December 18, 2025 01:38:33 E250

The Future of Housing: A Deep Dive into Modular Innovation with ZedPods

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Introduction and Setting the Scene
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Stephen Drew: , [00:00:00] hello everyone. I'm not in Black Heath at the moment and today I'm not getting a fancy coffee or wandering the fields around because I'm actually in the office of an award-winning practice, a design studio, which does super cool stuff, modular, all this crazy stuff that I'm gonna learn about 'cause I'm a bit rusty on the modular stuff.

But I've got the design director with me to explain everything. LA Leads, thank you for having me. How are you? Are you okay?

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. Thank thanks for having me. Uh, really good. Yeah. Yeah, really looking forward.

Stephen Drew: Yeah. Well, so enough about Blackie, even though I love the office.

Guest Introduction and Background
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Stephen Drew: This is all about learning about yourself, your journey.

Because lately where we bumped into each other, you won an award at the Architectural Technologist Award for the work you've done. But maybe we can go backwards in time. We can start with yourself and then we can zoom up to all the cool stuff that you've set up at Z [00:01:00] Pods if you'll di divulge me for a bit.

Is that all right?

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Like this, this has been, uh, an incredible journey, uh, in my career and it's always good to see what, you know, what you achieved. Yeah. But never forget where you come from. Yeah. Yeah. And this is, this is where I've been. It's been really, really great.

Educational Journey in Architecture
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Lalit Chauhan: Uh, but if I take you back, so from, from, uh, state, uh, Architecture in India, in Delhi, yeah.

And, uh, I really, it wasn't my first choice,

Stephen Drew: right? Oh, really? As

Lalit Chauhan: you, as you can imagine, in India, everyone wants to be an IT engineer really? So I had to struggle make my way, you know, through Yeah. Yeah. But, uh, anyways, uh, I, I go into a good university in Delhi and then, um, by times, second years, a five year course.

Uh, by the time I had second year, I was like, you know what, I'm here now. Might as well do it properly. Yeah. Yeah. So that's when things started to change and then, uh, yeah, then really never look back. But as you know, Architecture is very, [00:02:00] uh, you know, subjectively, hyper aware. Everyone feels like you, you are the one who's gonna change the world.

Yeah, yeah. You are the one who will, who will achieve something really good. Yeah. Yeah. You've got all the big names for the architects and everything, but then you are the one who is going to be the really change maker. So it comes in there, but then, uh, coming from a bit of humble background. Yeah.

Always seen bias. Certain things are important. Mm-hmm. And not be it, uh, uh, just looking at the, you know, if you, if you're at home, then using certain stuff, understanding certain stuff, uh, like, uh, you know, how the, how energies, you know, in terms of, uh, having some light bulbs on or off. Yeah. Yeah. Having some fans and.

Standing in front of fridge, you know? Yeah, yeah. It's not good. Yeah. Yeah. But sometimes people like it. That's the kind of a thing you slowly, slowly understand in your life. And then it comes back to Architecture. Where do you really need everything? But you need, need to focus on the design side. [00:03:00] We are struggling through going through the climate change, we having the issues with the sustainability, you know?

Yeah. Not understanding what it really means, and there's lots of those things. So I learned that very early in my, my design uh, studios. We were talking about it. So, uh, no, that was, that was I change, you know, game changer for me. Yeah. Where I got the niche, but there was not enough experience. In there.

Right. To, to be able to take me to the next step. Right. Gimme that, gimme the jump. Because people don't, people can see it, but not doing much. Yeah, yeah. Of other issues and then, you know, financial or whatever.

Early Career and Internship Experience
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Lalit Chauhan: So I started looking at, uh, different, uh, you know, uh, universities, countries, you know, where can I go?

Yeah. Australia, America, uk. And then when I selected, uh, UCL at that point to, I got, yeah, I got a few options. Uh, so I had a bar Nottingham, uh, you know, but then UCL is where, you know, it's in London. Yeah. Yeah. [00:04:00] To start with. I'm from Delhi, like to see rock people and you know. Yeah. Yeah. I'm from that, that side.

So I want to go to, uh, a country or city where there's enough people and then I can do many things. Yeah. Not just study, because Architecture is all about experience. Yeah. Now you need to. You need to feel, you need to experience that bit. So, yeah, I, according to, uh, Barlett Noise School of Planning and then, uh, the course was course was just started.

It was a new course, sustainable urbanism, really good, really nice, uh, the way it was, uh, you know, set up. Yeah. But obviously it was the first year, so there was lots of learnings for them.

Stephen Drew: You were the Guinea pig, you were the It could go great. It could go another way.

Lalit Chauhan: Exactly. Yeah. So I'm not gonna say everything went well.

Mm. We had some hiccups in there, and then the tutors and everything, but they just responded well. Right? Yeah. Uh, but for me personally, it was a lot more about that experience, that exposure. Right. [00:05:00] Which I never had in, in, back in India. Yeah. Uh, because there was lots of talks, theoretical stuff, but that feel, that exposure and being able to, you know, go out and talk to people.

I attended so many lectures, I just used to. Finish my, you know, main module. And then just back to back. I will go to LSC, I'm going to Kings College, I'm going to wow. Everywhere. Wow. So I did all of that in one year. I probably attended like 60, 70 lectures.

Stephen Drew: You were not messing around. You were going No,

Lalit Chauhan: I was not here to mess around.

Stephen Drew: I, that's, that's because sometimes you can go the other way where, you know, you don't go to all the lectures in there 'cause you do the cool bit of Architecture, you're like, oh, I'm a bit tired. But you soaked it all in. What I was gonna ask though, 'cause it's very cool. So you studied originally in Delhi and then you came to the, the school in the, in the, in, you know, in the barland, very fancy UCL, all that stuff.

Was it such a difference in terms of curriculum? 'cause our audience is international. I [00:06:00] mean, did the different schools have different styles? Was it kind of a shock when you jumped into UCL?

Challenges and Lessons in Architecture
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Stephen Drew: Totally different. Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: Yes. It was different. Yeah. Was shock. But I must say one thing in back in India, the way all the courses are set

Stephen Drew: Yeah,

Lalit Chauhan: they are, they're very, uh, they're not very student friendly.

Stephen Drew: Right. Okay.

Lalit Chauhan: So they like to give you a lot of stuff, which is probably not falling the sequence of type of learning. Yeah. But they would like to, they will throw you with the deep end. Yeah. Yeah. And get you to work on it. Yeah. So when I look at it now, yeah, it was good. Yeah. But as a student you lose your harsh.

Yeah. Yeah. You are in the club. You are, you're in the club and you are, you are absolutely, you know, soaking the pressure. And, and not, some people don't make it. Uh, you know, they just, uh, oh. Architecture is too, I'm just gonna leave it. But this [00:07:00] is where in UCL, so that there's been this's a system. Yeah.

I'm not gonna say that I really fancy the system. Yeah. But the way it was there, yeah. For me to be relaxed and be, you know, expressive about certain things, it was good. And the reason why I was not really appreciating it at that time Yeah. Was because, uh, some of the things I already knew. Right. I did that back in daily already in my Architecture and I'm, I'm just starting doing it again.

But at the same time, there was this exposure, the way you approach certain things, being more expressive is a lot, lot better. Yeah. So rather than just being part of the grind, you know, just, just some and some and back to back lectures. Yeah. It was enough breather. And that's what I used. Uh, I just went to, you know, keep on going on to event.

Right. Signing up for this lecture, that lecture, that lecture. So I did all of that. It was really good. Really good. [00:08:00] But I did take a massive toy on me. You know, I was like on the bike all the time from, you know, leaving at 9:00 AM Yeah. Or 8:00 AM and uh, coming back at six to my hostel. But there was a drive, there was a drive for me that I need to get.

I wasn't sure that I, I'm gonna be here. Yeah. I'm gonna continue my, my career in, in uk. But, uh, I was like, whatever. I'm here for next 16 months. Yeah. And let's see what I can do in this six

Stephen Drew: months. And you said they're hostile? Is that right? I wasn't hostile. Yeah. So, wow. So you are really, it's all on the table.

All no frills. 'cause when you think hostile, it is not a lavish no set up. No. And I, um, also came to London. He will laugh about this to study Architecture. So I was a stranger in London as well. And I also went to Camden. But Camden's fun. It's crazy. You're not gonna get much sleep in a hostel in Camden.

No way. No way. But noisy [00:09:00] neighbors.

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. But there was something else which kept me up, which was the drive. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I, I'm not gonna lie, but uh, maybe like in my 16 months I went club twice being in

Stephen Drew: Yeah, yeah. Because you were just f but so, but you were, you were living in the party seat, but you were here to Lynn.

Lalit Chauhan: Everyone was coming in and calling me. Oh, why aren't you out? Sorry, I'm down the road. I'm, I'm down the road. I'm not room. I'm, I've had a long day. I've,

Stephen Drew: I've been doing a model there like, oh, that, that Lily is still doing. He, he's the boring guy, but yeah. Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: But that's all, it was a massive flasher. I, in terms of, uh, you know, you, you are here on a loan, you know, an education for, for the fees for international students is really high.

Yeah. It's like three true four times. So I was, I was under the pressure like, you know what? I'm gonna make most of of it

Stephen Drew: this, and this needs to work,

Lalit Chauhan: this needs to work for me. And, and, and, uh, uh, that's it. That's, that's it. So yeah, I was focused, which was good. [00:10:00] This is how I ended up in, uh, uh, to get my first internship Yeah.

In, in the office. And then continued my, uh, I, I stayed there for seven years. Wow. Really? There's a practice called, uh, Z Factory. You

Stephen Drew: might know. Yeah. I, I think it was quite famous at the time because it was pioneer. My understanding, you tell me the correct, but I, it would get mentioned when I was studying in Architecture because it was doing a lot of sustainable stuff.

And at the time it was one of the practices, there's a field, but they were really leaning into it.

Starting Zed Pods and Initial Struggles
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Stephen Drew: Is that correct? Yeah,

Lalit Chauhan: that was, that was absolutely right. Think so. My course, one of the external uh, professor Yeah. Was duta. I was focused, as I said. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, so I was like, I'm gonna work with him.

That's when I, that that happened. That's what I was thinking before coming here. Yeah. And then, uh, finally started my internship with him. And [00:11:00] it was, started, well started. Well, obviously, uh, in a nutshell, I would say there's been, there's a massive experience. I've got gaining pain. Yeah. In working, working with him and in, in the business for seven years.

