Innovative Solutions and Paths to Success: Manufacturing the Future: Prefabrication, Offsite and Hybrid Innovations

Eric Karsh, Founding Principal, Equilibrium

Welcome by Master of Ceremonies

10:45 – 10:50

Eric Karsh is the founding partner of Equilibrium, a globally recognized leader in timber engineering and construction since 1998, with offices in Vancouver, Atlanta, and Paris.

With over 35 years of experience as a structural engineer, Eric has played a pivotal role in shaping the international timber industry. His portfolio includes numerous landmark, award-winning projects, such as the Wood Innovation and Design Centre in British Columbia, Mass Timber One (MT1)—Google’s first mass timber office building, located in Sunnyvale, California, and the Créteil Schoolboard office building in Paris, France.

Renowned for his innovative design approach and dedication to sustainable construction, Eric has received international recognition for advancing environmentally responsible building practices. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers (UK) and a part owner of BC Passive House, a leader in the prefabrication of wood-based, high-performance building systems.

Craig Mitchell

Modular & Offsite Construction Consultant, BLACKBOX

Moderator

10:50 – 10:55

Craig Mitchell is passionate about modular and off-site construction.  He has spent 28 years in the modular construction industry with the last decade in senior management roles working with clients in both Canada and the US.  He has been part of project teams that have delivered hundreds of temporary and permanent modular buildings worth nearly $1 Billion including a number of ‘firsts’ in the use of modular construction in Canada. 

He is currently the Principal of his offsite construction advocacy company – BlackBox Offsite Solutions and Partner / Project Development Lead for 720 Modular, a leader in modular project execution across Canada.  He holds a current member role with the Wood First Advisory Committee at FII, and has also held board roles with both the Modular Building Institute (MBI) and with the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA), where in 2022, he served as Chair of the Board of Directors at the VRCA. 

Often called upon by media to provide his insights on the adoption of offsite and modular construction in Canada, he also authored “The State of Prefabrication in Canada” in 2022 and is also a contributor to FP Innovations upcoming release of “The Offsite Construction Handbook”. He welcomes any conversation about how to leverage the power of offsite construction toward achieving high-performance targets in construction.

Andrew Stiffman

Vice President, Construction Services, Kalesnikoff

North America’s Most Advanced Vertically Integrated, Multi Species Mass Timber Facility

10:55 – 11:15

Andrew is a builder with over 10 years of diverse industry experience. At Kalesnikoff Mass Timber, Andrew is responsible for overseeing the project life cycle of all mass timber and prefabricated projects, from initial conversations through to successful project completion.

Clara Schmitz, Head of International Expansion, GROPYUS Technologies GmbH

GROPYUS – Creating Sustainable Living for Everyone

11:15 – 11:35

Clara Schmitz is Head of International Expansion at GROPYUS – a German-Austrian technology-based construction company focused on building aspirational, sustainable and affordable multi-story residential buildings using highly automized, off-site timber construction methods. In this role, she leads GROPYUS’ international growth initiatives. She is responsible for identifying new markets, developing market entry strategies and building strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, partners, and clients, currently focusing on North America and Australia. After receiving her MBA from Yale School of Management, she worked as Head of Business Development at another proptech company before joining GROPYUS in 2020.

Patrick Geers, Sr. Structural Eng. & Head of Quality Control, Western Archrib

Informing Policies with the Principles for Responsible Timber Construction

11:35 – 11:55

Patrick Geers brings over 24 years of expertise in mass timber engineering to his role at Western Archrib, where he leads the design of innovative structural systems and maintains the company’s exceptional quality standards. A passionate carpenter with degrees from both Canadian and German institutions, Patrick combines hands-on craftsmanship with advanced engineering knowledge.

His international career spans positions in Austria and Germany, providing him with unique cross-cultural perspectives on structural design and community-centered architecture. Patrick currently serves on multiple technical committees including the CSA 086 Committee for Wood Design Standards and acts as an industry advisor to the ARTS group at the University of Alberta.

His work focuses on creating sustainable structures that navigate challenging environments while connecting communities. Through his leadership in both technical innovation and quality assurance, Patrick continues to advance the possibilities of mass timber construction for buildings that serve as community anchors and exemplars of sustainable design.

Tomoyuki Gondo, Associate Professor, University of Tokyo

Japanese Perspective of Industrialization and Timberization

11:55 – 12:15

Tomoyuki Gondo has been working as a researcher at the University of Tokyo since 2017. He got a PhD from the University of Tokyo, Japan in 2011. He has served on several national and association committees related to wooden architecture and resource utilization. His research areas include 1) the history of prefabricated housing and high-rise construction, 2) the field surveys on construction industries in several regions and countries, and 3) the development of new construction methods for complex shapes including tensegrity or bending active. He received the AIJ (Architectural Institute of Japan) Book Award twice. In his educational programs in graduate school, he integrated the design and construction process: the students constructed such GFRC (Glass-Fibre Reinforced Concrete) shell mock-ups, or the deconstructed empty houses on a Japanese local island and designed from the reclaimed materials.

Craig Mitchell

Modular & Offsite Construction Consultant, BLACKBOX

Panel Discussion & Questions

12:15 – 12:35