Ice Box Challenge Comes to New Mexico
The Northern New Mexico Ice Box Challenge, set to take place in Summer 2025, is a building science demonstration project to highlight energy-efficient building practices, open pathways to trades-careers for local youth, and offer one solution for urgent housing needs. As part of a global initiative, Santa Fe will join a list of cities worldwide that have hosted this innovative event.
Groundbreaking Project Aims to Showcase Energy-Efficient Building Science, Open Trades Pathways for Local Youth, and Offer a Housing Solution for Northern New Mexicans in Need
by Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association
Santa Fe, NM — A coalition of housing, educational, and community care organizations, including Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association, Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity, Esperanza Shelter, Santa Fe Community College, Youth Works, Early College Opportunities, B. Public Prefab, and National Association of Home Builders, announce the Northern New Mexico Ice Box Challenge for 2025.
The Northern New Mexico Ice Box Challenge, set to take place in Summer 2025, is a building science demonstration project to highlight energy-efficient building practices, open pathways to trades-careers for local youth, and offer one solution for urgent housing needs. As part of a global initiative, Santa Fe will join a list of cities worldwide that have hosted this innovative event.
The IceBox Challenge will feature three tiny homes constructed and exhibited by youth with coaching by local trade professionals. Each tiny home will be constructed to different building efficiency standards - from ultra-efficient passive house standards, to a 2021 modern code, and a 1950's era construction standard.
All three tiny homes will be displayed near the NM State Capital building and loaded with approximately one ton of ice for the demonstration. Exposed to the summer sun, the amount of ice left in each house after the exhibition will demonstrate how different construction methods drastically impact energy consumption and how changes to building codes contribute to climate solutions.
Empowering the Next Generation
For the first time in IceBox Challenge history, high school-aged youth will participate in the construction work, gaining hands-on experience in cutting-edge energy-efficient construction techniques. The challenge not only educates but also opens up pathways toward careers in construction, design, and skilled trades.
Community Impact
Post-challenge, the tiny homes will serve as safe emergency housing for the Esperanza Shelter, reinforcing the project’s commitment to social impact and community well-being.
A Collaborative Effort - The IceBox Challenge unites a diverse team of contributors:
ECO High School: Constructing a tiny home that meets New Mexico Residential Building Codes (2021).
Santa Fe Community College: Building and then Retrofitting (after the exhibition) a lower-performing 1950s-era home with energy-saving upgrades.
YouthWorks and Habitat for Humanity: Building tiny homes to the Passive House standards using advanced construction and insulation techniques.
This hands-on public event invites the community to witness the power of energy-efficient design, helps open pathways into the trades for young people, and assists with emergency housing for a local women's shelter. Sponsorship opportunities are available to support youth involvement and sustainable housing initiatives.
Focused on the Future in New Mexico
New Mexico’s growing popularity presents an opportunity to develop innovative affordable housing models for its expanding population. Fortunately, one woman-owned, public-benefit corporation has stepped up to the challenge. B.PUBLIC Prefab launched in 2019 to make climate-friendly homes more accessible for residents. To do so, the company creates high-performance, prefabricated assemblies that expedite the building process.
Advanced manufacturers in New Mexico are addressing workforce and housing needs.
By Val Hunt Beerbower on November 27, 2024
Livability: New Mexico
Advanced manufacturers in New Mexico are leveraging the state’s resources and talent pool to drive innovation.
As a result, creative solutions are arising for modern-day challenges. For example, Albuquerque startup Build With Robots is tackling workforce demands, while B.PUBLIC Prefab in Santa Fe is developing affordable housing options.
Advocating for Affordable Housing
New Mexico’s growing popularity presents an opportunity to develop innovative affordable housing models for its expanding population. Fortunately, one woman-owned, public-benefit corporation has stepped up to the challenge.
B.PUBLIC Prefab launched in 2019 to make climate-friendly homes more accessible for residents. To do so, the company creates high-performance, prefabricated assemblies that expedite the building process.
“We believe that the shortage in housing is a humanitarian crisis,” says Edie Dillman, CEO and co-founder of B.PUBLIC Prefab. “Building faster, better, responsive housing to address specific and growing needs is urgent, and all effort should be made to create access and affordability.”
Dillman’s company generates insulated wall panels that are assembled into houses and low-rise multifamily buildings. The company also offers floor plans that developers or any potential homeowner can use to design a home.
In addition, the company launched a wall panel that meets the requirements for a single building material that provides all the structure, insulation, and air and weather barriers for the shell of any building from one to three stories high. Introduced at the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas, this advance in the manufacturing process replaces the time-consuming steps of a site-built project into a single order, delivery and installation.
“Our little company was on the biggest stage for building materials, among 1,800 exhibitors and 76,000 attendees. We were the only company of our kind there and making a big splash,” Dillman says.
She credits collaborative efforts from public and private institutions in New Mexico with jump-starting companies like hers and ensuring businesses have the support they need to succeed. The Job Training Incentive Program, for instance, funds classroom and on-the-job training for newly created jobs in expanding or relocating businesses. The program reimburses 50% to 90% of employee wages, allowing companies like B.PUBLIC Prefab to pay new staff while they’re in training.
“We look to our local and state economic development departments for ideas, advisers, encouragement and opportunities, and we always get their support,” Dillman says. “Innovation and entrepreneurship are a part of the culture of New Mexico. People are very encouraging of new ideas and creating something unique here. We have also been very fortunate to have support from the state in many ways.”
Santa Fe Institute to build lecture hall with eye on sustainability
B.PUBLIC Prefab produced sustainable components, such as floors, walls and roof, for the forum. These prefabricated materials act as "the thermal envelope for a building" and will use 90% less energy than other buildings like it, said Jonah Stanford, co-founder and chief technical officer of B.PUBLIC Prefab. This novel, and green, approach to building is one of the reasons B.PUBLIC Prefab was chosen to work on the project, Tom Easterson-Bond, the in-house architect for SFI, told the Journal.
Congratulations to an amazing team for a vision for building sustainably with building science at the center. Thank you to ABQ Journal and Jay Newton-Small for great coverage on this breaking news.
December 5, 2024
By Kevin Opsahl / Journal Staff Writer
For many physicists, everything in life is recycled: We are, after all, just once and future stardust. The Santa Fe Institute will be building on that idea quite literally this year, using recycled newspapers and prefab materials to construct a new lecture hall on its Miller Tesuque campus.