But it's always good to know what you want to do. Right. But it's more important to know what you shouldn't be doing, what you don't want to do.

Stephen Drew: Okay. But how do you work that out though? 'cause your first job, you're kind of, you mentioned the internship, you're grateful, aren't you? Yeah. You're like, I'm coming in.

Thank you so much. Yeah. How was that journey then? How did you start finding what you wanted to do? Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: So like, this is a very good, uh, lesson for, from my side. From experience. Yeah. Yeah. Or the bigness. Ideas are not gonna take you far early in your career. Not just that. Okay. It's, uh, it is. Ideas are there because look, ideas are cheap.

The reason I say that, because everyone gets everyone [00:12:00] hundreds of thousands of ideas every day. I know day. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But how you make it work. Yeah. Yeah. Early in the career, you need to show skills.

: Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: If you just keep on talking about ideas, it's not gonna do there show skills, skills wise. First thing this age is the software skills.

Mm-hmm. How you can transform your, like someone else's ideas into a model. I got it on paper. Yeah. To something how quickly you can do it. Yeah. That's what gets you the attention

: I got you.

Lalit Chauhan: Unless you are doing your own bit. There's many other ways to get into Architecture and then, you know, everyone can, can find their own niche.

I get you. But, uh, uh, if you, if you, if you want to be recognized wherever you want to work, get your, uh, uh, skills to level that people will come and then, you know, this guy can do it in 10 minute. Oh yeah. And, uh, I'm just gonna look at this and that's what gets noticed. Yeah. Perfectly. [00:13:00] So obviously in in that business, uh, I, I became a product Architect in like 16 months.

Stephen Drew: Wow. You were really that, that's fast. That's that's really fast.

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. And that was only, that was like, I did my, uh, uh, year and a half training in India, but I was. Really good in softwares. The two or three softwares really? You, were

Stephen Drew: you that, were you that person in the office that you give them the model that was your thing?

I would get on with it. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I

Lalit Chauhan: would like, someone will give it to me and then, uh, 20 minutes later. Yeah. What else?

Stephen Drew: Okay.

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. So I'm not, I'm not hanging the machine. Yeah. So, and, and I'm not saying it's, uh, you know, I'm, I'm really, uh, pushing myself. No. That is just, which is enough for me to come out, stand out Yeah.

From the others. Yeah. Where I'm the one who can do it. Yeah. And when you are, uh, your, you know, your lead stops giving you stuff, and then they say, [00:14:00] okay, just go and have a, have a look at this. That means they haven't done something else, or Mm. So at that time you do a bit Yeah. With what you have made a point.

Yeah. Yeah. You've shown it. Yeah. That's something which I, which I really at, at one point, you know, you start enjoying that. Yeah. Then I started exploring because, uh, working with Bill was an experience and as I said, good and bad both ways. Uh, but, uh, uh, good. Mostly because they are at the niche edge. Yeah.

Yeah. They were like, they're really good ideas and they put in practice by creating the project like, uh, bad in, in South London. And uh, proof of concept is internationally recognized development. This is where our office was. Yeah. Yeah. Really dream come true to be in that building and to be part of that, the amount of fame that building or, you know, Europe's first zero carbon building Yeah, yeah.

Delivered in 2000 historic. Yeah. It was really, really nice. But at that time you also learn what are the struggles [00:15:00] for someone who's really looking after the niche end is going through. Yeah. And then, you know, the kind of jobs and then, you know, because sometimes some people struggle in terms of having, uh, you know.

Uh, like a innovation led approach. Yeah. Or a business oriented approach. Yeah. You know, and then I am looking, I'm as know as junior looking at someone, you know, who's really at the high end of the innovation. Really everything is just, you know, really, uh, going, he's going for it. Yeah. He, when he wants to try everything.

Yeah. Yeah. But what about the business? Mm. It, it, this it's not sustainable business model. So at that point we got the blunt of it and Jet Factory is no more in, in, in, in business. Yeah. So that's when, when the similar, but yeah. Cutting short learn, um, a great deal, uh, in that business. Uh, and found my niche that, that I got to look at the innovation.

So I got to, you know, [00:16:00] respect the, the, the, the requirement of, uh, of a client, but at the same time continue to find ways to grow the business mm-hmm. As well. And that's when, uh, I've been working with, with. Uh, said was the official director, he doesn here Nice. For about, what, 15 years now. Wow. And, uh, yeah.

So was there with him in that factory and, uh, yeah, we, we, we clicked together. It's like, you know, slowly, slowly different people. He's not from design background, but like-minded people come together. Yeah, yeah. You know, the aim for the same thing. Wow. Uh, so yeah, so we, we started, uh, you know, he was in a different setting, different things.

He was doing his PhD at that time. So yeah, he came in and then, uh, we started clicking together in terms of what we want to achieve, what are the things which we can do, how he compliments the things, what I'm doing, and how I'm complementing, uh, the things which, and you know, how we can do it.

Breakthrough Projects and Growth
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Lalit Chauhan: So at that time, uh, it was I think in 2015 [00:17:00] when, when I was project Architect for, uh, the Zero Builds home, uh, which was, was created.

Uh, which was uh, that system which, uh, uh, I designed with Will and got the patent. Uh, and, uh, we did a show home in, we are the innovation park. Yeah. That was a part modular system. So this is how the modular strategy model Okay. Came to life. Okay. This was a part system where, you know, we know the tricks to make a building to, to, to to make it, uh, you know, how it's gonna perform.

Yeah. As in from design side, we can design whatever, you know, many things, you know, talk about design because everybody is got design skills. Yeah. Design is very subjective. Where Yeah. Yeah. People can perceive it in different ways. For me, the most important thing was how I can actualize my design, how I can make sure that.

This design is gonna work and someone will be [00:18:00] able to deliver it. Right? Because if I, if I'm not the one who's thinking about it as an Architect, then most likely no one is going to think about it and it's not gonna happen. Yeah. Yeah. Because that's, that's why, you know, on an average when you, when you talk about architects, but one intent to, to intend purchase gets billed.

Stephen Drew: That's true.

Lalit Chauhan: That's, that's, that's what happens. That's the reality of it, because they do think beyond. But you know, if you're not being able to, if not able to actualize it or not able to, uh, uh, deliver delivered, then really it's, you know, someone's gonna, yeah. Someone spend a lot of money in getting you up to that stage and then finding it, it's not possible goes Right.

So I was, I was, uh, you know, coming from that, that end, that look I do, uh, I always had that thought that it is, uh, is, uh, iss about, uh. Not just about textbook, uh, you know, coming from universities, you've got lots of various, you know, ideas which you want to work on and then develop. [00:19:00] But if you can't if you're not having an eye towards how you gonna deliver it, then you would always miss.

So what I started doing, I started going to factory, started working with, with vendors, contractors, and all of them try to understand what their complications are, what their, what their issues are. Uh, you know, pretty much starting factories from floor. I, uh, I, you know, in the restrooms and just, just, just going down, just sitting and understanding.

And with all that noise, yeah, that gave me massive exposure, right? In terms of, uh, you know, how things work, how the materials comes together, right? These are the things which are required for us as architects and designers to put things which will work. 'cause if they don't work.

: Yeah. It doesn't go anywhere.

Pretty much wasted. Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: Obviously everything gives you experience and then you next time you'll improve. I'm not denying that. Yeah. Yeah. But certain things we [00:20:00] can, you know, at this age where when we talk about climate crisis, we talk about, you know, the sustainable issues we talk about, uh, you know, using circular economy principles and other things, which are really, really important.

Yeah. And there's a need for it to do that. We've got to learn from other mistakes, which is really important. Yeah. If we continue to be on a journey when, you know, uh, I've learned from my mistake and here I'm gonna improve it, then probably, you know, just look at the pyramid and a thousand people making a thousand mistake.

Yeah, yeah. What's the point? You know, 1,999 can learn from one, then they would not repeat that mistake. So the improvement is gonna be really, really steep. Yeah. So, which is where, uh, like, you know, I need. Get there, learn these things. Yeah. And I always enjoyed it. Yeah. Yeah. So I don't want to be just sitting behind the, the CAD and, you know, we behind the computer and they just steep on drawing and designing something.

No, I can do that while I'm standing in [00:21:00] there and then think, yeah, how this material infl with this material and how, what are, what are things? So what we started as a part modor was, uh, uh, the, uh, the funny name was, uh, idiot proofing.

Stephen Drew: Idiot proof. Okay. Yeah. Oh gosh.

Lalit Chauhan: Because, sorry, this is how we start, like, yeah, no, it's true, isn't it?

I'm gonna repeat myself or someone. And, and who's gonna look at my drawing? Mm-hmm. Uh, as in like, how can I

Stephen Drew: make sure I make sure,

Lalit Chauhan: yeah. This is Egypt.

Stephen Drew: Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: Anyone can just look at it and should be able to just do it.

Stephen Drew: I like that. So that's, that's the approach. Yeah. Yeah. So that's, that's a good business principle anyways for anyone.

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah, exactly. So this is where, when we started that bit. Yeah. Uh, so I was like, uh, okay, I'm gonna make sure, uh, as a part modular it's, uh, it's really to speed up the construction process because that's where, [00:22:00] uh, you lose, or contractors or builder just lose lot of money. They get stuck with something or you know, someone has understood a drawing and made something and then, you know, all the downtime and all of that.

There's a lot of money. We get lost and at the end of the day, client is gonna take the brunt of it or the contractor is gonna take out bus of one business. Someone will going to pay for it. Yeah, yeah. At that point, uh, they won't be able to survive for long. Yeah, all the experience with the been will go somewhere else.

So it's, you know, this is where we are. Let's just, let's just do it. So we, uh, uh, we did our, so I was the poet, Architect for the, the uh, show house in, uh, b the innovation park. Right. Where, uh, you know what? Let's just we design something. Let's just put to practice. Let's see if it works. Yeah. Talk to, uh, build, manage all those connections with BRE and that everything, everything.

It was really good, really good experience. Actually. It was, uh, uh, it was recorded by, uh, George Clark that, that [00:23:00] episode Okay. For channel four, I think. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So he recorded, I don't think it was aired or not, but, uh, he did start to record everything and I, I gave, yeah, I explained how the concept behind the building is, uh, that was in 2020, so 2014 place.

Yeah. So yes, ahead years. But that was a really good experience for me to understand what are the things, what we can do. And finally we managed to get a building, like three story building. Mm-hmm. House four, bed house from ground to roof or waterproof in two weeks. Yeah. Yeah. That's how quick that system worked because we did all the, you know, uh, edit proofing.

