Innovating Our Way to Affordability at PCBC
Ivory Innovations panel featuring Ivory Prize winners and finalists on “How Construction Innovations are Driving Affordability”
Innovation is a buzzword. It’s also a necessity. We are short millions of housing units in the country, to say nothing of the difficulties in constructing those units caused by growing hurdles like supply chain snafus, rising labor shortages, and the increasing cost of debt. To address these challenges, we have and will need new ways of building and operating.
That opportunity to think differently will be underscored at the PCBC’ Summer Showcase Conference in San Francisco on June 22-23. Over the last four years, our team has highlighted 100 organizations that are pushing housing forward with the Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability. At PCBC, we are honored to share the stage with several companies pushing the envelope and shining a light on new materials, methods, and technologies that have the potential to significantly lower costs for builders and their customers. These are not just ideas; these are project-ready solutions looking for builders ready to try something new.
New Materials
When it comes to affordability, new materials can both lower the upfront costs of building and lower the cost of maintaining the unit over time. Often, these innovations fill gaps created by pricing pressure. For example, when lumber prices went through the roof in 2020, our team explored the potential of engineered bamboo products from companies like BamCore and Rizome given their competitive pricing and positive environmental impact. As weather extremes become more common across the country, we are looking at new products that reduce thermal bridging and wiring innovations that will lower installation and maintenance costs. Products succeed when they are high quality and meet a strong market need. While some are new, we see many that meet both criteria and know these solutions and others will play a role in housing affordability moving forward.
New Methods
New methods of building are on the rise. 3d printing and automation have both rightfully received a lot of press, and modular and offsite construction methods are quickly gaining industry traction. Many of us are likely familiar with these models: by producing as much of a housing unit offsite in a controlled factory environment as possible, you reduce build and coordination time while lowering material and labor costs. This year, we are excited to highlight two companies, Volumetric Building Companies and Connect Homes, that are taking modular building to the next level. VBC’s ability to build to 30 stories and flexible design-manufacture-construct model, along with Connect Homes’ focus on infill modular projects plus units for people experiencing homelessness brought both into our top group of Ivory Prize finalists and winners. In tandem with other companies like Entekra, Autovol, oWow, and Blokable, new methods can vastly change how we build and how quickly we can deliver new housing.
New Technology
Both new materials and new methods of building often necessitate technological innovation. All of the companies and ideas mentioned above are more efficient and more cost-effective because of their intelligent use of technology. But there are also solutions that are predominately tech-based, not just tech-augmented, and have significant potential to lower housing costs. Deal sourcing and underwriting platforms like ProforMap and Builders Patch make it easier for developers to find the right parcels based on specific criteria or LIHTC scoring methods. By reducing time and effort in finding and structuring deals, builders can do what they do best – build more units more quickly and welcome customers into their new homes.
How Will You Innovate?
Our mission at Ivory Innovations is to catalyze innovation in housing affordability. We’ve talked with hundreds of companies working on solutions in housing and in association with Ivory Homes, Utah’s largest homebuilder, are supporting as many of these solutions as we can. No one idea will change the industry, but together dozens have a chance at making a real difference.
What are you seeing? What’s coming around the corner? What material, method, or technology are you planning to implement next? Because there is innovation happening everywhere – in the methods I’ve mentioned, in your firms, and across the country. As innovations continue to surface, we’re excited to see how we can collectively think differently, implement something new, and scale these solutions to change the industry one idea at a time.
By Jenna Louie