Reconstruct

Reconstruct develops reality-mapping and digital-twin software for construction progress monitoring, remote quality control and facilities assessment. Its Visual Command Center platform converts reality-capture footage collected on ordinary devices — smartphones, 360 cameras and drones — into precise, measurable 2D floor plans and 3D models, then automatically positions that imagery in space and over time to create a walkable, timestamped digital twin of a project. Patented overlay technology compares captured site conditions against 2D and 3D design documents so teams can see what has been installed versus what was planned, while schedule integration supports 4D BIM visualization of upcoming work sequences.

Additional platform capabilities include issue pinning for communication and collaboration between remote and on-site stakeholders, and online as-builts that let users rewind a project's construction history for renovations, tenant questions or liability claims. The company positions the product as a capital asset lifecycle management (CALM) platform covering a project from demolition through final inspection and ongoing operation, in contrast to single-modality reality-capture point solutions or outsourced, project-by-project monitoring services. Earlier descriptions of the platform emphasize visual production management, analytics on productivity and delay risk, and predictive identification of locations at risk of delay to support real-time coordination among general contractors, owners and lenders.

Founding story

Reconstruct was founded in 2015 on ideas and technology developed at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Grainger College of Engineering, where the concept was incubated in the IDEA Lab, a brainstorming space in the Grainger Engineering Library. Its founders were three Grainger Engineering faculty members — Mani Golparvar-Fard (Civil & Environmental Engineering), Derek Hoiem (Computer Science) and Tim Bretl (Aerospace Engineering) — working with students. Co-founder Derek Hoiem has said the Cozad New Venture Challenge motivated the students who helped found the company to think beyond technical development toward commercialization, and introduced the company to investors; the team placed second in the competition's University Resource Track in 2016, winning $10,000. One funding announcement instead states the company was founded in 2016.

Business model

Reconstruct sells a web-based, subscription-style software platform (the Visual Command Center) to construction and real-estate stakeholders, who capture site reality themselves using commodity devices rather than paying for outsourced capture services. The company emphasizes scalability across a customer's entire project portfolio rather than single-project engagements.

Software platform sold to construction industry stakeholders including owners, owner's representatives and general contractors.

Traction

The company reports customer outcomes of 50% improvement in on-time completion, 30% reduction in time needed to report field-level progress and 50% fewer site visits by project executives. More than 1,000 projects were underway at the company as of a University of Illinois profile, and it reported a 300% growth rate over the two years preceding its 2021 Series B. Customers include Pfizer and McDonald's.

Latest developments

In July 2021 Reconstruct announced a $17.3 million Series B round led by the Nemetschek Group with participation from EquipmentShare/Romulus Capital, STO Building Group, Thornton Tomasetti, SHoP Architects, Syska Hennessy and Asia Pacific Land, and full participation from existing shareholders Serra Ventures and Cultivation Capital, to fund integration with software such as Bluebeam and global expansion.