: Yeah, I like them.

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. So overall, we, we worked on it and it worked nicely, but then slowly, slowly, so we got out of the project, we delivered 12 houses at the back of that system. Worked nicely. But then I realized that working with, uh, Han [00:24:00] look to get to the roof is fine. Now we are hitting it in two weeks or three weeks because of weather permitted and things like that.

After that, it slows down. So we're not able to finish it. Yeah. Still taking longer to finish it. Why is that? It's, uh, the materials, right? Materials availability, how the different, you know, you need to put the scaffolding, you need to put this and that there was lots of other items which slowing it down, which is slowing down.

Yeah. You know, you can get to a waterproof level and then you got the structure and the waterproofing done, and then now you're working inside and outside, but still, there's various systems which needs to work. Mm-hmm. In terms of insulation, in terms of air tightness, in terms of uh, windows. Uh, you know, how, how all of that, once that very slide become, and then you start losing, uh, your efficiency and uh, uh, you know, where the materials are stored, how they're gonna get up there.

Yeah. To that level, that process you cannot eliminate No. From onsite [00:25:00] construction. Right. It is always there. Okay. It's always gonna be there. Yeah. You can, some people can make it more efficient by having certain milks on site, you know? Uh, like, you know, having a right, uh, cherry picker, having a right scissor lift or, or crane or, you know, various things.

Yeah. So those things are not always gonna be there because there's a added cost there as well. So there's different pace. Like, look, there's some things which we manage to eliminate a good chunk of it. Yeah. But there's still some things which can't be limited, so what can we do? Mm. And that's when we start looking into a full modular, uh,

: probably.

Stephen Drew: Yeah. Wow.

Lalit Chauhan: So that's been a, a big journey. It's a lot. There's,

Stephen Drew: I love it. Um, there's a few key points in there. If, if, 'cause you were giving a lot of really useful tidbits and I want to unpack a few.

Navigating the Pandemic and Expansion
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Stephen Drew: First interesting one was at the start, you have no experience on site. You've got your software skills, it makes complete sense.

But, so Z Factory, you [00:26:00] mentioned it went away and the, so. But then the idea of Zed Pods, where, what was that like, um, that moment for you where you were having the conversations? Did you think like, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna go and build Zed Pods? What was that like? Was it scary at the time? Was it daunting?

Lalit Chauhan: It was very, very, yeah, it was very daunting. And uh, there's a bit of a story there as well. Yeah, yeah. Uh, so, it was, it was tough period, uh, in that factory at that time. Uh, but, uh, that bots, uh, uh, the way that port started before setting up the business, uh, we made, uh, prototype right from some funding we got, uh, went to Eco Build, which is now called Future Build in 2015.

Stephen Drew: Oh, okay. Alright. Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: To the show home to, uh, future Build was Eco Build in 2015. It was a disaster.

Stephen Drew: Really,

Lalit Chauhan: really a disaster. What,

Stephen Drew: but the, the thing you were designing [00:27:00]

Lalit Chauhan: the way, the way it turned out, uh, it was, uh, a disaster. We've been Why not enough funding? Not enough time. Yeah. Oh, everything went wrong and

Stephen Drew: everything.

Lalit Chauhan: If you start with the, yeah. If you start with the principle, it a show showroom and then you got it in your head. It's a show why? It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. That mentality doesn't take you far. Right. Got it. So like, you know, we just need to get there. We just need to get the building in there because we need to make a point.

Yeah. So obviously, uh, you know, uh, had lot of, uh, takes with Bill around there at a time on stressful. Yeah, yeah. It is very stressful. That should we do it? Or, you know, how it's gonna impact the, the name and the factory because that's where it was at that time. But then, uh, slowly, slowly, uh, we, we got, we got positive and negative book.

Like media coverage, uh, the back of that, uh, uh, but, uh, we, we survived. [00:28:00] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And from there it went straight Tobin, which was a disaster. Right. A disaster. We were like, we can't, we can't do anything. And that's what linked the approach was wrong, that we should not be looking or aiming to do something only for a show.

We should be able to do something with it. We should be able to the salad or put it in someone's garden. Yeah. Yeah. Make some money, but yeah, put it to use. So, so, yeah. So anyways, that happened and then, uh, we, we bumped into, uh, Tom who's our chain, and then he, you know, he, he started talking about the ideas and that's where.

The idea of the chat bots came in. Right. So there was a modular approach before that, but the, you know, doing it properly, uh, and Tom, Tom gave a good guidance around there, you know, how we can set up a business around this. Yeah, yeah. Not just the design side, not just doing something Yeah. To get media, because it's a

Stephen Drew: lot, a whole business is Yeah.

Is you are doing the projects, but there's [00:29:00] so much more. And also when you build in from scratch, 'cause at the start it's just you, isn't it? Oh, your business partner. Yeah. And then you go to the chairman and he says, how, how's it going? And you've gotta have the answers.

Lalit Chauhan: No. Yeah. So, yeah. So he, he pulls, uh, you know, things together.

He'd be prepared, uh, you know, a good, good plan. And then we were like, yesterday we signed up for this. Like, yeah, that's it. That doesn't make sense. Mm-hmm. Because again, that was the thing which was missing in us, like that fully business oriented you know, attitude. Yeah. Still on a design and problem resolving and yeah, we always, uh, you know, pockets not like that, you know?

You, you've got a problem and you want to solve it.

Stephen Drew: Yeah. But it has to survive as a business to why Exactly. Yeah. It has to make profit. I think we, we have to be okay with talking about that. Otherwise these things don't last.

Lalit Chauhan: No, absolutely not. That's, that's the thing. That's how, that's the reason why Yeah.

That couldn't survive you. I got it. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah.

Stephen Drew: There's a good lesson there in a way.

Lalit Chauhan: Absolutely. For, for many, many, uh, [00:30:00] business owners. Harsh lesson about harsh. Yeah. Yeah. But you can do one or two great things. You can only go so far at the back of them. Yeah. You, you can't piggyback your whole career.

Yeah. Yeah. Got one or two projects. You've gotta continue to improve. You gotta to, you gotta be receptive in taking ideas. Yeah. In terms of how to run a business. Yeah. If you don't have that, then, sorry. This is where, uh, we started reporting. So Bill went away with other things, and then I came towards like, you know what now set for is there, but obviously it was just.

Stephen Drew: Yeah, the time you, you getting it going? That's it. Yeah. What was it like to, um, your first employees? How was that like? Did you, were you trying to, at the time, get people to see your vision and also what were the right people you were looking for? Because Z Pro, I mean, I can imagine years ago, very different to a traditional Architecture [00:31:00] practice.

You know, you, you've got this idea, you've got the modular, I mean, I didn't even know what modular was back then. It was like a nice idea, but what was that like? Building it up?

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. So in 2016, uh, when we started the business, uh, we were, we were like, you know, we, we had no projects. Yeah. We had, we were here, no projects.

So we, we did, uh, we developed upper type again. Nice. And then with, with very focused approach that it can be used and. In 2016, we, uh, again, went back to BRD Innovation Park and it's still there. Oh, you went back? Yeah. So it's still there. And if you, if you go to BR Innovation Park in Watford, you'll see, uh, a building in there.

Okay. The car park. Yeah. Yeah. And it's still there. So that was, uh, that was a turning point, really pause, uh, and then once, uh, we start looking at it. Mm. And then, uh, we went, we developed another one. Uh, uh, we start value engineering, certain aspect, but at the [00:32:00] same time trying to make sure that the specification we develop is certified.

It's, it's got all the approvals from various, uh, uh, warranty providers, various, uh, uh, certification schemes it's going through. Mm-hmm. So, yeah, like at the moment, we got like four, uh, is SO certifications and Bopa, uh, BOPA is, is being the, at the top of, uh, the build, uh. Yeah. Offset projects. So to get through that bit to go through that process.

Yeah. It was really important for us to, to get our product right.

: Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: Because if, and that's where most of the modulator businesses have failed. I'm not sure how much you aware of it. Yeah. Just give you some stats, uh, in last four or five years

Stephen Drew: I was gonna say. 'cause you, I mean this in the massive respect, you one of the last few standing in that way.

Because I've seen a lot of, and also, and they tell me because, you know that the industry more than me, [00:33:00] but there's been some big banks which have invested in big companies, big factories. Yeah. And I, I've worked for, in terms of recruitment, hiring for these companies, and then they've gone bust.

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. So we, like, especially me and, and Rehan, we had a very, very clear vision Yeah.

That we want to achieve. Uh, you know, make, make this business bigger. Go to achieve zero carbon specification. Volumetric Yeah. 2016. That's what we wanted to achieve. Right. But at the same time, we want to grow at a sustainable pace. Got it. We got to be a sustainable business. Mm. And this is why, this is the reason why we are probably one oldest one now.

Yeah. Great. Like 20, 23 or 24 businesses on town in last four, five years. Really taking billions of on down. I, sorry, but it's just mad. Yeah, it's mad

Stephen Drew: because there's big banks. I remember Goldman Sachs and stuff. They're all, everyone's looking at the markets. [00:34:00]

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. So I'm not saying I know everything. What No.

What we know, uh, what, what Or I know everything, what they did wrong. No, that's not what I'm saying. No. But I think they approached it in a, in a different way. Right. And, uh, you, you've gotta understand one thing. A business like this has to have a design oriented approach,

: right?

Lalit Chauhan: It can't be just business oriented.

Right? Because it's so much depending on the planning side, uh, as I say, in terms of, you know, the UK planning system and uh, uh, the way the sites are approached, various, you know, uh, various buildings are approached. You've got to offer that. You've gotta have in-house, right. Capability to understand the nitty on the site.

If you are only working on numbers, if you're only working with contractors and builders and things like that, then you won't understand what it takes to actually set up a project. Yeah. [00:35:00] Setting up business, you can get some funding, you can hire loads of people done there. Yeah. Yeah. But to set up that project and be able to, you know, be sure that this project is actually.

Not just potential project, it is life, but I can make it work. Yeah. I understand how to make it work. Yeah. That's where we provide that, that kind of a niche service. Yeah. Yeah. So we start with first project, uh, at the back of, uh, uh, vegetal Housing Festival, which is now called Housing Festival, which is quite big, uh, and best still being at the forefront of all the innovations and other business.

Oh, really? Okay. That they're, they're, they're that really, really high uh, ambitious, which is, which is really good for this industry. I'm not sure if you are aware, but Best still was, uh, the greenest city of Europe. Right. In 2015. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that was like, they, they have, they, they wanted to achieve certain, you know, part of the mission.