SFI, a highly regarded nonprofit studying science from a multidisciplinary viewpoint, partnered with Santa Fe’s B.PUBLIC Prefab on the Gurley Forum.
B.PUBLIC Prefab produced sustainable components, such as floors, walls and roof, for the forum. These prefabricated materials act as "the thermal envelope for a building" and will use 90% less energy than other buildings like it, said Jonah Stanford, co-founder and chief technical officer of B.PUBLIC Prefab. This novel, and green, approach to building is one of the reasons B.PUBLIC Prefab was chosen to work on the project, Tom Easterson-Bond, the in-house architect for SFI, told the Journal.
SFI approached his organization in the summer of 2022 to work on the 5,000-square-foot Gurley Forum, named after a longtime supporter. Before this, B.PUBLIC Prefab, founded in Santa Fe in 2019, had only built single family homes.
Stanford said it felt like a compliment for SFI to approach his organization to work with them on the forum. "We were definitely honored to be involved in (the project), just because the Santa Fe Institute does include some of the (most) creative, forward-thinking thinkers in the world," he said. "We are definitely in sync in terms of thinking long term around our community and our environment."
Albuquerque-based StoneBridge Construction and Design was tapped as the general contractor on the project. "B.PUBLIC and StoneBridge Construction and Design ... have done an exceptional job helping to bring a complicated narrative project to life," Easterson-Bond said.
Gilbert Almager, owner of StoneBridge Construction and Design, complimented the forum for its "unique look" and sustainable materials.
"I am very excited," he said. "We're getting closer and closer (to completion). It's going well."
Janet Gunn, vice president for administration at SFI, said the institute made a choice early on in the project to find local builders to work with them.
"We felt it would actually make the project come together in a smooth and seamless way, and it did," Gunn said.
The forum, which began construction in August and is expected to be complete in early 2025, will not be open to the public.
SFI, founded in 1984, has long studied cross-disciplinary science on its Cowan Campus in Santa Fe and has more recently been adding programs to its Miller Campus ever since it was gifted to the institute in 2012. The expansion of programming and need for more meeting space on the campus spurred the need for the Gurley Forum, Gunn said.
"You're not going to feel hot and stuffy" inside the forum, Stanford said.
Offsite Builder covers B.PUBLIC Builder Training
CEO and Co-Founder Edie Dillman says that the company has a strong commitment to the sharing of knowledge. “We focus on education that supports a builder’s evolution to hybrid site construction, assisted by offsite; on owner education about sustainability and performance; and on helping architects evolve their practice to higher code [requirements], lower carbon impacts and [greater use of] technology.”
Hands-On Training
Heather Wallace Featured in Offsite Builder
December 2, 2024
B.Public Prefab understands that trained installers are key to expanding its market, as well as the market for other prefab solutions.
The saying, “knowledge itself is power” is generally attributed to English philosopher Sir Francis Bacon. The phrase stemmed from his belief that knowledge provides something greater than physical strength — it enables people to make informed decisions based on data, resulting in proficient problem solvers.
Knowledge, however, is really only powerful if it’s shared.
That’s certainly the belief of B.Public Prefab, a New Mexico-based manufacturer of high-performance prefabricated homes that meet Passive House standards.
CEO and Co-Founder Edie Dillman says that the company has a strong commitment to the sharing of knowledge. “We focus on education that supports a builder’s evolution to hybrid site construction, assisted by offsite; on owner education about sustainability and performance; and on helping architects evolve their practice to higher code [requirements], lower carbon impacts and [greater use of] technology.”
Currently, B.Public operates with a distributed manufacturing model, with five manufacturers across the US. It needs local, trained installers in those areas.
Hands On
To fulfill this need, B.Public regularly offers High Performance Prefab Installer Training events at their factory in Las Vegas, New Mexico. During the two-day training, participants are given an overview of the Passive House approach and the strategies and materials needed. Classes are taught in conjunction with 475 High Performance Building Supply, which sells mechanical and building envelope products, and ships across the US and Canada.
During the hands-on portion of the training, attendees practice taping and sealing with B.Public’s choice of air and weather sealing products from Pro Clima, an international company focused on air tightness and vapor control.
B.Public CTO and Co-Founder Jonah Stafford (AIA), one of the first US design professionals trained in the Passive House standard, educates participants on how to successfully work with the company — from workflows to site prep considerations, to understanding how to properly receive and store prefabricated building assemblies. For traditional on-site builders, this instruction provides insights into the differences involved in building with airtight, offsite components.
On day two of the training, attendees learn the rigging, hoisting and safety standards surrounding crane coordination and signaling. Participants then practice signaling with a crane operator as they rig, square, and attach wall and roof panels. The day ends with a short ceremony where graduates are recognized as trained installers for B.Public Prefab products.
Industry Benefits
The company consistently uses field feedback from trainees for constant improvement in their training materials. For instance, father-son team, Eli and Chris Waterhouse, experienced builders based in Colorado, attended a recent training session after completing a challenging, highly custom build using B.Public components. Participants were able to glean best practices from the duo as a result of their own successes and failures.
So, is the training a marketing ploy? Yes, and no. Most builders who participate in B.Public’s Installer Training do not have projects scheduled with the company. Instead, they are interested in advancing opportunities and being a part of a community of builders.
“We hope that all of these builders [who attend our trainings] will build with us, but that isn’t a requirement or a measure of our success,” says Dillman. “We are passionate about what we know and have developed. The sharing of knowledge is a part of our success metric.”
The training is also applicable to set and stitch crews for other prefab high-performance envelope systems. In fact, B.Public has convened a consortium of wood-based panelizers across North America to develop collaborative opportunities and shared resources to move the offsite market forward.
Design Education
A good training program also identifies the holes and biggest recurring challenges. And with the offsite industry, many times those challenges revolve around gaps in architectural practice, and architects’ exposure to new building methods.
“Traditionally, air tightness in the Passive House method is the thing that ends up costing the most and is almost always underbuilt by architects,” says JD Scott, B.Public’s lead architect. “As a licensed architect, I appreciate the power of formal design education,” he says. “However, architecture schools have traditionally incentivized practices that can conflict with high-performance building principles.”
He notes that design education rewards students who break with conventions. It encourages them to constantly “reinvent the wheel” on projects, which means that graduates enter professional practice with the notion that every project must somehow be groundbreaking or complex. “As a result, architects often have an aversion to working within parameters and systems they perceive to be limiting to their authenticity as designers.”
