MOD X’s Post

I came across an insightful article about how Sweden has successfully implemented modular construction to address housing shortages 🏘️, an idea that the U.S. had once considered but never fully embraced. In the 1950s and '60s, Europe saw a boom in modular housing projects, which rapidly created millions of units. Inspired by these projects, architect Ivan Rupnik researched the concept and found an American initiative, Operation Breakthrough, that built nearly 3,000 units in the early 1970s. However, this initiative faded into obscurity, and the U.S. didn't continue with this efficient building method. Sweden, on the other hand, took the idea and ran with it, achieving remarkable results. This contrast raises important questions about innovation adoption and the potential solutions to current housing crisis all over the world 🏡. Modular construction offers a viable path to quickly and affordably increase housing supply. It's time we revisit and seriously consider this approach to address the affordable housing shortage 🔨🏠. #HousingCrisis #ModularConstruction #Innovation #AffordableHousing #Architecture #Design #Innovation

𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 #Sweden has mastered what the U.S. once envisioned: using #modularconstruction to solve housing shortages. Architect Ivan Rupnik's research into Operation Breakthrough, a 1970s U.S. initiative, highlights the untapped potential of industrialized housing that Sweden has fully embraced. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀: 🔹 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵: A U.S. initiative in the 1970s aimed to industrialize housing construction but was halted prematurely. 🔹 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: Nearly half of Sweden's #construction is industrialized, using performance-based codes to foster #innovation and efficiency. 🔹 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆-𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀: Companies like 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗯𝗮̈𝗰𝗸𝘀 apply techniques from the automotive industry to produce high-quality, climate-friendly homes rapidly. 🔹 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: Sweden’s flexible building codes streamline processes and reduce waste, unlike the U.S.'s prescriptive codes. 🔹 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹: With a skilled labor shortage and the urgent need for affordable housing, the U.S. could greatly benefit from adopting similar modular housing strategies. Let's learn from Sweden and reignite the ambition of Operation Breakthrough to address our housing challenges efficiently and sustainably. 🏗️ Read more about how Sweden’s approach to #prefabrication could revolutionize housing. 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧

In 1994, the building regulations in Sweden were changed from having prescriptive code to performance-based code. This change allowed taller timber buildings to be built. This was also the starting point for Lindbäcks to invest in taller timber buildings and start producing these as volumetric elements. One of the first project was student housing at the area of Luleå University of Technology, 2-4-storey buildings. My first apartment as a student was in one these houses. Reflection, Lindbäcks still produces tall timber buildings by using volumes but today with a higher degree of prefabrication and more efficient methods. With the changed of regulation and the power of innovation, climate-smart houses are delivered by Lindbäcks in halved construction time (compare to traditional construction). I didn't know that when I stepped into my first apartment almost 18 years ago but now, I’m know for sure. Reading about Lindbäcks in New York Times and the portrayal they make of how a change in building regulation and industrial construction can change the construction sector and solve the housing shortage that exist both in Sweden and in USA, its impressive! That’s the right path to go! https://lnkd.in/dU-veasa

Interesting read in NY Times about Swedish industrialized wood construction: "In Sweden, 45 percent of construction is industrialized. Builders there also erect tall structures with wood, the preferred housing material in the United States, and the one that’s most climate friendly." https://lnkd.in/gUbg9J_p #swedenscienceinnovation Sveriges Träbyggnadskansli, Byggföretagen, IQ Samhällsbyggnad, Formas, ett forskningsråd för hållbar utveckling, Boverket, Vinnova, Sweden-US Green Transition Initiative, Lindbäcks, MOD X, White Arkitekter

It’s critical for city leaders to not only dismantle power structures that use urban design as a tool of oppression, but also actively support outcomes of justice. Design is powerful, and that power can be used for the betterment of society or to its detriment. Intentional quality urban design is capable of uplifting, engaging, and empowering people. Equitable development begins with the creation of accessible public spaces, affordable housing, and transportation infrastructure. By understanding the intersections and needs of a city’s disparate communities, mayors can implement design practices to enhance residents’ quality of life and economic vitality. #MICD #LeadWithDesign #urbandesign #designleader #mayors #justice #cityplanning #equity #equitabledevelopment

Modular housing is the future of homebuilding.

