In July, Hatch became the first consulting engineering firm to invest in R-LABS, a real estate venture builder established in 2018 to co-create and scale up new companies. Examples to date have included: Assembly, which prefabricates wooden modular housing as a product; Noah, whose software platform uses physics-based modelling to assess localized flood risks; and HomePorter, which deploys visual artificial intelligence (AI) in home inspections to modernize the resulting reports.

Hatch, with its new investment, aims to help address further challenges relating to real estate across Canada. We spoke about such opportunities with George Carras, founder and CEO of R-LABS, who has a background in both civil engineering and real estate.

Why did you found R-LABS?

Pronounced like ‘our labs,’ it represents a unique partnership—the only one in the world—of corporations and institutions that believe big problems in real estate and housing need novel solutions from companies that don’t exist yet. We work with entrepreneurs to assess and validate ideas until a new company can be born to solve a particular problem. We build ventures and then help fund them as they become true companies.

The partners within the lab bring what we call the four Cs: capability, capital, a co-creation mindset and commitment.

What is the lab working on now?

We’re following an ‘innovation map’ we developed last fall for the industrialization of housing in Canada, where there is a natural need for land registry, insurance, financial and engineering capabilities, among others.

Another area we are focusing on is urban surge water and resiliency, where Noah has been doing property-level flood risk assessments.

These companies have their own business models, but are strategically related in the problem sets they’re addressing.

“The industrialization of housing in Canada needs engineering capabilities.” – George Carras

How can engineers take part in this process?

We’re excited to have Hatch join us as an engineering partner. Their culture is both entrepreneurial and technical and they’ve realized what they can do by bringing novel thinking and working with others.

I would say it comes from a place of enlightened self-interest. Not everyone cares about everything—there are certain problem areas, ventures and companies that are more strategic for some partners than others—but synergies can be formed when we all get together. Ideas go into the lab and then can move forward.

Our partners remain involved in new companies as part owners. They can help them grow and, in turn, the growth of these companies helps their core business in ways they couldn’t do on their own. They are direct beneficiaries.

Engineers are gifted with capabilities they can apply in new ways. We’re at a point in time in Canada where a lot of that is needed!

This column originally appeared in the July/August 2025 issue of Canadian Consulting Engineer.