However, Scott has not found parameters to be limiting at all.
“Hard parameters drive creativity and innovation on projects. When I work with my own clients — most of whom are on tight budgets — I let them know that they can invest in complexity for a single, special moment (a large set of windows, for instance), but that the rest of the project should be straightforward. I like to think that we are imparting this approach onto other architects as well.”
In addition to its Installer Training, B.Public offers an architect training program. It also presents to architects and designers at conferences and workshops, and holds regular “Lunch and Learn” events for architects, builders, developers and real estate professionals to gather together and explore innovative technologies, strategies and solutions for the future of the building industry.
“We hope to inspire people to take action with what we offer,” says Dillman. “New construction is challenging for all parties — it makes sense to us that everyone is more resilient when they know what impact they can affect.”
For upcoming events and webinars with B.Public Prefab visit www.bpublicprefab.com/-events-webinars.
B.PUBLIC At Build Show Live
We attended Build Show LIVE in Austin, Texas and had a blast partnering with Retrotec and joining them in their booth at the show.
We attended Build Show LIVE in Austin, Texas and had a blast partnering with Retrotec and joining them in their booth at the show.
Builders, Craftsmen and Innovators Unite: Build Show LIVE Sparks a Movement in Building Science
AUSTIN, TX / ACCESSWIRE / November 13, 2024
Build Show LIVE, the brand-new tradeshow held last week in the heart of Austin, was the launch of a transformative movement, bringing together passionate builders, remodelers, architects and manufacturers from 47 states and nine countries, who are committed to elevating the future of residential construction.
Throughout three dynamic days, more than 300 VIPs and thousands of construction professionals engaged in expert-led workshops, live product demonstrations, exclusive home tours and networking opportunities with manufacturers showcasing a range of the most advanced and high-performance building products. A highlight for many, the off-site home tour experience led attendees through a powerful immersion into cutting-edge building science and craftsmanship outside of the expo hall and into real-life applications. The tour highlighted an in-progress Risinger Build home under construction and a finished masterpiece by celebrity building expert Matt Risinger. "The learning experience was invaluable," one attendee notes. "Hearing from Matt himself and seeing how each product played a role in the overall design really reinforced the importance of detail and quality."
Build Show LIVE created a platform for quality conversations and meaningful connections. Exhibitors experienced record-high engagement, connecting with a targeted audience of custom home builders, general contractors and remodelers eager to learn how to build better and innovate. "The caliber of attendees was incredible, with builders looking to solve real-world challenges with real solutions," says an exhibitor. "This is exactly the community we want to be part of."
Builders who attended Build Show LIVE share a vision of constructing quality homes that goes beyond the ordinary. These professionals show exemplary focus on high-performance, energy-efficient products and are meticulous about detail, design and above all, quality. For them, the event represented a deeper commitment to reshaping industry standards and an ongoing dedication to the growing new home market.
"The launch of Build Show LIVE showcased our unparalleled expertise in building industry marketplaces, seamlessly complemented by The Build Show's exceptional content creation and deep knowledge of building science," shares Kevin Thornton, Senior Vice President of Infrastructure and Construction at Informa Markets. "The collaboration resulted in a highly engaged, purpose-driven experience where construction professionals could come together to gain the knowledge, skills and resources needed to perfect their building techniques."
Build Show LIVE fuels a movement that emphasizes quality, craftsmanship and environmental responsibility. The community is united by a shared mission to Know Better. Build Better.™ Builders, remodelers and contractors left inspired, equipped and ready to apply what they learned, whether through innovative products, the latest building science practices or invaluable connections with like-minded peers and mentors.
"Build Show LIVE represents a groundbreaking evolution in how the construction industry engages with content, expert builders and craftspeople," shares Matt Risinger, Founder of The Build Show. "It lays an essential foundation in the South, offering building professionals the resources and insights needed to construct high performance healthy homes."
In the words of another exhibitor: "Build Show LIVE is a testament to what is possible when passionate people come together to drive change in our industry."
Introducing the 2024 Builders Lab Cohort
Today, Terner Labs announced the inaugural cohort of ventures for its Builders Lab. The Builders Lab is an accelerator program that works with innovators in architecture, engineering, construction and hardware to scale efficient, cost-effective and sustainable methods of housing delivery across the U.S.
Article from Terner Labs
Terner Labs announces inaugural Builders Lab cohort and strategic partnerships to build housing better
Today, Terner Labs announced the inaugural cohort of ventures for its Builders Lab. The Builders Lab is an accelerator program that works with innovators in architecture, engineering, construction and hardware to scale efficient, cost-effective and sustainable methods of housing delivery across the U.S.
Terner Labs also announced that industry leaders Eden Housing, Hilti, SCB, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), and Suffolk Construction have joined the Builders Lab as strategic partners. Their institutional expertise from diverse standpoints within the housing, construction and architecture ecosystem will support cohort members as they seek to scale and advance industry-wide change.
Terner Labs created the Builders Lab to address challenges faced by companies pioneering new approaches for building housing within the traditional entrepreneurial ecosystem: product-market fit, financing,and a complex regulatory landscape. But the ongoing housing crisis and growing focus on climate impacts make innovation in the sector a necessity.
It has become increasingly clear that our housing delivery system needs to significantly increase its scale and sustainability, and innovators must play a crucial role.
Ben Metcalf, CEO of Terner Labs
The program builds on the success of the Housing Venture Lab, which has supported more than 20 ventures advancing affordability, sustainability and equity in housing since 2019.
The Builders Lab will support a group of geographically diverse early- to middle-stage companies over nine months, offering coaching, curated curriculum, visibility to Terner Labs’ network of regulators and policymakers across government, and relationship-building opportunities with strategic partners and advisors. The programs will also host an international study tour to deepen cohort members’ familiarity with mature industrialized construction ecosystems.
This year’s cohort includes six trailblazing companies representing a diversity of approaches to industrialized construction across the United States: Villa, B.PUBLIC Prefab, MODS PDX, Cloud Apartments, Cycle Retrotech, and Hydronic Shell. Each brings unique potential for growing innovation in the architecture, engineering and construction sector.
“We are excited to work with our strategic partners to support these industry pioneers, and together we hope to drive meaningful change toward a more sustainable and accessible housing future,” said Ben White, Director of the Builders Lab.