Modular housing lowers housing costs, supports innovative design, and reduces the carbon footprint. We now need government to allow these innovative housing solutions instead of forcing uniform building codes that drive up costs. https://lnkd.in/g4ZJrp6a

"🏗️ Building in the same old ways won’t end the housing crisis. We need innovation to boost productivity." This article by Mathew Aitchison, Professor of Architecture and CEO of Building 4.0 CRC at Monash University, featured in "The Conversation" is a thought-provoking read! The Australian government has announced a new fund to provide A$500 million per year for much-needed social housing, but the industry lacks the capacity to build as many dwellings as the market needs ⏱️💰🏗️. To meet our housing targets, we need faster, cheaper, and higher-quality ways of building. In his article, Aitchison addresses all the phases: development, design, construction, operation, and, after all, that, end of life before challenging the government to invest just 1% of the billions being spent on building housing in innovation programs, which can deliver the increases in building productivity and capacity that Australia so badly needs. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/ghfBXwRy #21stcenturyhomes #affordablehomes #affordablehousing #airtightconstruction #airtightness #builtformdeveloper #cadcam #carbonfootprint #carbonsink #closedtimberpanel #construction #constructionautomation #constructionindustry #constructionrobotics #constructiontechnology #designedformanufactureandassembly #DfMA #energyeffeciency #engineeredtimberframe #engineeredtimber #homebuilders #homebuilding #housingnews #lowcarbonhomes #lowthermalbridging #massivwalls #mcc #offsite #offsiteconstruction #onedaycraneaway #passivehousebuilder #passivhaus #passivhouse #perthbuilders #perthbuilingindustry #precisionmanufacturing #realestatedevelopment #sellablefloorarea #sustainableconstruction #timberframing #townhousedevelopments #townhouses #zerocarbonhomes #zerolotbuilding #communityhousing #socialhousing #affordablehousing #homelesshousing

Everyone is forwarding the Center Francesca Mari's awesome, big-scope, well-written NY Times article on modular production -- but we are eager to share what the article did not have room to say. This is well-timed. MOD X teamed with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to program the #Innovative Housing Showcase last week, and the panelists Ivan Rupnik, Ryan E. Smith, Tyler Schmetterer, Solomon Greene gathered were truly the leaders of the industry. Watching folks like Michelle Boyd, Zeeshan Mirza, and Santiago Ossa sketch the path around structural barriers to housing innovation... it is worth looking up the transcripts in a few weeks! The article hits almost all the big lessons from Operation Breakthrough -- the need to update regulation, the pressure of dwindling construction labor, and the need to boost productivity. But! In it's high-level overview, it needed to skip a key note: industrialization speeds *products* to market, but true productivity gains await in *how* we connect these products together. This is why the Center for Offsite Construction is laser-focused on open-source connectivity standard to be shared by the entire US Construction Industry. Like the images of the article illustrate, ew can be mass-producing the complex parts of a home soon -- the expensive kitchens, bathrooms and utility rooms where trades must work around each other to complete work. *But* to make these products useful to the widest groups of builders, we need to pre-plan how to install these rooms, how to configure them, and help designers Join us in fixing this big piece! We excited to be talking with new friends at the International Code Council to map a collaboration with #HUD in defining some of these standards through Q3 & Q4! We're talking with elected officials about how these standards will speed jobs and higher pay to the New England. We're not stopping until the dream of this article is a reality. Join in by emailing Jason Van Nest or Mathew Ford today.

ADU, Modular, Prefab, Container, Mobile, and Sustainable Alternative Homes and Communities/ Neighborhoods Big Questions; Where is the Available Land? Is the Purchase and/ or Rent of the Land Affordable?