NEVER BEFORE HAS INNOVATION BEEN SO VITAL TO THE health and longevity of the construction industry,especiallyagainstabackground of increased competition and an ever- shrinking talent pool. That’s why TCA and Informa are proud to recognize member companies who have risen above the status quo to bring innovative new products, processes and services to the industry. For the second year running, the association partnered with Informa, organizer of The Buildings Show, to honour these companies with an Innovative Product Award. They also collaborated with the Canadian Construction Innovations (CCI) judging committee, which selected the three lucky winners. TCA would like to take this oppor- tunity to congratulate this year’s phenomenal award recipients: Flexsola International Development, Corpora- tion, Interpump and Hilti (Canada) Corporation. You can read about their award-winning products below. FIRSTPLACE:FLEXSOLA Flexsola International Development Corporation Architect Nicolas Varias has spent most of his career exploring ways to make housing more accessible, adaptable, and affordable. That ambition drove the development of the Flexsola modular building system. “I have always been inspired by nature, and like living cells in the natural world, I wanted to create a building system that can grow, shrink, and move,” explains Varias, founder of Flexsola International Development Corporation. “That’s the thinking behind the Flexsola modules; they’re building blocks that allow people to expand, modify, or relocate parts of their homes both quickly and economically.” Adaptability and ease of construc- tion are among the potential benefits of Varias’ Flexsola modular building system. Its patented steel saddle connec- tions allow property owners to start with one or two housing modules and – similar to Lego pieces – add, remove, or relocate different modules over time on a three-dimensional rectangular grid. Moreover, Flexsola is designed to incor- porate renewable energy features such as solar panels and mini wind turbines. It’s this scalability that positions the Flexsola system well for a wide range of property buyers. First-time homebuyers, for example, can start small and expand theirhomeovertimeastheirfamilygrows, while developers can build mixed-use developments with apartment modules on the upper floors and commercial and retail modules at street levels. Varias,whosewifeworksinseniorcare, also envisions the Flexsola system being TCA INNOVATIVE PRODUCT AWARDS TCA INNOVATIVE PRODUCT AWARDS BY MATTHEW BRADFORD Celebrating inventiveness in the construction trade 22 | Builders' Digest Quarter 4 2017