Yeah, yeah. So it was all there. They set up a goal for themselves, like they want to [00:36:00] deliver like five MC project. Yeah. Uh, uh, in next two, three years. And, uh, they gave us one site, obviously, we were like. You know what? We'll just look at it. We'll just do it. So we did planning for risk at risk. So we can't charge much because let's just get the, let's get somewhere, you know?

So that was a very stressful time. The, the, I'm not recommending No. Do it. No, no. But at the time, uh, that seemed right

Stephen Drew: to get to That's hard, isn't it? Sometimes architects do that. So you, you bid on a project probably below the comfort level, but to get going Yeah, because it was like a real project. Real city Bristol.

Okay. But hard

Lalit Chauhan: overhead wise, there was like only three employees at the time. Yeah. But I was like, you know what, we can't hire.

Stephen Drew: You are working. I'm one. Yeah. You are doing crazy hours.

Lalit Chauhan: Exactly. It. Power for orders been working 24 hours [00:37:00] all the time. Either here or sleeping, coming. It's always there. Always on.

Very stressful time. Uh uh but uh, we just managed to survive that. Yeah. Good for you. And we got, we got something really good out of that. Yeah, just, uh, uh, so we, that was in 2018, uh, when we started starting up the project. Yeah. 2019 when we got the planning, uh, approved for the project. Okay. Now it's serious.

Now all we need to do is make sure Bestel agrees to the numbers. So they need to agree the number because now we can make some money. The planning, the proof concept is there. Yeah. You can build it. It still,

Stephen Drew: you need a bit more meat in the bone this time? Yes.

Lalit Chauhan: That's it. Yeah. This time if you get it right, let's just, let's just, let's just do it.

Uh, and uh, yeah, we started looking at talking, uh, you know, uh, crunching some numbers together and all of that, all of that. And we are doing it all. We are Qs at that time. We are a contractor at that time. We are Architect. [00:38:00] We are doing the office management. There's no one, it's a lot of liability, isn't it?

Everything is on us. It's getting on. Yeah. Yeah. Obviously there's not many you know, phone calls coming through because not many people know about us.

Stephen Drew: You gotta start somewhere. But

Lalit Chauhan: yeah, to start there, yeah. We, we could focus on one setting, one project, but out of the blue, uh, when we were starting on the project, we got, uh, a call and we got a call, uh, which was really, really a project, which dear to me, uh, it was, it was our second project, but became the first one we deliver.

So we got a call from NHS this time, and that was just like two months before, uh, uh, yeah, actually it was, uh, uh, December, 2019, uh, before COVID and, uh, the, the project director in, uh, Huntington, um. Uh, in Brook Hospital [00:39:00] in Kisha came to us saying, uh, we need some staff accommodation. Can you give us 10 modules or 10 units?

10, uh, like, where do you want it? Or don't worry, this somewhere. Like, uh, we found the site, we got a hospital site. Massive. Big, big things. Yeah. Can you do it like, okay, what's your timescale? We need it delivered in three months.

Stephen Drew: Oh my gosh.

Lalit Chauhan: 12 weeks.

Stephen Drew: That's nothing.

Lalit Chauhan: That's it. And then like, okay, forward with the planning.

We have got someone else after planning. Just gimme the design and then we'll just get on.

: Yeah. Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: So that was a game changer for us where we got that inquiry. Just before Christmas, obviously, we said we prepared a program and said, look, we can do it, but this is what it's gonna cost you. Like, okay, fine.

: Wow. They

Lalit Chauhan: approved a number. It was good. Like fine,

Stephen Drew: we in it now. Next time a little [00:40:00] bit more. So. Yeah, exactly. You're like, that was too quick. You always feel that. You always learn the though. Yeah. Yeah. I think we had a

Lalit Chauhan: buffer

Stephen Drew: there. Yeah. That's great though.

Lalit Chauhan: That was good because we had to, we had to survive the back.

Yeah. Yeah. It

Stephen Drew: was a good number. We're okay.

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah, we were Okay. So we went ahead with it. Obviously the Christmas was exciting. Mm-hmm. And, uh, just constantly thinking about what we can do, how we can do it, and all of that. But I was pretty much in that at that time in factory, two or three days a week. So just, uh, we were building it in, uh, in uh, um, uh, and, uh, uh, I was just, you know, i'm like, you know what? We'll just get a Airbnb nearby and, uh, that's, let's just, let's just get on with this. Let's do it. You are back. It's like you're back

Stephen Drew: in the hostel again. You got that attitude. Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: But that project needed it. Yeah, fair enough. It was, it was really, really uh, you know, like we have to design and build the same time.

Yeah. So place orders us and then get, get all the materials [00:41:00] in, blah, blah, blah. So everything, uh, and then, uh, uh, got what, uh, COVID on, I think I remember 18th of March, uh, when we had the first, uh, uh, official announcement about the, the lockdown. Yeah. But good thing was factories were not shut. So you could, because a controlled environment.

Yeah. And that was another blessing in disguise where all the sites were shut. So if you were like a onsite construction company, we would be shut. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. But we kept on going, showing modular business can continue to roll. Right. Because of the factory control environment. We, we knocked the, the people down to, like, in each room, there no more than two people.

Factory floor. There's no more than 20 people. And they put, they're managing, you know, the distance between, uh, the things and there's a full protocol there, but we could implement it in factory environment. So we, we, we, we did that. And then, uh, yeah, we, I think we were [00:42:00] maybe like three weeks late, uh, here and there.

So we thought then 12 weeks, we did it. 15

Stephen Drew: weeks. Okay. Still, it still fast compared to, but

Lalit Chauhan: everyone was just so pleased. Okay.

Stephen Drew: Got it. Just

Lalit Chauhan: amazing, uh, response, what we got Yeah. From the hospitalist staff. Uh, at that time we were starting up the other project, but it was really, really good. Yeah. And that's where, that's, since then we just never looked back.

Good. At the back of that, we started looking at, you know, okay, what are the skills which we are missing? What are Yeah, yeah. Need. So obviously the first approach is, again, to keep your, uh, overhead down, to go for. Uh, uh, the, you know, like a, like a part to experience enough, but not someone who really needs constant feed.

Got it. So, so I, I, I've known someone, uh, who, who I hired, who became my first hire. Okay. Congrats. Yeah. So that was, that was really good. Uh, I think it was 2020, uh, just after the, uh, the first, uh, lockdown. So yeah, I hired [00:43:00] him in during COVID process. Probably met him after eight months. But the good thing I've known him, I've known this person.

Yeah. He was like, but he was behind the screen all the time. Yeah. We were, we were working constantly on teams.

Stephen Drew: Yeah. How was, how was that? Um, 'cause that's a crisis. It was a crisis everyone shared. Yeah. But how was it for you then riding the wave of the pandemic?

Lalit Chauhan: For us, it was really good.

Stephen Drew: Yeah. Interesting, isn't it?

Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. It was, it was really interesting. It kept us on our toes because our delivery was never.

Stephen Drew: Do you think, because you were more, well, you have your big team here now, and it's great because you were building up. Were do you think you'd being agile helped the panic?

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. I'll tell you something. Yeah.

Yeah. Especially for designers. Yeah. So when wider industry shut down Yeah. All the load on all the various councils, various clients uh, as in developers, [00:44:00] their general load was reduced. Now they have time when they are working from home to think about something else.

: Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: So various project leads or, uh, uh, you know, uh, like design team in, in council or, uh, housing teams and others, they were talking about, they, they, they, they're reading online that, you know how MC is coming, new things that coming.

Okay. And, uh, you know. All of that was happening. Cop 26 was there coming up, setting up. There's many things just coming. So what they had, what they found out, that's a bit of a time to think about what they can do. What are the things which they can look at. So they started raising a lot of inquiries and we got massive amount of inquiries at that time.

Just what can we do with this site? What can we do with this site? And that we got maybe like every week we were getting like 20 sites. Yeah. I'm not saying all of them had a potential, but [00:45:00] when you start getting that, 'cause you can see people have got time to not dig out certain things. Yeah. Yeah. And then look at their size.

Okay, what can we do? Because at the moment, this company can just let us know whether they can do it or not. Yeah. What are the things, obviously our fees were very low. At the time. So we were, when, when we started getting that inside, you know what, we should start charging properly for feasibility,

Stephen Drew: putting it up.

Lalit Chauhan: That's it. Like, you know, we can't just keep on, was that, was

Stephen Drew: that scary at first though? It was because I, I, you know, I, you always get that feeling of

Lalit Chauhan: yeah,

Stephen Drew: oh, you're putting the prices up. And sometimes I think as Architectural professional, we are guilty of not talking about money, focusing on the design.

So yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: So at that time, the thing which I didn't do right of personally, or I was the one who was going out and, uh, and, uh, getting it, uh, uh, or price for feasibility studies. And

Stephen Drew: you were winning the work?

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. Yeah. Like we had our business development director, [00:46:00] uh, getting things, but when I was putting the price, I was literally taking.

Uh, you know, our time as in two or three people, and then just maybe multiply Okay. The factor.

Stephen Drew: But the room for, um, curve balls, things going wrong. Yeah. None of that.

Pricing Mistakes and Lessons Learned
---

Lalit Chauhan: None of all, that was a massive mistake.

Stephen Drew: Oh, no, no. Buffer. You were like, okay, so your pricing was on, if everything works in the dream world.

Yeah. Yeah. Which never happens. Which

Lalit Chauhan: never happens. And in this, uh, we, we learned it in, in a bad way, but overall, uh, yeah. It was an experience. Yeah. Yeah.

Balancing Client Expectations and Fees
---

Lalit Chauhan: And I do sometimes, you know, sometimes when, when you feel about it, you have charge more, but at the same time you've gotta stop thinking, what if you did and you didn't get the project?

So there's always, there's the balance.

Stephen Drew: I agree. Yeah. Too much. No, thank you. Yeah. So Too low. Yes, please. Yeah,

Lalit Chauhan: exactly. Because. We haven't established [00:47:00] enough ourselves so that the client will come back to us and say, you know what? You're charging too much. Uh, and what are the reasons, uh, and how we can make it work?

Because client is not at the no, but at that time, there's enough competition in the market. Yeah. And we'll just,

Stephen Drew: yeah. Stop responding and, and, and there you go. Yeah.

