a true tinkerer and has a passion for creating. When the opportunity to build a “SmartWall” presented itself, he knew Vestis had the tenacity and engineering capabilities to build a modular SmartWall solution.
Modular Vestis SmartWall being manufactured | Image: Vestis Systems
The Goal: Create a singular unified system housed on one CLT Wall that can optimize functional living space.
Modular Manufacturing Background
With our extensive manufacturing background, we knew we had the talent to pull it off, but this was the first Blockhouse development, so we had many unknown design and construction variables. We wanted to design the SmartWall in a way that could be easily manufactured and simply installed at the Blockhouse site. So we took a modular approach and created the SmarWall to fit the plumbing, electrical, and data systems all on a single wall. We also designed the SmartWall to be simply installed within a day with no assembly needed. It arrived on-site ready to be installed, saving time and money on constructional labor costs. The SmartWall will also save time and money on future labor costs with every essential system being housed together.
Check Out Our Article “Why You Should Go Modular In 2021”
Blockhouse Life Perry Finished. | Image: Vestis Systems
The SmartWall was a blast and truly one of the most challenging projects we have taken on. It challenged us in every way possible, but we look forward to continuing our partnership with Blockhouse Life and manufacturing more Vestis SmartWalls, and creating future modular products that save our partners time and money in the field.