This is Michael Keaton. But you already knew that.
Over a film career spanning more than four decades you’ve seen him take down bad guys,
you’ve seen him be the bad guy. He’s played a mad ghost in a stripy suit. The list goes on.
He’s done pretty much everything there is to do in the acting game, and
now he’s trying his hand at something very different - swapping the glamour
of Hollywood for the not quite so glitzy world of construction.
That’s right, Michael Keaton – the
Michael Keaton – is behind a new factory that will make a potentially game-changing
new building material – one that could help us overcome our concrete addiction.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh - America’s ‘Steel City’ - actor
Michael Keaton knows all about the perils of unsustainable industry.
Because while icons like the Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge were
built using Pittsburgh steel, its mills were responsible for a huge decline in air quality,
giving it another less desirable nickname - the ‘Smoky City’.
Despite things improving after the Second World War, pollution was a big problem here until
the steel trade collapsed in the 1970s - when Keaton was starting out in local theatre and TV.
Today, the city is recovering from the decline that followed with a new focus
on industries like robotics, advanced manufacturing and now
green construction - thanks in part to one of its most famous natives.
The ex-Batman has teamed up with Nexii Building Solutions, a construction tech-firm
based in Canada, to turn a brownfield site in his hometown into a new kind of factory.
Here, they will manufacture and supply a material that offers
a more sustainable alternative to concrete.
Called Nexiite, it has similar properties to the material we have used for centuries, but because
it is not manufactured from lime or Portland cement, it generates far less carbon emissions.
Details on the product’s special recipe don’t go much further than that - all we know is
it’s made from sand, water and other unnamed substances, which isn’t much of a giveaway.
But when even big corporations like Coca-Cola and KFC still refuse to
share the secrets of their unique formulas to avoid copycats, you can hardly blame them.
Whatever else it’s made from, the company claims it’s 33%
more energy efficient than concrete, and it can help speed up the construction process.
Several projects have already been completed using the new material,
including residential and commercial buildings, with the highlight so far
being a new branch of Starbucks in the city of Abbotsford, near Vancouver.
Built in just six days, it features wall and roof panels made from Nexiite, which were
precision manufactured at the company’s production facility before being pieced together on site.
When assembled, the panels create an airtight envelope, boosting energy
efficiency and lowering the emissions that will be made throughout the building’s operation.
In total, carbon emissions have been reduced by around 30%
compared to building it in a more traditional way.
It’s a process that, according to Nexii, also reduces waste to near-zero.
While this is not the biggest of projects, the company feels this is just the start and
confidence is high that this proprietary material will find its way onto much bigger builds in time.
The new factory itself will represent a step up for the firm’s product and processes.
Due to complete in 2022 and create over 300 jobs,
the plant will be made from Nexiite manufactured at another of the firm’s
facilities in Pennsylvania, which is also set to open imminently.
Although we won’t know for a few years how successful it will be,
this kind of initiative is precisely what the construction industry needs more of.
Right now, buildings account for around 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions, and while other
materials like timber and recycled plastic will make a big difference, new ideas are crucial too.
But even when innovations do emerge they can struggle to take off in an
industry that likes to stick to the old ways.
Having a movie star on board is a pretty cool way to generate
excitement and promote forward-thinking in this most traditional of sectors.
In all seriousness, seeing such a well-known figure turn his attention to the world of
construction is promising news for such an impactful industry.
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