Undercutting in the Architecture Industry
---

Stephen Drew: And, and, um, I hear a lot of the times about different Architecture companies, uh, or design company undercutting each other. Yeah. Which is tricky.

Which is tricky.

Lalit Chauhan: I think we did undercut a few people. Oh, you were one of them. We were, we were one of them sometimes, but it was, uh, unintentional. We didn't know who, who else is doing it? By the time we, we, we want to win, but this

Stephen Drew: is, this is the game of business. Exactly. You know, sometimes, you know, this is, we're having a lot on this conversation.

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. But my, uh, my, I sense was when I was putting those three proposal together, yeah.

Importance of Timing and Feasibility Studies
---

Lalit Chauhan: It was more about the timing. Mm. Not factoring, uh, uh, you know, what we started calling out about BSV.

Stephen Drew: Right. [00:48:00]

Lalit Chauhan: Because that is there. So, but that's what we, that is mocking our fee. And, you know, it's got to be there because something will come, okay, we want get a design, please.

We won't get this, we won't get, uh, you know, uh, the way we want certain things. So, gave us good experience. Uh, but God gave us enough I was knocking out maybe like three or four plan as a, uh, feasibility studies in a day at that time. Yeah. And then had to have lot of discussion with my, uh, my, my design team and, and juniors like, you know.

Learning to Charge Appropriately
---

Lalit Chauhan: Now is the time when you start charging them. I don't want to give them too much because what these people are doing, they start taking my feasibility and going for pre-app.

Stephen Drew: Yeah. So it's like it's the equivalent of getting the quotes. Yeah. And I go like, gimme a quote for this. And then I go down the road and go, can you do this for me?

Lalit Chauhan: And then, then you know what? I'm charging less and giving them more.

Stephen Drew: Yeah. So that's not good.

Lalit Chauhan: Basically they start skipping stage [00:49:00] one of RIV platform. So I'm doing RIV at zero. Yeah. And they're taking it to one because it's good enough for them to go and talk to the planner. Right. Got it. And then you start Oh, I see.

Massive. You start putting massive disclaimer. Yeah. That this document is not for, because I want more money

Stephen Drew: for that. Yeah. Damn right. That's an interesting lesson. That was, that was, that was was that hard at the time? It

Lalit Chauhan: was hard. It was really hard. And it was like, uh, you know, all the, the emotions moments, all the moments came across.

This is not good. I want this client. Yeah. But at the same time, that is not good.

Handling Client Conversations and Emotions
---

Stephen Drew: How do you have those tricky conversations?

Lalit Chauhan: So, so this is where uh,

Stephen Drew: you having the bits of partnership helps, isn't it? What,

Lalit Chauhan: what Han does. Uh, okay. He's my semi check. Mm. 'cause uh, when you get emotional as a designer, yes you talk, you can, you can go hard and sometimes, you know, sometimes it works because you can decide, you know who you're talking to, but sometimes it doesn't.

And, and then [00:50:00] can, can backfire. Mm-hmm. So he's my sanity check when. Got it. And sometimes you can also feel that you are actually, if you send this out now Yeah. You will, you might, you know, put someone off emotions. So Yeah. So just have a glass, rein it in. Yeah. Re it in glass of water. And then I'll like, you know what, can you just have a look at this?

And then he'll just take a few words. Like, I want, I would like look, I don't want to just mellow it down. I want to show that I'm happy. We gotta be firm. Yeah. We gotta be firm. Uh, we gotta, we gotta show him that we are not happy with this, but at the same time, I don't want to lose the business.

Stephen Drew: Yes. Yeah.

The balance.

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. So, so yeah. So we, we've changed few words here and there, like, okay, fine. That's, that's good. And that's the, that's good learning for me because Yeah.

: Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: From English is not my first language. Right. I can, I can choose very simple words, but sometimes very hard words, so, whoa, this guy, yeah.

My workability has improved, but [00:51:00] I, I could, I could blame my English to certain point, but not using certain words. Yeah. Not that, you know, not unprofessional. I know what you mean. Yeah. Yeah. But, uh, taking, taking, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So yes, there was a massive learning in terms of setting up those, those fees and making sure we can continue to do what we are doing.

Setting Competitive Fees and Managing Risks
---

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. Now we are, if I would just like, maybe just. I think of fees have really been competitive. Yeah. Up until today, uh, we are very competitive, but in certain areas we can now see what are the areas where this project will, you know, is gonna have issues around these, these things. So we now, when we put a fee proposal, we explain it to the client that these, uh, are the potential risks.

Yeah. You got a price for it. If you want me to reduce my price, I'm gonna give, pass this risk to you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. At that point up to you. Yeah. Yeah. You want a fixed price or you want, uh, maybe a percentage and then we got the [00:52:00] option there. Yeah. So, yeah. So we are, we are very, very flexible. But this is, this is where, again, being the design led business.

Gave us that edge to be, to play around with things. Yeah. To have that smooth transition between designer and builder. Yeah. And that's where, that's the, that's the reason between our, our success. Yeah. Otherwise, otherwise, I don't think, uh, many, many business will be able

Stephen Drew: to, no. The amount of mistakes I make on my business along the way.

But it is part of the journey, isn't it? It's part of the journey. So you survived the pandemic.

Growth and Success of Z Pods
---

Stephen Drew: You've grown since then when we paint a picture of Z Pods today. So how many people do you have now and what kind of projects are you working on? Time? We're recording, this is early 2025. Right. So it'll be a snapshot.

Yeah. But what's it like at the moment then?

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. So it is a very exciting time for us. Yeah. So we, uh, first project we delivered in 2020. Yeah. In 2021. And then, [00:53:00] so that was starting from, uh, I'm not gonna say I. Before that, but 2020, uh, is like what, 1.5 million pound turnover we had. Nice. And then we start with, uh, with going to three and a half, four.

I like that you talk

Stephen Drew: about turnover just through in your 'cause. Very rarely. And that's the sign of someone that's weathered the business. 'cause it is all about of us. Okay. Carry on. But I, I'm impressed Last

Lalit Chauhan: year. Last year we did, uh, 18 and a half. Yeah. Uh, and now we are twice for about 25, 2 8. Congrats.

Yeah. But so this is, this is going, but it's not going that way, you know? Yeah. We want to keep the curve, uh, in, in, in, in a sustainable direction. Yeah. So we can set up things nicely. We hoo.

Commitment to Zero Carbon Approach
---

Lalit Chauhan: Because the other thing which we, which is very dear to us, which is where we are, like, uh, we don't negotiate with any of our client is our zero carbon approach.

Right. So that's the gig. That's the, [00:54:00] that's the, like, uh, me and Rehan especially, we have grown in this business. The idea that the reason why that ports exist a way Yeah, yeah. We can't, uh, is, is because, uh, we formed a gap between the designer and we can design whatever we want and many things, uh, and get the planning and then aligned with things and goals and aim to achieve, you know, uh, uh, zero carbon, zero operational carbon building, uh, or net zero, uh, you know, building or preem, uh, you office block or whatever.

But if you want deliver it, then you won't have it. Yeah.

Bridging the Gap Between Design and Construction
---

Lalit Chauhan: So at that point we wanted to hands study, contracting side, start taking things properly, started bridging that gap again, we did proofing by the same time. We wanted to make sure that we. Not just reduce the performance gap, but eliminate it. Right?

When I say performance gap, and that's [00:55:00] where we work massively. So Han PFD side, my design background and the approach towards detailing, understanding materials and everything is very, very important.

: Yeah. Now

Lalit Chauhan: we as designers, we always aim for that high standard.

Performance Gap and Energy Standards
---

Lalit Chauhan: But when you come and deliver and then get your building assessed, checked, certified, you see that what you want to achieve and where you are, there's a gap.

And that is called the performance gap. And when I say it, it could be, uh, you know, it's mostly around energy standards. Yeah. And what, what you want to achieve, what target you have. Uh, and, but it could be, it could be around, uh, uh, your business, uh, what you want to achieve, set up the business. Uh, for this, like in, for, uh, business case, the, the, the actual, uh, cost analysis and what you achieve, reducing that gap as well.

Mm. The performance gap goes all the way across, right. On various, uh, you know, uh, steps [00:56:00] where, uh, energy side, uh, cost engineering, value engineering side, and goes towards, uh, uh, what, what your other environmental goals were. Yeah. In terms of, uh, you know, looking after how you're gonna create the place.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. 'cause you know, there's not much, there's not much point in putting all the money in the building when the approach to the building is there's no money for that. Right. And then you're left to, to walk in the middle of the car park.

Stephen Drew: Yeah, yeah,

Lalit Chauhan: yeah.

Innovative Business Model and Air Rights
---

Lalit Chauhan: Our, you know, our business model came from there.

We work with air rights, you know, this is how we started the first project, so. Leaving the, the space underneath. Yeah. But having a building on top of it. Yeah. Which is not cost client anything. Yeah. You're losing a few parking spaces, but having that asset mm-hmm.

Which is

very long term. And the buildings that we do, they're no different in some ways, lot better than onsite construction.

[00:57:00] They have got lot more structure to them. Uh, so they'll last very long. But at the same time, in terms of their performance, they are outperform anywhere. Other building. Yeah. Yeah. That's where it's our, this is where we start. That's your thing. Yeah. This is, this is what we do. So whenever a client comes to us, we don't even negotiate.

No. This is it. That's the pillow. Yeah. So we are not talking about reducing the performance of the building. That's what you're gonna get. But at the same time we work, we're gonna work with you in developing that site. Giving love towards place, making this, these, these are the niche points, you know, things Yeah.

Which is not model related, but again, design oriented. So we need to review that performance gap at all level.

: Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: To make it work. So, when, and then what we started looking at what we start achieving in our site was amazing. You know, like, uh, uh, as an example, we were the only one who's got invited mm-hmm.

To showcase our project in COP 26 from [00:58:00] uk Right. As in the, the, from the modular. Yeah. Cool. So we were the only one. And so it is still there in, in virtual pavilion. Uh, our whole price project, uh, whole price project is project won more award than the units it's got. Wow. They've got 12 awards. There you go.

Four years. Yeah. Yeah. So it's, uh, it's a proof of concept. Yeah. And, uh, it it, it shows what, what you can do. We had the POE, which is post occupancy evaluation on that time. Working with the University of Western England and, uh, it, it performed uh, 104%. Yeah. The market claimed.

Stephen Drew: I'm impressed. How do you, 'cause there must be moments where you could be seduced and to go and if, if we got rid of that core value for this project Yeah.

It could work. What stops you? What, why do you keep holding to that so dear?