“The Builders Lab will accelerate the delivery of innovative solutions to our housing crisis, helping make it more available, affordable and sustainable,” said Eden Housing’s President Linda Mandolini. “We believe everyone deserves a safe, affordable and healthy place to call home, and this collaboration will help create meaningful change for countless individuals and families.”
“At Hilti, we're committed to driving innovation in the construction industry. The Builders Lab program aligns perfectly with our vision of creating more productive, safer and more sustainable construction. We're excited to partner with Terner Labs and support these promising startups as they work to revolutionize housing delivery across the U.S.” said Antonia Soler-Blasco, Head of Hilti Venture.
“As an urban architecture firm, SCB is deeply invested in providing design solutions for housing that prioritize affordability and sustainability and enhance community well-being. We are excited to collaborate with Terner Labs on this important initiative and look forward to engaging with the innovative companies in the Builders Lab cohort. Together, we aim to advance techniques that will provide a measurable impact on the delivery of housing for communities across the country,” said Strachan Forgan, AIA, SCB Principal and Executive Director.
"We are proud to support Terner Labs' mission to pioneer new approaches to building housing," said SOM Architect Lisa Follman. "We look forward to leveraging our expertise in architecture, sustainable engineering, structural engineering, and urban planning as a strategic Partner to the inaugural cohort of the Builders Lab and extending our legacy of catalyzing policies that can enable housing innovations."
"Together, by pushing the boundaries of what's possible, we can build a future where sustainable and accessible housing is not just an ambition, but a reality for all. Suffolk is excited to form powerful partnerships, and leverage innovations to build not only faster and more affordably, but also smarter and more sustainably. Through collaboration, we are paving the way for a new era of housing that unites expertise with cutting-edge tools to transform communities for generations to come,” said Karri Novak, California Project Development Vice President at Suffolk.
The Builders Lab is a program of Terner Labs, an organization founded out of the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley. The Builders Lab has received generous support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and JPMorgan Chase & Co, along with a growing group of senior-level strategic advisors and government supporters. To get updates about the Builders Lab and other initiatives, sign up for the Terner Labs newsletter and follow Terner Labs on LinkedIn.
More about the Builders Lab cohort:
B.PUBLIC Prefab
B.PUBLIC is a sustainability-focused manufacturer of panelized building systems based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. B.PUBLIC is centered on advanced construction methods that are better for homebuilders, homeowners, and the planet. Their product design, materials specs, and industry training programming equip builders to implement sustainable building practices, counteract the rapidly shrinking construction workforce, speed up the adoption of carbon-appropriate materials, off-site construction, and NetZero building performance. This team of architects, building scientists, tradespeople, and innovators is addressing housing, climate, and labor crises through off-site construction.
Cloud Apartments
San Francisco-based Cloud Apartments is a data-driven developer platform transforming the construction of multi-family housing into a repeatable, scaleable, and profitable process through a patented modular product and network of certified partners. Cloud leverages its innovation and business model to reduce the cost of construction, enabling cities to increase housing supply quickly & efficiently.
Cycle Retrotech
Cycle Retrotech, based in Brooklyn, NY, provides integrated energy and electrification retrofit solutions for multi-family buildings. Leveraging the products of an array of manufacturing partners, Cycle designs, plans and manages the retrofit process from building assessment through design, fabrication, installation, and monitoring. Their turnkey, replicable approach aims to meet the large and growing demand for decarbonization retrofits.
Hydronic Shell
Hydronic Shell is a hardware technology provider based in New York, NY. They have patented a componentized roof- and facade-mounted HVAC system to unlock deep energy retrofit and electrification feasibility for multifamily housing. Their system includes all elements necessary to deliver complete heating, cooling, and ventilation to each unit in tall residential buildings, and by enclosing the components within the new facade, they avoid displacing residents during installation.
MODS PDX
MODS PDX is a leading modular builder in the Pacific Northwest, manufacturing volumetric housing units using mass plywood panels, an innovative mass timber product. The company has worked with a diverse array of customers including developers building workforce housing and cities building temporary housing for the unhoused. Operating in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California and Nevada, MODS PDX’s leadership brings 15 years of experience in modular design and delivery to their efforts to address the housing crisis.
Villa
Villa, based in San Francisco, is a next-generation homebuilding platform that applies modern offsite construction methods and technology to efficiently build much-needed housing in infill locations. Villa’s mission is to be the easiest, fastest, and most cost-efficient way to build quality homes. By partnering with a wide network of offsite housing manufacturers, Villa acts as a demand aggregation and fulfillment partner that provides a seamless customer experience through discovery, feasibility, permitting, installation (project management and general contracting), and post-completion service. Villa is currently a leading builder of ADUs throughout California and is expanding into building primary homes across a variety of ‘missing middle’ typologies.
Shape Architecture and B.PUBLIC Prefab Announce Exciting Design Collaboration for High-Performance Homes
Shape Architecture and B.PUBLIC Prefab are thrilled to announce their trailblazing design collaboration, leveraging their combined expertise to deliver a series of high-performance, high-quality, and delightful home plans. This partnership, marked by innovation and sustainability, will see the monthly release of new signature home plans available for licensing through the remainder of 2024.
Innovative Partnership to Release New Signature Home Plans Monthly Through 2024
DENVER, CO, September 9, 2024
Shape Architecture and B.PUBLIC Prefab are thrilled to announce their trailblazing design collaboration, leveraging their combined expertise to deliver a series of high-performance, high-quality, and delightful home plans. This partnership, marked by innovation and sustainability, will see the monthly release of new signature home plans available for licensing through the remainder of 2024. These two leading companies in Passive House join forces to offer homeowners and developers beautifully designed homes to be built with B.PUBLIC’s panels for healthy, low-energy, low-carbon long-term sustainability.
Shape Architecture, renowned for its sustainable architecture, building science expertise, and compelling, site-responsive designs, has joined forces with B.PUBLIC Prefab, a leader in high-performance prefabricated building solutions. This collaboration merges Shape Architecture's award-winning design approach with B.PUBLIC Prefab's cutting-edge prefab panelized construction, resulting in homes that are visually striking and built to the highest standards of performance and sustainability.
Each home plan, meticulously crafted by Shape Architecture and constructed with B.PUBLIC Prefab’s wall/roof/floor panels, embodies the future of residential living. These plans emphasize energy efficiency, durability, and modern design, setting a new benchmark for high-performance homes.
Key Details of the Collaboration
Monthly Releases: Starting this September, a new signature home plan will be unveiled, providing a diverse range of options for prospective homeowners and builders.
