Two, excessive regulation of the industry and its supply chain can hinder innovation. They are not motivated to innovate because the profits are there. When demand is strong and the market is good, people do not have much enthusiasm for new technology. At the same time, innovative financing and investment products are also pouring money into the industry. One, rapid urbanization in China is driving significant investments in infrastructure development. McKinsey: Why do you think technological innovation has failed to permeate the industry? When the Empire State Building was constructed, it only took about 13 months. For example, today a skyscraper can take five years or more to complete. Most work is still performed manually and on site, which is costly and time consuming. Zhang Yue: Unfortunately, the construction and infrastructure industry is the exception. To what extent is this happening in the infrastructure industry? McKinsey: Technology is evolving rapidly and disrupting other industries. Stakeholders in China can pursue a long-term path to land- and energy-efficient urbanization. Urbanization should not happen at the expense of land and the environment. People living in big cities, with excessive pollution and energy consumption, can hardly enjoy a high quality of life. We must take a long-term approach to city planning, construction, and infrastructure and address resource and energy consumption. If it continues at this pace without careful consideration of the long-term consequences to the environment, it can cause severe problems. In China, urbanization is happening rapidly. Zhang Yue: We need to ask ourselves more strategic and long-term questions: What is the objective of this building or asset? How does it relate to the rest of the neighborhood and the city? How will it affect people’s quality of life? How much energy does it use? What problems could it create? McKinsey: How can the industry change its thinking? We tend to think in terms of a project-one building or infrastructure asset-and its timeline. Yet the industry does not always think long term. The consequences of construction errors can reverberate for decades, centuries, and even a millennium. A small error in construction can cause significant harm to humans and the environment. The construction industry is inherently long term. I think this is largely due to mind-sets and that humans must change. From city planning to infrastructure development and building construction, from resource consumption to energy use, the industry is lagging behind the time in which we live. Yet there is still no precedent for a creative, low-emission, and practical approach to construction. In many ways, we live in a very intelligent time. Zhang Yue: In general, the industry is underperforming. McKinsey: What are the biggest challenges facing the infrastructure and construction industry today? Worked as a teacher and librarian in Chenzhou early in his professional life Received the Champions of the Earth award from the United Nations in 2011 for his contributions to building energy efficiency and sustainable production Holds patents for a number of inventions, including a nonpressurized boiler (1989), a nonelectric air conditioner (1992), and a combined cooling, heating, and power system (1999) In this March 2014 interview with McKinsey’s David Xu, a director in the Shanghai office, Zhang describes his journey to sustainable building and shares his thoughts on the future of construction and infrastructure in China.Įarned a degree in fine arts from Chenzhou College Zhang sees this high-rise as a step toward redefining urbanization and addressing the energy and pollution problems that have accompanied industrialization in China. While the timeline is impressive, what matters most to the Broad Group is its sustainable design and production process. Ninety percent of the structure is being built at a factory and just 10 percent assembled on site. Known as Sky City, the 202-story steel skyscraper is expected to be magnitude-9 earthquake resistant and energy efficient. His latest ambition is to build the world’s tallest structure. He continued to challenge this feat by building two more structures at record paces-the 15-story Ark Hotel in less than one week and the 30-story T30 tower and hotel in 15 days. In 2010, his prefabricated construction company, Broad Sustainable Building, completed a six-story building, Broad Pavilion, at the Shanghai Expo in one day. Zhang Yue, chairman and CEO of Broad Group, is not one to shy away from ambitious targets.
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