Lalit Chauhan: It's, uh, first of all, it's the right thing to do. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So when it's a, [00:59:00] when there's something Right. What you want to do. Yeah. Because look, we all can get on and make maybe more money in other areas. Yeah. What your skills, be honest.

What your skills. Many of the people who are working for us, they've got skills. Yeah. Yeah. They can work, maybe make more money, but is it the satisfaction? Yeah. What you want to do. The mission is. Yeah. Yeah. And this is where, uh. I have never been fan of any certifications as such. Your certification is a tick box thing.

Mm-hmm. I'm not against them. You know, this is how you say it. It is, it is what it is. But for me, I want to achieve it. I want to do it. You know, so I got you. For me, if I put my efforts in love in that, whether it's a detail, whether it's a design, whether it's, you know, what whatever is coming out or being built, whatever, when it's selecting materials, if I put my efforts [01:00:00] towards it Yeah.

Then it should work. Got it. And this gives me the satisfaction. Yeah. Make, otherwise I could make more money in the area. I got you. Yeah. It's dissatisfaction. Yeah. But at the same time, you're doing the right thing. Because as an example, that first project for NHS we did in 2020. Yeah. At that time. Future home standards.

No one was talking about it.

: Right.

Lalit Chauhan: Part L requirement was not there. We never, uh, we had a grandfather incident, but the report wasn't out.

: Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: So not many people knew what goes wrong or what is gonna come at government. That building still complies with future home standards.

Stephen Drew: Nice.

Lalit Chauhan: With new part requirements with, uh, building Safety Act.

Yes. All of that still complies Mm. Four years ago or five years ago when we were setting up that project. Yeah. Those are the things that gives us the satisfaction that look what we're doing is right. [01:01:00]

: Okay. Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: People can't think about certain things, but we are ahead of the game. Yeah. Yeah. We are doing it.

So not many people know about us. But, uh, 'cause we are not probably great in marketing, right. But we are doing the right thing. Yeah, I like that. And that, that's what keeps us moving. Yeah. This is what the mission for the whole, uh, you know, team is. But look, you, you've learned many things in your Architecture university and going through, you know, uh, various jobs or internships you have had in the past.

But we are the people who will give you a platform to come and do it.

: Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: There are some things which comes, uh, like, you know, you, you got to be realistic about all, you know, approach, but this is where the innovation comes. Yeah. Yeah. Which we always try to empower everyone, give it to us. You know, I want to, I want to hire smarter people than me.

Mm. Only because. [01:02:00] There are certain things, you know, which gets, uh, and you get that baggage, uh, all the time when you, when you've done something, then it does stick to you. You, you, you might find your growth early in there and then it just slows down a bit in your ideas because you stick with those things.

You are within that bubble. Yeah. So I want more people to come with more ideas. Yeah. Yeah. This is where they can, you can come and then we will, I'll take your idea, but at the same time I'll give you a reality check.

: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay.

Lalit Chauhan: This is realistic. What are the things and when can we do it? I'm not gonna say no to anyone coming with ideas.

Yeah. I'm gonna say, okay, that's billion. Yeah, but I've got a pipeline of 2027 at the moment. No.

Stephen Drew: Why? No.

Lalit Chauhan: Can look, we, let's develop this idea, but not talk about it up until next couple of quarters. No, but. Develop it, and then we can start exploring it with other consultants and genius and like, you know, changing something, [01:03:00] certifications if you need to go through, uh, to, to make sure that the system is gonna work.

And then maybe in 2026 we'll be able to use it.

: Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: So, but that's the thing, you know, uh, which, uh, someone is coming with that idea and we are saying, we're not knocking you down because we are a business to run know, but when can we use it? And then they are continuously working in the background while getting the things going.

Because you got, you know, when, when you work in factory environment, you on a production line, you, you got to, you got a beast of feed. Yeah. So you need to continue with that journey. No. So, you know, there's a, there's a view, but this is where we have been very, very unique in, in empowering you know, people work with us and, uh, like-minded people.

You know, we don't have like-minded people. Then it's not gonna work. Right. Someone will just, I want it now. Like, sorry.

: Yeah. You,

Lalit Chauhan: you, you need to understand a bit. Like, you know, because as an external Architecture practice, [01:04:00] you've done a design, uh, working with a client in the next house you can do absolutely new thing.

Fine. Because that's a different client. That's a different thing. And you are not really responsible for getting a bill at that time. You're just thinking about responding to the problem. So you can completely put new ideas in a new design. Yeah. So we can't just yet, but there's a process to it. Yeah. Yeah.

And this is where we want to do it. We will always be doing new things, but there's enough flexibility we have created in the way we think, uh, we do things. There's enough flexibility. Everyone, like we've never heard, heard, uh, that from any of our our employees, that they haven't got enough. Uh, uh, uh.

Design requirement. Got it. Yeah. Yeah. You see, like, uh, it is a, it is not just a build, build, build side. It's got enough requirement to make you think, come up with a new design strategies, new design [01:05:00] solutions. Yeah. But there's certain things which can't be changed. Yeah. Because it's modular, it's still got to be lifted with four points or five points, six points at that point.

You can't just, you know, start messing around with your things, but within that complaint, and architects like it, I just love it because if you just give a blank of paper and get them to do something versus you give them the constraints and then, then you problem solving, generalize their thoughts and then they come up with the new things, new ways to resolve that problem.

So it's, it's been, it's been really good. Yeah. It's, it's really interesting, uh, the way, uh, everything is working. And, uh, yeah, we, we are, we are very, very good part. So we are on that cost between

: Good for you. Staying

Lalit Chauhan: SME or going the meter side. Yeah, so we are still not doing 500 homes a year kind of a thing, but we, we are, we are gonna get there.

Stephen Drew: Very, very impressive. Uh, [01:06:00] there's a few things when you were talking about that, 'cause I'm also building a business as well, so it's quite nice to hear from someone more ahead.

Hiring and Empowering Smart People
---

Stephen Drew: 'cause even I'm getting some lessons. You mentioned hiring people, smart people, intelligent people better than you. That's an approach.

I'm also adapting. It's quite hard at first sometimes 'cause you naturally wanna hire people that are similar to you and all this stuff, but you want good people around you. So there's probably two listeners to the, to the Architecture, Social. There's probably the entrepreneurs or the people like you who want to set up there Architecture practice and we'll come back to that.

But there's a lot of people who are looking for great places to work or. People who might be even writing an application team. So for those people in terms of hiring, how can someone, first of all, grab your attention an application and then outta people that you meet in person that you've hired, what do you look [01:07:00] for in someone that would be good for Z Pods?

How do they stand out?

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. Look, it's, it's very interesting. Very, very good question. Yeah. Because, uh, we are growing business. Yeah, yeah. We are building a team.

Stephen Drew: If you, if you are listen in watching Yeah. You know,

Lalit Chauhan: we are not showing this, and then you can see, uh, you know, on, on, on various platforms, uh, how well we are doing.

Yeah. Yeah. We have won what, like 47 awards in four years.

Stephen Drew: Ooh. I haven't won one yet. Gimme a minute.

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. So, and then they, they go from all the way from best, uh, contractor, uh, best, uh, sustainable carbon project. Uh, to, to, you know, various, various platform. And we are, we are working with various, uh, local authorities.

We are working in social housing sector. Mm-hmm. Uh, uh, I think that's all 95% of what we do. Uh, but we are making zero carbon buildings accessible for the people who are struggling. Yeah. To, to, to survive [01:08:00] in the, so we are not just working with, with the local authorities to provide housing, but we are also tackling the energy poverty.

We are not putting them in, in houses where they will end up paying a lot of, uh, price and then they have to focus on, they can, they can actually relax in our, uh, in our units. This is the positive feedback we get Massive most of the time. Yeah. Uh, and in terms of be able to, to, to look at their life, what they want to do.

So it's empowering you know, those people as well. So, yeah. It. Great place to, to work with in terms of what gets our, you know, uh, uh, what will get, uh, our attention, uh, towards the applicants. It's really going to be that this, you know, that, you know, like, I think I was listening to you on one of your podcast, uh, about, you know, you gotta have a soul.

You, you need to have that trying in what you want to do, right? Yeah. We can give you [01:09:00] the platform. We are in a unique position. Yeah. I'm not saying there's no one else out there, but we are in a very unique position as a Architectural practice who will give you all the tools to design things and then come up with various, various, you know, design ideas and things.

Yeah. But at the same time, giving you the contractor and builder's perspective in-house every day. Right. It doesn't need to go out to get a verification or check from someone. Yeah. You can just. Talk over your shoulder, and then you know why Mm. You know what other things. And that gives you a very, very good edge.

We are not a kind of a business who will put you on a staircase layout for 200 no PP in a

Stephen Drew: not with the speed of your projects as well. In a way, we,

Lalit Chauhan: we, we, we have to respond to that speed. Yeah. So we, we, we, we like to throw people deep in dive. Yeah.

Stephen Drew: You, you, you [01:10:00] jump in.

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. You, you, because in a way, that's why, that's how I learned it.

: Yeah. Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: And just, just, you know, uh, that's the best way to learn. And I'm not saying everyone have the uh, you know, uh, aspiration to, to do that, but if you do that, that's, that's what we are looking for. Yeah. So you, you should be able to show us that you have done this. Uh, but you know, you've gone out, uh, you know, you, you've done a bit of a research on the materials you're using.

Yeah. Uh, how did you achieve? Uh, because that's the thing which I don't like that when I look at a detail or a design from someone and like, okay what was the energy performance of this building? Oh yeah. We sent it to our energy consultant and so thank you very much. That's it. Oh, okay.

Stephen Drew: You don't know it.

And that's, that's your core thing, isn't it?

Lalit Chauhan: Core thing. Like that's this one thing. Okay. How the, how is the structure working for this, or that was for structural engineer. He gave me this [01:11:00] and that.

: Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: As an Architect, you know, this is where the difference between being only Architect.

Stephen Drew: Yeah. Yeah. But the Z problem, it's all encompassing.

You see that project all the way through. Yeah. So, so then, and if someone comes in and explains on whatever kind of project that they've seen, all that stuff, then that. Yeah. That's interesting to you. You're like, okay, I could see them working here.

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah, exactly. And that's just, that's the bit of a difference.

And I'm not saying if you have, if that's something that you haven't never done. Yeah, yeah. And you don't want to do it. Yeah. Even if you want to do it, then oh, we are interested. Yeah.

Stephen Drew: Say it. Yeah. Go say it. I wish I could have done this part.

