I’ve been fascinated by the idea of prefabricated housing for years. About six months ago, I promised my listeners that I’d visit an apartment complex in Brooklyn that was built entirely from factory-made components. I finally did it, and what I learned has only strengthened my belief that we are on the cusp of a new era of home building in America.
The Trip to Brooklyn
The complex I visited was a new apartment building for people 55 and older. I had read that this method of building cut the construction time in half and reduced costs by 30%. I was intrigued and knew I had to see it for myself.
It wasn’t a simple trip. It took two subway trains, a bus, and a walk in the rain to get there. When I finally arrived, I was struck by how normal the building looked. It was a new apartment building, plain and simple — no special features on the outside to indicate how it was built.
As I was wandering around taking it all in, a man came out of the building. He turned out to be the property manager, and he was curious about why I was there. I explained my interest in the unique construction method. To my surprise, he had no idea the building he managed had been constructed in a factory and trucked to the site, with each room-by-room component lifted into place by a crane. He was shocked when I told him. It was a testament to how unremarkably normal the final product was.
The Benefits of Prefabricated Housing
This Brooklyn building was a perfect example of what’s possible. The components were pre-plumbed and pre-wired, and the kitchens were already installed when they arrived on-site. The process was simple: lift the pieces into place and hook them together. This method of building is far more energy-efficient and, because it’s a closed-factory environment, it creates less waste than a traditional construction site.
This is a stark contrast to how we’ve been building homes in the U.S. for decades — the slow, inefficient process of stick-built construction on-site, where one delay with a subcontractor can hold up the entire project. This older method also depends on a workforce that is already in short supply.
I believe that modernizing our home-building process is the key to solving our housing affordability and availability crisis. It won’t fix everything, but it can solve a big part of it.
The Future of Home Building
There are so many exciting innovations happening in this space. I recently read a story in Fast Company about a startup called Reframe Systems. They are building micro-factories and have developed software that allows them to build to local codes anywhere in the country. This is a big deal because the U.S. is the only developed country without a national building code, which makes it incredibly difficult to achieve economies of scale with mass production. Reframe’s software and technology allow them to conform to local codes automatically, no matter how complex. This means they can build high-quality, energy-efficient homes faster and at a lower cost, all while dealing with the severe shortage of construction workers in the U.S.
We’re also seeing amazing innovations in materials, like new methods of concrete that can reduce a home’s heating and cooling energy costs by up to 90%. Or new paint technology that can do the same for existing homes.
We have an opportunity to modernize an entire industry that is ripe for change. I believe that by embracing these new methods and technologies, we can finally tackle our country’s housing problems and build a more affordable, sustainable future for everyone.