High-Performance Focus: Each design is crafted to meet the highest standards of energy efficiency and environmental responsibility, leveraging B.PUBLIC Prefab’s advanced prefab technology.
Ongoing Partnership: This initiative reflects a commitment to ongoing innovation and collaboration, with plans to continue releasing new designs throughout 2024.
“We are excited to embark on this journey with B.PUBLIC Prefab,” said Steve Scribner, Principal at Shape Architecture. “Our shared vision for high-performance living and commitment to sustainable design make this partnership a natural fit. Together, we are setting new standards for what is possible in modern home design.”
“Partnering with Shape Architecture allows us to showcase their beautiful work and offer a Shape original,” adds Charlotte Lagarde, COO at B.PUBLIC Prefab. “We have been fans of Shape for many years. Both teams have worked together and have the utmost respect and joy in collaborating. This is going to be fun for our clients to work with these great professionals.”
The first of these signature home plans will be revealed on September 14th from the Colorado Green Building Guild’s Green Home tour, with subsequent releases scheduled for the remainder of 2024. Builders, developers, and homeowners interested in licensing these cutting-edge designs are encouraged to visit www.bpublicprefab.com/collabs for more information and to explore the exciting new offerings.
The Cascade House (named after the dramatic and serene landscape of Northern Washington), is designed to be compact and efficient while expansive and flexible. At just 1,660 sf, it includes three bedrooms and a generous common kitchen/ living/ dining space, as well as a small home office, mudroom, laundry room, and pantry. A screened-in porch off the dining room and generous covered patio expands the useable space significantly, helping integrate the simple footprint into the landscape and enabling a truly indoor-outdoor lifestyle. Small on cost and square footage, big on natural light, flexibility, efficiency, and connection to the land!
About Shape Architecture
Established in 2016, Shape Architecture Studio is an award-winning, values-driven company committed to pushing the limits of sustainability and design. They are passionate about creating positive impact in communities across the country, through attainable, site specific architecture that embraces the passive house standard.
At Shape, sustainability isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a guiding principle. This means using energy modeling and building science to drive energy use to the lowest levels possible. And importantly, they strive to do this at competitive price points - it is their mission to make truly sustainable architecture accessible to everyone, without compromising on aesthetics. They work hard to create delightful, site-specific work that is appealing and approachable for people of all tastes and preferences - by making Passive house levels of sustainability attractive and affordable to a wider population, they are helping drive demand for better buildings, and together with B.PUBLIC are excited to move the needle toward a lower-carbon society. SHAPE was announced Winner of AIA Colorado “Young Firm of the Year 2024 on September 12, 2024.
For more information, visit www.shapearchitect.com
About B.PUBLIC Prefab
B.PUBLIC Prefab is a leader in high-performance prefab construction, specializing in creating sustainable and efficient building solutions. With a commitment to quality and innovation, B.PUBLIC Prefab transforms the way homes are designed and built, offering a range of prefab options that meet the highest performance standards, including Passive House. B.PUBLIC Prefab launched the COLLABS portfolio of pre-designed home plans in 2023 with HereAbout Homes and will continue to partner with leading architects to offer a wide range of home plans from ADUs to TownHomes. B.PUBLIC is a woman-owned public benefit corporation based in New Mexico, working across the US with leading green architects and builders for new construction. For more information, visit bpublicprefab.com.
About Collabs
B.PUBLIC Collaborations (Collabs) brings together leading architects and the B.PUBLIC studio to offer clients beautiful and deeply sustainable pre-designed plans for new construction. As a prefab manufacturer focused on high-performance sustainable materials, B.PUBLIC supplies prefab structures to Architects and Builders across the US. Their innovative design and fabrication support the speed and accuracy of craftsman construction to custom projects. COLLABS is an opportunity for customers to access world-class architectural design and sustainable construction through a beautifully curated collection of home plans. Design collaborations have a long and exciting history from leading fashion brands, artists, celebrities, and designers - B.PUBLIC’s COLLABS is unique as it is a way for the mission-centered corporation to make exceptional architectural designs and green excellence an accessible option for individuals and developers. COLLABS is a program that showcases timeless designs and forward-thinking architects that B.PUBLIC is proud to celebrate.
What is Passive House?
“Passive House design empowers us to manage moisture, thermal transfer, air, and sunlight to create comfortable, healthy, super-efficient buildings. The “classic five” Passive House design principles—continuous insulation, thermal bridge-free design, airtight construction, high performance windows and doors, and filtered fresh air with heat recovery—are joined by the principles of shading, daylighting and solar gain, efficient water heating and distribution, moisture management in assemblies, and building orientation to create durable, high performance buildings where people can thrive.
The Passive House approach empowers us to build better. It creates durable, resilient buildings that slash heating energy use by as much as 90% and dramatically reduce operational carbon emissions. Passive House design tools and methods make these energy performance gains both cost-effective and predictable. You know what performance to expect with a certified Passive House.
Most importantly, Passive House buildings create healthy, comfortable, and quiet interior environments, full of clean, filtered fresh air.”
Developing sustainability
EDIE DILLMAN Featured on Santa Fe New Mexican
Prefab company focused on environmental sustainability gets state funds for hiring
B.Public Prefab is looking to grow. So it only made sense that the Santa Fe and Las Vegas, N.M.-based company applied for — and, pending reaching certain benchmarks, is set to receive — approximately $158,450 from the state’s Job Training Incentive Program, or JTIP, to train a group of employees across its manufacturing and design operations.
The company, which has a focus on environmental responsibility and housing sustainability, has been around since 2019, building what co-founder and CEO Edie Dilman calls pre- fabricated systems to build new homes that in essence help homeowners save on energy costs.
“We decided in 2019 that a low-energy conservation approach is one thing we can do around climate, and then we can take action on building homes that require almost no energy and are way healthier and super quiet and are built to stand for generations,” Dilman said. “We rolled out the company with sort of a Lego-like kit of parts — we have 89 components — to kind of design and build anything. If you think what we do is Lego, it’s Legos that you’re going to stucco.”
While the company’s approach to building home systems is not new — there are others across the country and globe that are doing the same thing — the focus on sustainability in building low-energy framing is an area in which companies are still playing catch-up, Dilman said.
Because of that, and the processes the company takes in building the shell for a home from its manufacturing facility in Las Vegas, Dilman said training is an important task for the company to take on when it makes new hires or when it partners with homebuilders who will eventually install the pieces that make up a home.