Lalit Chauhan: Exactly that. Yeah. So at that point we would know that, look, you missed that.

Yeah. That's the reason why you want to go,

Stephen Drew: because some of them in the company, you can be kept. Yes. Okay. So, so you,

Lalit Chauhan: so we, we unleash them, you know? Yeah. Go and talk to this consultant. Go and talk to this. Go and go and, and go to site. Go to factory. Yeah. Yeah. Just spend time with, with the, with the factory [01:12:00] manager, understand what they're doing, you know?

Got it. How the plumbing works, how, how this wall goes together with the floor. Yeah. What are the junctions like, you know, so we, we like to do that. Yeah.

: But

Lalit Chauhan: at the same time, we are not gonna give you a lot of time to just keep on understanding and running like a. Now you're, you're in, you need to, you need to get on with this, you know?

Uh, and at that point, uh, you know, obviously everyone takes, every business is different the way they, they work. So we appreciate that, uh, you know, there's gonna be time for you to understand certain things, but then you, you start performing. Yeah. And that's where that, that's what goes back to that, you know, the first thing I was saying about skills.

Yeah. If you got the right skills in terms of the softwares, how to use it, what to show us that we never visualized this problem to be resolved this way and you can do it. That's a great way

: Yeah. To

Lalit Chauhan: just, just keep on going with us and then straight away we can see, you know, this [01:13:00] person can really go far.

: Yeah. Alright. Especially,

Lalit Chauhan: you know, because they got that idea to take a, a problem or perceive a problem and find a solution rather than just. You know, just thing with Yeah, yeah. That, that blocks box as well. So, yeah. So I think there are different ways, but one of the thing is that drive towards getting something done.

Yeah. That's, that's what we are all getting it done, not just designing.

Stephen Drew: Yeah. I, um, it's interesting. Maybe there's a slight synergy between my business and the zPo way because what I've found is that employees or hires that want to go for it and out there and they'll just crack on works for us. But as a smaller, younger company, you've gotta be agile and you don't have the buffer of the big company.

So it's very interesting. I wanted to just quickly, so I've got two more sets of questions. One. It's gonna be talking a little bit more about the current state.

Challenges and Rewards of Entrepreneurship
---

Stephen Drew: 'cause I wanna know where you think the [01:14:00] industry's going, but the, the question before that, which I think is important, is for the entrepreneurs, so me and you both a little bit crazy because we've set up our businesses and to me, and you are a good employer, right?

So I'm just gonna put a caveat there straight away. I know, but we, the crazies, you've taken it upon yourself to do, to sleep in the factories. You've done the long hours. You were seeing all those lectures. I have a bit of that as well. Well, how do you feel about that? Because sometimes as do you think that's what it takes to get a business going?

You, you understand where I'm going? I say

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. No, I, I totally get It's hard, isn't it? It's a very hard Yeah. Very hard question, but it's, uh, I think it's something really good to talk about. Yes. Yeah. Because it, it makes us think as well, you know? Yeah. What, we've all come from different backgrounds, different approach towards solving different problems.

Uh, and uh, uh, uh, with [01:15:00] that comes, uh, uh, that learning, you know, and then you always, always have, I wish I did this. I wish I done, you know, at the same time, uh, I was saying when you, when you try to set up a business Yeah, there's a, uh, especially, which is a, which is a, in construction industry, yeah. There's a massive, massive risk.

Is this is probably the industry, which is the, the biggest risk in

Stephen Drew: I I think if you read all the the risks, you shouldn't do it. No. That's where your business Yeah. You have to be a bit crazy to do it.

Lalit Chauhan: Exactly. Yeah. And, and we, we are look, yeah, that craziness can, can go at base level, know, uh, but for us, I think not everyone has got.

The LD check. Yeah. So you do need, uh, a strategy. You need a strategy to, to have, uh, some sort of backup of plans, you know, [01:16:00] with that backup of plans comes, uh, uh, things like, uh, when you are, uh, when you are approaching a project, you know, you, you go to a project, a client with this option, which you want to do.

Yeah. Because maybe for design, but maybe because it'll get you more units so you can get more money and then various things, various reasons can be there. Yeah. But at the same time, there's a planning risk. There's a you know, uh, maybe, maybe the client got that much budget there and, uh, there may be other things, you know, you might overshoot yourself in, in certain areas.

So at that time, uh, you got a backup client. If client, if you see s and all of that from client, and you can feel the tension, suddenly you can switch gear. You can come up with that look fine, but we can do this. Mm-hmm. Push the next one up. So at the same time, when you're doing something, have a backup plan.

Mm. So what we did mm-hmm. [01:17:00] Early on, we, we always kept that plan. We, we all the time, we always went into the meetings with some sort of prepare yourself and not think about it. It doesn't take long, but you can always have a fallback. Yeah. Yeah. So that's that way you can always do that. But this is where the craziness comes.

And the craziness is you might not get the time to draw everything to, because for us to explain things properly is the means. You know, drawing is, is the means. So we can't sleep on talking about it. We got to draw and show it to them. At that point, you might not get the time to draw it, but then you're thinking about.

Yeah. 'cause that's where we are always thinking while, you know, I share them. I agree with you said, yeah, yeah, yeah. You always planning things and, and we are in the Never

Stephen Drew: Ends.

Lalit Chauhan: Never Ends. Yeah. And, and, and, and this is why, you know, not great, but for me [01:18:00] it's like in the evening I might want to just, just watch an old match or maybe just switch off something.

Uh, yeah. Switch. Try to switch off. Try to put my hand to something else. Oh, wait. But so what works for you?

Stephen Drew: Just putting on an old match? Yeah,

Lalit Chauhan: yeah. Like old match or maybe just going to, I'm not sure if you, if you like, uh, the Big Bang theory.

Stephen Drew: Okay.

Lalit Chauhan: Love it. You know, just maybe seeing it so many times you need some and something.

That's your thing. That's my thing. I'm just put my Yeah. Yeah. Something else. Yeah. Yeah. Good for you. Yeah. And try to try to because most of the time good ideas comes when. Switch off when, when you switch off and then you turn on. Yeah,

Stephen Drew: I agree with that.

Lalit Chauhan: From sub, from the subconscious. Yeah. Stage then.

And that's mostly early, early warning

Stephen Drew: for you. Is that okay? Yeah. Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: And this is where, and then suddenly, you know what? Yes, that's it. I'm gonna get that

Stephen Drew: fresh perspective,

Lalit Chauhan: but now I'm meeting in my name and [01:19:00] that popped in my head at 4:00 AM so I've got five hours, obviously not five hours because I got to get there.

Yeah. So, and all the things come in the emails and distractions. Yeah. I still got a life. I've still got, you know, my family. Yeah. So what, what I'm gonna do, but then how can Armando was, those things are always coming in and then, uh, how can you represent it with the information that you have in place?

Yeah. Because that's the difference. Which, which massive difference which you in your business, you will experience. Brilliant. Uh, when you are in early. Signing off something. Things are mostly at your disposal. Your within your reach, you can get things change, you know, ideas change. That's true.

Presentation change and, and whatever you want to do. Yeah. We're going this way when, but when you, when you reach in a, in a, in a managing, uh, you know, position or become, you know, when you're not doing it, then you gotta ask [01:20:00] someone else to do it. Mm. And then you gotta respect their timeline.

: Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: So that's when you now, and, and you are still the one who's got to present it or maybe talk about it, but what popped in your head is something that you can't get on the paper.

So you, you get, you know, you have to balance it out now. Yeah. Yeah. So this is where you know, there's a lot of learning in, in there. Uh, you know, uh, how you can still show your client. What is in your head without having it in front of them? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And having it as a backup. Yeah. So overall, there's many, many things, but uh, I think you get, you just get good at it.

: Yeah, yeah. Slowly,

Lalit Chauhan: slowly. So yeah. So in terms of our, uh, craziness, I would say it never stops. And, uh, uh, it is not great, uh, to, to just contently going for, into the drawing. Yeah. You gotta turn yourself off. Yeah. You gotta find your the thing phase of [01:21:00] of

Stephen Drew: Yeah. I, I, um, that's the lesson for me at the moment is doing that.

They're understanding everyone's different and, and one of the reasons I enjoy this conversation, this meeting, yes. To me, of course, you're a design Architect, you're doing this stuff, but you're also an entrepreneur. And, um, for the, for the many good things that comes with event, you're never off. It's, I I think it, it, it's a blessing and a burden, you know?

And, um, I do say that some people sometimes don't set up a business. 'cause I think people fantasize about it, don't they? I love it. I wouldn't change it, but, you know, people go, I'm gonna set up. But really think hard about it 'cause it's very different you here to the team and there's no problem either way.

You can all be in the same mission, but everyone has different stakes in it. So, and that's my current [01:22:00] thoughts on it and nice to hear it from you.

Future of Modular Construction and Technology
---

Stephen Drew: Uh, one last thing I was gonna talk about, if you'll divulge me for a bit, because modular, you've got the technology, the advancement, but in a wider scope as the time we we're talking.

AI's taking over. We've got this exciting thing. And the entrepreneur in me, I use AI a lot in my business. Deep Seek just released their things, Nvidia stocks crashing. It's kind of a cool time. And then you've got the Architecture, the tech piece, and all this stuff. Do you have any thoughts about how this is going?

Do you see it maybe being part of the wider picture of the Zed Pod mission and projects? Or do you think you might even start to use these ideas and technology in the business?

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. Look, again, very, very good question because we are the, we've always been the forefront of the organization.

Stephen Drew: Yeah, yeah.

You bring them [01:23:00] in.

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. We, we, we always, uh, uh, been and we, uh, last year, uh, we were probably one of the business in uk. Uh, who's doing what we are doing? Yeah. Zero carbon MC for volumetric projects, but at the same time, uh, we got our, uh, 19 6 50, uh, certification. Yeah. Which is, uh, the BIM uh, BIM certification, uh, and coming from the background mm-hmm.

Of, uh, the tools which are available at our disposal. Yeah. We, we gotta keep certain things going, so we gotta be part of that system. Uh, but we are, we are, at the moment, we are very people oriented. We have a very people oriented approach. Got it. Not just in office, but in a factory as well. Yeah. We are using smart technology to empower staff, the workers

: Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: To make their job [01:24:00] easier.

: Right.

