Innovation In Construction Episodes

For over 20 years, the construction industry has discussed prefabrication, modular construction, and industrialized construction as solutions to labor shortages, productivity challenges, and project inefficiencies. Yet, adoption has been slower than many expected.Why?In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Josh Mensinger, President of Integrity Built Texas and Prefab, to reveal a hard truth often overlooked:The biggest barriers to prefabrication aren't tech...

In this bonus episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Tom Raftery—speaker, sustainability strategist, and host of the Resilient Supply Chain and Climate Confident podcasts—to explore how global energy disruptions are reshaping construction, supply chains, and the future of resilience.Using lessons from the 1970s energy crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and today's geopolitical uncertainty, Ryan and Tom examine what happens when critical systems becom...

Construction Productivity: Reframing the Real ChallengeIn this episode of Activating Curiosity™, we confront a critical reality within the construction sector: the challenge isn't solely a lack of labor, but a profound issue with productivity. While the industry may appear busy, projects are increasingly falling behind schedule, exceeding budgets, and proving more difficult to complete. This discussion probes beyond the superficial, highlighting how the industry often engages in 'firefighting'...

What happens when architects and construction leaders stop accepting the limits of traditional building materials—and start asking better questions?In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Allison Dring, CEO and Co-Founder of Made of Air, to explore how discomfort drives curiosity, innovation, and change in the built environment. Explore how biochar is becoming a key tool for sustainable building practices and climate action in the construction industry.With the...

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Vikas Murali, Co-Founder and CEO of Offsight, to explore why limited visibility inside prefab factories remains one of the biggest barriers to scaling offsite construction.As contractors and manufacturers expand into prefabrication, modular construction, and industrialized construction, many still rely on manual processes, disconnected systems, and limited production transparency. This lack of real-time visibility creates unc...

Construction leadership development today requires more than toughness—it demands a human-centered approach to leading change.In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Ed DeAngelis, CEO and Founder of EDA Contractors, to explore how trust, emotional intelligence, and curiosity are reshaping leadership in the construction industry.As the AEC industry faces workforce challenges, change resistance, and increasing complexity, Ed shares why “humanity as a strategy” is...

Affordable housing isn’t just about building more homes—it’s about whether people can actually sustain a place to live.In this bonus episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Nneoma Albert-Benson, founder of BEFA Women and Child Care Foundation, to explore how construction leadership and change in the AEC industry must go beyond supply and into the systems that determine long-term stability.This conversation challenges a common assumption: that homelessness is the proble...

The housing crisis isn’t just a policy problem—it’s a production problem hiding in plain sight. In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Ryan Smith, Co-Founder of ModX, to explore how construction leadership and change management in the AEC industry must evolve to address housing affordability at scale. This conversation challenges a common assumption: that better policy alone will solve the housing crisis. Instead, Ryan Smith breaks down why housing affordability is...

Mass timber isn’t just a material shift—it’s a mindset shift critical for construction leadership development.In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Kristen Slavin, founder of Conifer Advising, to explore how construction leadership and change management in the AEC industry must evolve to explore how construction leadership, change management, and modular construction in the AEC industry must evolve to successfully adopt innovative building systems like mass timbe...

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™ | Leading Change in the Construction Industry, Ryan Ware sits down with Kristin Kautz of JAM Idea Agency to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping the AEC industry—and why most firms are approaching it the wrong way.This conversation challenges a common assumption: that AI is a tool to implement. Instead, Kristin reframes it as something closer to “air”—an embedded capability that enhances how teams already work, rather than something separa...