The company plans to use $81,136 in state money for a group of hires at its Santa Fe o!ce — including, for instance, an architect, an engineer and an intern.
About $77,314 will go toward hiring five workers in Las Vegas, which Dilman says are jobs focused on production — ”The hands-on framing and insulating,” she said — as well as a foreman and o!ce administrator.
“There’s sort of a built-in curriculum to what we do,” Dilman said. “Our system is designed to achieve this passive house certification or performance level. And so there’s a lot in everything that we do that talks about what that approach is.”
The company has, to date, helped build around 12 energy-e!cient frames for homes, and the state money will help the company produce more. This year, Dilman said, the company plans to build around 10 frames for homes at the Las Vegas facility and is in production to help build the lecture hall at the Santa Fe Institute’s Miller Campus.
The company doesn’t get the state funding right away. Instead, the job training incentives from the program reimburses about 50% to 75% of employee wages through the program for up to six months of training. That means a company like B.Public Prefab has about six months to find new hires after getting approval from the state and another six months to train those workers before it receives the money.
Dilman said finding workers and getting them to stay can be a challenge. The company has applied for the job training funding once before, getting the go-ahead on $175,000 to hire and train workers, but received just a portion of that.
“We left a fair amount on the table, which is hard,” Dilman said. “The state is not taking the risk — the risk is on the business.”
B.Public Prefab’s award amounts, announced over April and May, come as other local businesses are also set to receive money.
Broken Arrow Glass Recycling will have the opportunity to get up to $66,653 to train six workers, according to an April news release from the New Mexico Economic Development Department, which manages the job training program. Parting Stone is set to receive about $10,750 to train two workers.
And Los Alamos-based UbiQD, which manufactures quantum dot products, can receive up to $307,548 to train 10 employees, according to a May news release.
The funding, announced monthly, for May was also the highest award amount ever, according to Economic Development Department Acting Cabinet Secretary Mark Roper, with 13 businesses combining for more than $6 million from the state.
For Dilman and B.Public Prefab, the state funding is more than just money.
“I think we’re really as a company committed to training people and sort of empowering people to be their best and have a pathway in the company,” she said. “And so JTIP gives us ... certainly confidence that we can, but it also gives us financial flexibility to do that and certainly take risks and take time to train people.”
Homeowners' Journey to Rebuild
EDIE DILLMAN Featured on Offsite Dirt | www.offsitedirt.com
Dive into the inspiring journey of a California couple, Sebastian Little and Tonje Wold-Switzer, who embarked on a mission to create their dream home using sustainable solutions.
A High -performance home designed to last decades, optimize energy usage, quiet inside, and slash construction time. That's the vision Sebastian and Tonje had in mind when they began their quest.
But their journey wasn't without its challenges. They experienced the devastation of a California wildfire, which razed their home and those of their neighbors to the ground. Determined to rebuild smarter and stronger, they took matters into their own hands.
Through research for Passive Homes, they discovered the perfect match: Edie Dillman and the B.Public Prefab panel system. This collaboration wasn't just about building a house; it was about aligning values and creating sustainable solutions for the future.
Tonje passionately shared their story, highlighting how this partnership transformed not only their living space but also their lives. Their home became a sanctuary of happiness and resilience, a testament to the power of mindful design.
Tonje passionately shared their story, highlighting how this partnership transformed not only their living space but also their lives. Their home became a sanctuary of happiness and resilience, a testament to the power of mindful design.
But Sebastian and Tonje didn't stop there. They became community activists, spreading awareness about the importance of high-performance homes and offering their neighbors a firsthand look at the benefits. Through open houses and education initiatives, they're empowering others to make informed choices for a sustainable future.
So, next time you think about building (XX), remember the Switzers' story. It's proof that with determination, collaboration, and a commitment to sustainability, it is possible.
THE PROMISE OF PREFAB
EDIE DILLMAN Featured on Green Fire Times | www.greenfiretimes.com
B.PUBLIC Prefab Paving the Way for Local Homebuilders to Accelerate Green Building
The adage “think globally—act locally” is at the heart of the New Mexico-based B.PUBLIC Prefab. The start-up is dedicated to enabling healthier, climate-friendly homes for more people by providing high-performance, prefabricated assemblies that simplify and speed the building process.
Co-founder Edie Dillman welcomed a tour from the Passive House Network’s annual conference.
B.PUBLIC Prefab recognizes the potential of local expertise and provides them with the means to build greener homes.
Creating a new building approach and shifting the practice of U.S. architects and builders is no simple task. Perhaps it was naive when they entered the market with high-performance building components that “build it and they will come” would be faster and simpler than they imagined. As with most start-ups, what begins as a simple idea quickly grows into a series of complexities. Fortunately, as a public benefit corporation, B.PUBLIC doubled down on market transformation and started creating programs to evolve its offering beyond products including builder training and workshops for architects.
Off-site construction is only 4 percent of U.S. construction and is mostly in commercial projects. Most small-to-midsize homebuilders have never worked with off-site construction, so they needed to be trained and empowered to add prefab into their practice. “We designed a product for contractors to build months faster and to the highest green performance, but realized we needed to support them well past providing estimates and panels, said Charlotte Lagard, B.PUBLIC’s COO and co-founder. “So, we created the first-of-its-kind training program at our Las Vegas, New Mexico facility. We know that tradespeople have the power to take climate action every day by using carbon-positive materials and building super energy-efficient buildings, and we can help them harness their skills for the better. By adding to their expertise in a day we have made them ready.” The quarterly installer two-day training covers a lot quickly to jump-start teams into the future of construction. The training will be offered April 19-20 and July 19-20.
Firms are shifting to sustainability as a core principle in design and they are looking for materials and technology to realize that mission.
B.PUBLIC Prefab is leading the charge, empowering tradespeople to accelerate green building practices, addressing the substantial 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions generated by buildings. Since their launch in 2019, prefabricated construction, or prefab, has emerged as a promising solution, especially in the hands of local homebuilders.
The Power of Local Homebuilders
Local homebuilders are the backbone of communities, possessing a unique understanding of regional needs and challenges. With the right tools and resources, these tradespeople can be instrumental in transforming the construction industry to become more sustainable. B.PUBLIC Prefab recognizes the potential of local expertise and is dedicated to providing them with the means to build greener homes. B.PUBLIC’s approach emphasizes the importance of individual efforts in collectively addressing environmental challenges, with local builders playing a crucial role in this transformation.