Lalit Chauhan: We are not, we are, we are not trying to delay people at the moment. Right. That's not the approach. Yeah. So we are, and it goes mostly, uh, in a factory environment. We are not spending millions and millions found. Yeah. Yeah. In, in, in getting, uh, getting, uh, in a CNC cut laser machine uh, developed, which can, uh, create a wall panel in, uh, 22nd.

Yeah. Yeah. What will happen after 22nd, that panel goes on a shelf Yeah. And stays there for two days.

Stephen Drew: Mm-hmm. Got it. Yeah. So why you cut that time? Cast machinery, maintenance. Yeah. Space.

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah. So we've spent a, got it, a couple of million pound as an example. Yeah, yeah. Getting a machine, we can develop a panel in 22nd, and then it just, but then it goes in, in, in the factory, factory and then, uh, stay there for two days or maybe [01:25:00] two weeks, and then someone will pick it up and then put like, why.

Yeah. Yeah. At that point we might be able to do it. There's some people who have done it, and this is another reason why some of the business have failed. Yeah. They want a lot of money to be, uh, you know, build a

Stephen Drew: factory.

Lalit Chauhan: Factory and, and being a, you know, a pioneer in, uh, in, in creating that, uh, autonomous, uh, infrastructure, you know, which people are just working on machines and everything is happening.

Yeah. And have a little pipeline.

Stephen Drew: Yeah. It's like where you said before the tick box in, in that way it's like, we'll get the factory and then we'll build them, but it's like, what, what is actually the projects?

Lalit Chauhan: Exactly. And that is, I would say is a good problem to help, but in terms of, in terms of efficiency, it's a good problem to keep.

Yeah. Now I, I can resolve it with money, but at government I need to make sure my pipeline is set. Yeah. Yeah. I can't, I we can't take that leap. Yeah. So, at government, uh, in, [01:26:00] uh, we, we, we start using technology. Also just relying on technology fully. Yeah. Then we won't get where we want to in early days. Like we're still a young business, you know, we'll be 10 next year.

Yeah. Uh uh but wow. It's, uh, yeah. Fair time. Yeah. Yeah. That'll be yeah. We'll do something. Uh, but at that point, uh, at that point we would be looking at, uh, you know, in the last 10 years now, how many units, how many projects we have done. Yeah. What have they achieved? You know, as a as summary, uh, if you think about it, using the tools, which we were, which was there, and we have switched from just using the likes of Sketch Up and, uh, and Cat to Cat softwares to now Fully Rabbit working in three, the environment from, from, from the beginning and all the way to end, but using various tools like a c, C uh, which Orde constructing Cloud, using build [01:27:00] capabilities.

Uh, we are, we point down to all our units, come out with barcode on them. You can scan the barcode and you get everything, all the drawings, all the snagging, everything on that, uh, module out on your phone. So that's the kind of things that you're using. But in terms of looking at future, I think we'll have a very systematic approach towards using the autonomous side of, uh, of various, uh, you know, whether we, we, we look at the, the work, what we doing in house.

Uh, because what I see at the moment from where I am, the way I've seen things growing in this industry for the last 10, 15 years, and we've got a massive desire to do mod. Yeah. And government is backing. Yeah. There's a proof of concept is done. Yeah. Yeah. We are not talking about volumetric buildings as caravans anymore.

It's not a [01:28:00] prefab. You know, a quota came in. Yeah. So the company, I should be saying that bleep. Yeah. Yeah. It's, uh, it is not a, uh, a building or which is, which is just, uh, not gonna perform. So building what we design, build, or gonna outlast many of the buildings, uh, from across from many other housing providers.

So at that point, the approach, what we have taken uh, you know, to, to be able to deliver those things is very unique. And this is, this is where we need to make sure that we can continue with the journey. Yeah. At the same time, start feeding in this technological advancement in it. Yeah. To be at the point when, uh, we can see innovation is continuing.

Yeah. The area, the time when you can really call yourself autonomous is when you are just replicating. Right. And this is the thing which we [01:29:00] have dished out of me and especially me dish out from that part that look, I'm never gonna design the same building on inside.

: Yeah. That's

Lalit Chauhan: never gonna happen.

: Probably. Yeah. Yeah. If

Lalit Chauhan: they, there will be something which is different in all of them. Yeah, all of them. It's not exactly the same unless clients comes back on the same road. Mm-hmm. I've got one building here and on the next building next to it and I have can just extend it. Obviously it's asking for it.

Yeah. Yeah. So I have a planning oriented approach and that place making oriented approach, that design approach. So we call ourself very bespoke. It's modular, it's volumetric, it's modern matter of construction, but it's very bespoke. Approach towards each site. I got it. That's very unique from us. Yeah. And that's the gap we have from all the setting up the projects.

Yeah. [01:30:00] From, uh, uh, the, the client's perspective from uh, government fundings and other bit and pieces. Whereas this planning, this need, this not many reforms which have happened in planning over the last decades, you know, and with that comes the big burden. Look from my point of view. Yeah. Who's looking towards, uh, future of construction?

Yeah, yeah. Pointing solution for future construction and uh, uh, being conscious about climate change. Yeah. Being conscious about, uh, the materials we use you know, how, how we are resolving the issues. We work in Brownfield side, we are made a conscious decision. We're gonna work in Brownfield. Because rather going out of city base, you gotta find the small, small areas, which many of, uh, the builders would even touch.

But we are making it possible because being in that [01:31:00] zone, you are finding ways, battling through the planning process, finding ways to make it possible by having people living in a neighborhood, in a community, using the existing infrastructure, upgrading the existing infrastructure rather than trying to find ways of relaying something completely new and destroying the green outskirts fossil is, you know, up until you've exhausted all of that, there's no need to go out.

So we would come from that background. And when you got, when you got this desire to, to find solutions within this, you will have many other challenges. I'm not saying these, so solutions are gonna be cheap. Mm-hmm. Yes. They don't have to be cheap, but those solutions have to work. You know, and that's the only way we can continue to battle against climate change issues.

Yeah. Because we are not, we are, we are talking about next hundred years, 200 years. You know, at that point, obviously we will not be there, but we can't have people or, you know, [01:32:00] our generations coming back and then saying or wish these guys have understood or understood these issues earlier. Yeah. Like, like what we are saying, you know, if people understood these things in the eighties, then we will be in this.

Won't be

Stephen Drew: mess, won't be Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: We would, we would, you know, after the first report coming in 1967 about sustainability? No, it was the thing. Yeah. And the report in our climate change. But does it matter? No. Now it's becoming an issue. Right? So we know that this is, is is gonna be, uh, an issue which we need to now change our views.

You know, we can't keep 'em as an example. Everyone likes pointy rules. Yeah. Everyone likes the pointy rules with loft in them. I would Everyone just, just, you know, this has been happening. This is how, that's how it is. We've done it. Yeah. So what now think [01:33:00] about the amount of energy which is going in that loft, which are losing the amount of material which is going in that loft and the what, what is it giving you?

Nothing other than some stories you can have a better story in today. Yeah. That's it. Yeah. Yeah. But that's the, that's the view, you know, InDesign perspective if you're trying to solve a problem

: Yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: Which was not there in the past. Yeah. Or you are looking for future, you can't have the solutions which are coming from the past.

: Yeah. Fair.

Lalit Chauhan: That's where you got change your views. And you gotta start adapting and understanding. This is the new design. This is the new good.

: Yeah, yeah.

Lalit Chauhan: Know because design is adapt. Right? Everyone likes some like this, some like that. But this is the thing again, in most of the Architectural practices, also some, some Architectural practice, you know, we are uh, we are, uh, the, the best [01:34:00] volumetric, modular, uh, designers never build a thing.

Never build anything. Yeah. Design many, many projects. They think if you can make something rectangle, that's it. Yeah. That's rectangle is a box. And then box can be delivered. Yeah. We have had a chat with user, uh, volumetric, uh, model buildings, providers, and they said these are the size which we need to use, and that's it.

And then now we can do whatever we want. No, this is not how it works.

Mm-hmm.

If you want to solve a bigger problem by the problem, talking about future. Then you've gotta start approaching your designs in a way that they will be, they will able to survive for that long, uh, without imposing, uh, extra burden.

Yeah. On, on many of the infrastructure, many of other things. Because again, it's just, it's just the same thing. Uh, uh, we, we got to be at the forefront. Yeah. We are the designers. We are the one who can actually see these problems in real. Yeah. Now we are the one who can really [01:35:00] perceive that. So we are the, we have to take the challenge upon us and find solutions.

Yeah. Otherwise it's not about,

Stephen Drew: well, well there you go. What a good notes. I think we should end on them.

Conclusion and Contact Information
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Stephen Drew: Said pods, you build the projects, they are bespoke

: and they're also

Stephen Drew: modular. So it's very interesting. And you are never letting go of that principle. No. And it's on camera as well. Now. That's it.

Thank you so much for your time. But before you go, if people wanna reach out to you. Or they want to find more about Z Pods, can you let them know where they can find you online and how they can get in contact with you?

Lalit Chauhan: Yeah, look, our website has got a, a good contact, uh, uh, information about, uh, yeah, how to reach to us, and you can drop a message in there, which comes straight to uh, my team.

Yeah. And, uh, yeah, for us on LinkedIn. You're on LinkedIn as well? Yeah, we are, we are doing reasonably well on LinkedIn, I believe. Yeah. Yeah. Good. Uh, but again, we still a growing business, so there's many [01:36:00] platforms which you can use. But yeah these, these are probably, uh, some of the ways that you can, you can reach out to us and here, look, it's been really interesting my first, first podcast like that.

There you go. Uh, but, uh, leave many more to come, but yeah, now we are, we are not in, in that task where we can, we, we. Done the job, now we can continue to talk about it. Absolutely. So yeah, that's where it'll be.

Stephen Drew: Thank you so much for being here and for you and the audience, thank you for watching as well. I really, really appreciate it.

More content to come, but do get in contact with Z Pods. I wouldn't waste my time here if I didn't like the business. Didn't think they were go doing cool stuff. So thank you for sharing and I learned a few things as well, the business, you know, I got a few things. I'm, I'm gonna, I'm gonna marinate a few ideas from Zed Pro as well.

Thank you everyone. I at the end of, of the recording [01:37:00] [01:38:00] [01:39:00] now,

Creators and Guests

Host

Stephen Drew

Hello! I’m Stephen Drew, Founder of the Architecture Social—an online community and resource hub dedicated to helping professionals in Architecture, Design, Development, and Real Estate advance their careers. I’m here to connect you with insights, tools, and opportunities that lead to meaningful growth, whether you’re just starting out or ready to take that next big step.