NSF Award
2331765
The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a panelized, modular housing technology. The United States is experiencing a housing inventory shortfall of 4 million units coupled with a substantial labor shortage in the construction industry. The proposed housing solution may expedite the implementation of housing units and increase the available housing inventory for entry-level buyers. In addition, the housing is designed to decrease the time on site for assembly, which may increase the efficiency of construction labor force and improve developer cost margins. The proposed technology also focuses on fire resiliency as a primary design objective. Given the increased risk from wildfires across various ecosystems, this may improve insurability. More direct impacts include the reduction of carbon emissions through the introduction of a fully reconfigurable and recyclable housing solution and materials.<br/><br/>This I-Corps project is based on the development of a flat-packed modular building construction technology that may be move-in ready in a fraction of the time of standard structural solutions. The proposed technology is a component-based construction system made up of predefined modular components with embedded utilities that may be configured based on the end-user's needs. The structural components are designed to build flexible residential, commercial, and industrial spaces and may be reconfigured, added to, scaled down, disassembled, and moved as needs change. The core elements may be assembled into larger components used to construct a final housing assembly. Each component is designed according to a standardized 1 x 1 x 1 repeatable grid. This x-y-z axis grid establishes the base measurement that will allow the design system to scale on three axes. This repeatable grid system allows the structural components to be assembled, disassembled, and reconfigured based on the occupant’s structural layout requirements, reducing assembly time to 1/8 of traditional building technologies. The reusable components decrease construction and maintenance costs and utilize standardized shipping infrastructure, decreasing the embedded carbon for the transportation and assembly of the structure. The proposed construction method provides responsive and adaptive short- and long-term structural solutions.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