Changing the Industry One Person at a Time:
The shift toward sustainable building practices begins with individuals passionate about making a difference. B.PUBLIC Prefab works directly with architects and designers across the county to specify prefab in their plans. “Many firms are shifting to sustainability as a core principle in design, and they are looking for materials and technology to realize that mission,” said Edie Dillman, CEO. “We offer workshops, design support, and technical tools for design to get them there. To succeed, sustainability and performance goals should be considered from day one of a project. We are happy to share all we know and open our doors to all curious about learning new ways.”
Tradespeople have the power to take climate action every day by using carbon-positive materials and building super energy-efficient buildings.
Like many companies instigating change, B.PUBLIC believes effective collaboration is essential among owners, designers, builders, and manufacturers. Its Santa Fe design office is more of a classroom than a showroom, with a mini-building inside and space for public events and small workshops. At a retail space on San Mateo Road, the group hosts meet-ups, builder gatherings, charrettes, and client meetings.
“We are creating a place where homeowners and developers feel comfortable and free to explore what it’s like to be inside our ‘pod’ and see a wall of finished projects and home plans,” said Dillman.
The company works nationwide, including Colorado, California, and North Carolina. It is a small company on a big stage and had a presence at the International Builders Show in
Las Vegas, where 150,000 professionals had a chance to visit its booth. B.PUBLIC will bring that booth to the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association’s 2024 Santa Fe Home Expo and Remodel Show March 16–17 at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center.
Recently completed custom home designed by Needbased and built with B.PUBLIC Prefab in Santa Fe, NM;
Salida, Colorado home by Mosaic Architects builder Hammerwell;
Builder training quarterly event at B.PUBLIC facility in Las Vegas, NM. Bottom: The prefab shell went up quickly and safely with teams from across the country
Custom Craftsman Construction Meets High-Performance Panels
EDIE DILLMAN Featured on Offsite Dirt | www.offsitedirt.com
Andrew Bascue, Director of Operations, and Tyler Biecky, Project Manager, from Hammerwell Incorporated recently connected with Edie Dillman of B.Public Prefab's new series, "Take Offs, Moving the Industry Forward." Edie initiated a conversation with several stakeholders about a recent project in Salida, CO. They delved into the details of a custom home designed by Moasic, which incorporated both traditional applications in the basement walk-out and a panelized product from B.Public Prefab on the main floor. The discussion centered around how these individuals in the field utilize high-performance panel applications and their findings regarding installation, community acceptance, and client satisfaction with the new home project.
Audree Grubesic, Founder of Offsite Dirt, was enthusiastic about delving deep into the project, planning, and solutions created with Hammerwell Incorporated. The clients aimed for a legacy home that not only boasted quality construction but also effectively managed outdoor elements for long-term durability.
Edie inquired, "Are you guys seeing a fair amount of panelized homes being built in the area?" Tyler responded that while it's not yet the norm, it's becoming increasingly common in their community of Salida. The panel system often garners attention during installation with cranes, and the rapid timeline for building exterior walls is a notable advantage. Many are intrigued by the system's structure and its perceived superiority, fueling a growing demand for such homes. Their excitement will really propel when they can use this product at a more affordable application so all people can live in a high performance and quality home.
‘It’s Really Terrifyingly Good Satire’: A New Mexico Passive Home Builder on Showtime’s ‘The Curse’
EDIE DILLMAN Featured on Heatmap | heatmap.news
The show isn’t exactly accurate. It isn’t entirely not accurate, either.
Edie Dillman lives in the first certified passive house in New Mexico. She and her architect husband, Jonah Stanford, are founders of a company called B.Public Prefab that builds and supplies prefabricated panels for highly energy efficient homes.
So when The Curse began to air on Showtime this past fall, following an aspiring HGTV host couple Asher and Whitney Siegel, played by Canadian awkwardness spelunker and conceptual comic Nathan Fielder alongside America’s sweetheart Emma Stone, who are trying to get their show, “Flipanthropy” — during which they build and sell passive homes in Española, a town half an hour north of Santa Fe — picked up by the network, Dillman and her husband found out about it.
“I was aware the second it launched,” Dillman told me. “There’s some very obvious correlations of a husband and wife team doing passive homes in northern New Mexico, for sure. So people started texting saying, ‘are you watching this? This is horribly painful.’ They were right.”
The show plumbs new depths of discomfort for Fielder, who before this was best known for his conceptual reality shows Nathan For You and The Rehearsal. The Curse opens with a producer dabbing the eyes of an elderly woman dying of cancer with water and even blowing menthol on them to get her to cry when the Siegels offer her son a job at the upscale coffee shop they’ve brought into town. And it only gets more uncomfortable from there: Asher takes a $100 bill away from a young girl after giving it to her on camera and spills a Powerade on a former coworker in order to steal from his computer; the poor little girl’s father, meanwhile, goes through what might be the most uncomfortable chiropractor appointment of all time (some viewers thought he had died), courtesy of Whitney.
Dillman seemed good-natured about the whole thing, even acknowledging that “any press is good press” and that the show was probably the most media attention the passive house community has ever gotten.
She was also refreshingly forthright about her own position — literally. “I think it's fair to tell you, as a journalist writing about this, I'm sitting in my own home that is a certified passive house and has the plaque that is almost identical to the plaque they have in the show, so it's a little too close to home,” she said. “Be kind in your reporting.”
The Curse is not a broadside against the passive house movement, which began in Germany in the 1980s and is based on using advanced building techniques — namely lots of insulation and thick windows that eliminate “thermal bridging,” where big differences in temperature create air flows that lead to inefficient air loss — to minimize the amount of energy needed to heat and cool a home. The target of the show is more the narcissism of do-gooders, how publicly virtuous behavior can mask and enable private avarice (the couple at the center of the show have an ultimate plan to goose the value of property they own in the town; Stone’s character is also the daughter of notorious Santa Fe slum lords) and how reality TV warps everything it touches.
But the vehicle The Curse chooses for its narcissistic, selfish, and emotionally damaged protagonists is nevertheless an oddly specific one. Not only have Whitney and Asher explicitly ripped off the design of their passive homes from artist Doug Aitken, whose designs famously feature mirrored exteriors, there’s even a German character clearly based on Passive House founder Wolfgang Feist who is brought in to explain the principles of passive homes.
