CRAN Tour: Factory-Built Architecture with 4C

Most of a building's envelope doesn't have to be built outdoors, in the weather, one stick at a time. At 4C Construction Systems' manufacturing facility in Hayward, exterior walls, interior partitions, and roof and floor framing are fabricated as complete components — framing, cavity insulation, continuous exterior insulation, sheathing and factory-applied weather protection — then packaged, sequenced, delivered and installed on site in days rather than weeks.

During this tour, 4C co-founders Yonah Naftaly, a licensed general contractor, and Denny Skripchenko, an architect, will walk participants through a live production line as wood- and steel-framed exterior panels are being built. At a full-size mockup of both systems, attendees will compare 4C ECO, a wood-framed panel for Type V construction detailed for thermal performance, with 4C SAFE, a steel-framed panel used in 1-hour and 2-hour fire-resistance-rated assemblies with tested UL / ICC-ES listings, suited to wildfire-prone Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) sites. The presenters will discuss the quality-control checks performed at each station, how continuous insulation and water-resistive barriers are installed and inspected under controlled conditions, and how factory-built components are documented for plan review and field inspection.

The session will also address how prefabrication and panelization can serve projects of almost any size and type, from a single-family home or ADU to multifamily housing, and what changes for the architect when the envelope is manufactured rather than site-built: when design decisions need to be locked, how openings, MEP penetrations and structural connections are coordinated among the design team, engineers, the factory and the building department, and how components are sequenced for delivery and installation. Project examples include wildfire rebuilds in Altadena and Pacific Palisades and a 16-unit, 28,000 sq ft multifamily rebuild in Rialto.

Lunch will be served after the tour. This is a working factory: closed-toe shoes are required, and safety glasses and hi-vis vests will be provided. Space is limited to 30 participants.