The show does correctly identify some of the precise anxieties of the passive house movement. Any number of FAQs and guides to passive houses address the exact issues that come up in The Curse, such as whether you can open windows and doors or how homes are cooled in hot weather.
One buyer on the show tosses out an induction stove because he wants to be able to stir-fry, while in perhaps the series’s cringiest scene, another prospective buyer couple pulls out of a deal in part because of how long it takes for their prospective home to cool when a door is opened. The male half of the couple is already sweating when he enters the house and almost immediately asks for a glass of water. While trying to air himself out, he asks if there’s enough wattage for some air conditioning units.
“The answer to that is you don’t need one,” Whitney says, explaining that because the home “functions like a thermos,” it will never go below 65 degrees Fahrenheit or above 78.
“But 78 is sweltering,” the man says, before Whitney and Asher explain that because they had opened the door, it will take five to seven hours for the temperature to adjust.
The scene, Dillman said, “was a really funny exaggeration, and what's painful is we often use the thermos analogy.”
But, she told me in a follow-up email, “I just want to say that opening doors and windows does not create hours of discomfort. My teenagers were horrified by that scene, as they have lived in a passive house for 12 years and have never experienced anything like that.”
Dillman noted that passive homes can have air conditioning and gas ranges, although for maximum carbon reduction and air quality, electrified cooking is best. The way the show depicts perfectionism, meanwhile, is “rightly satirized,” she said. Still, the idea of “a perfect home that you can't open windows and doors,” was “really damaging and inaccurate — funny, but inaccurate.”
Dillman said few of the projects her company works on actually clear the passive house certification bar. “People are interested in the benefits, but not necessarily the gold star,” she told me.
Those benefits and how they’re achieved are explained at great length in The Curse — to the point that the third main character, an unctuous reality TV producer Dougie played by Benny Safdie, just about loses it. “This shit sucks, alright,” he says. “And it’s boring — really boring. I’m watching a guy talk about air for four minutes.”
But The Curse also milks drama from some of the thornier facets of the passive house movement, especially where it intersects with politics. When the couple drops out of buying the sweltering home, Asher calls another prospective buyer, who rolls up in a pickup truck sporting a pro-cop Blue Lives Matter decal. He loves the home — other “eco” homes he’s looked at “don’t even consider” thermal bridging, and he “love[s] that they’re basically off the grid.”
Instead of accepting that sustainable building practices can be appealing to people besides liberal do-gooders, Whitney — whose own goals of getting “Flipanthropy” picked up by HGTV, increasing the value of the real estate she and her husband own, and, most importantly, getting people to like and respect her are only glancingly associated with sustainability per se — goes near-catatonic with Asher.
“I actually loved that,” Dillman said. While she acknowledged that the stereotypical buyer of a passive home is a “white, liberal, do-gooder sustainability nut,” she also recognized that the energy independence a passive house offers might just as obviously appeal across the political spectrum. “It’s where the right and left somewhat come together and really agree,” Dillman told me.
While some of the downsides of passive home construction depicted on The Curse were “super inaccurate,” Dillman said, “I think seeing the humor in it and the morality is important.”
“I mean,” she added, “it’s really terrifyingly good satire.”
Homes That Are Both Prefab and Predesigned
EDIE DILLMAN Featured on Pro Builder| probuilder.com
B.PUBLIC Prefab joins forces with Hereabout Home to create homes that deliver good performance and good design
Prefabricated panels can lead to more efficient home construction. But customized designs, even with prefab components, can end up extending the schedule and increasing the budget. That’s one issue that a new partnership between a prefab panel company, B.PUBLIC Prefab, and a design firm, Hereabout Home, aims to solve.
Their collaboration enables homeowners or builders to select from Hereabout’s list of preexisting, ready-to-use design plans, then build the home using B.PUBLIC’s prefab floor, roof, and wall panels.
Think of them as homes that are both prefab and predesigned.
Solving Industry Problems with Prefab Homes
While the plans can be customized to suit style preferences or neighborhood requirements, B.PUBLIC and Hereabout hope their approach will address what Edie Dillman describes as an industry problem: “We reinvent the wheel with every project,” says Dillman, CEO and cofounder, B.PUBLIC.
Architects, designers, and builders can achieve better quality and consistency with both preexisting plans and prefab panels—instead of starting anew with each home, Dillman says. “We can offer something that looks custom and performs at the highest level, but we don’t reinvent every detail,” Dillman says.
Just how high is the level of performance? “We’re not messing around,” Dillman says. “We’re getting these homes to be very quiet and super comfortable and require very little to heat and cool year-round.” B.PUBLIC says its homes use 80% to 90% less energy to heat and cool than code-built homes.
The company achieves that efficiency with panels that are super-insulated with dense-pack cellulose, which is 86% post-consumer recycled newsprint. The airtight panels achieve an R-35 or R-52 value. “For most regions, we’re almost twice the code for insulation,” Dillman says. The panels form thermal-bridge-free envelopes that are predictable in cost, delivery, and performance, B.PUBLIC says.
“They have the consistency of a heavy boxing bag, so there’s no airflow circulation in there,” Dillman says of her company’s panels.
B.PUBLIC can create such densely insulated panels by producing them in offsite factories. “Packing insulation to that level onsite can be very challenging, which is one of the huge advantages of working offsite,” Dillman says. Manufacturing the panels in climate-controlled factories also results in 95% less waste and 30% faster home construction, per B.PUBLIC.
B.PUBLIC doesn’t create modular units. Its prefab panels don’t contain electrical or plumbing systems. Instead, B.PUBLIC aims to speed adoption of better-performing building materials and practices by creating fully wrapped panels offsite that builders then assemble onsite for wood-frame homes.
“We don’t displace builders. We just give them the materials and training to achieve better-performance builds a lot faster, without having to sequence different trades to get the building insulated and wrapped,” Dillman says.
And unlike some modular, volumetric units, B.PUBLIC’s panels allow for elevated, custom designs, Dillman says. “You wouldn’t know it’s prefab if you just drive by.”
But custom designs that use prefab components can still lead to a slow and costly process. That’s where the partnership with Hereabout comes in. Hereabout provides a set of architectural, structural, and interior drawings for homeowners to select and for homebuilders to construct using B.PUBLIC’s panels. Hereabout’s home plans range from roughly 800 sf to 2,000 sf, with a variety of spaces such as desk nooks, offices, and lofts.
Together, the two companies aim to create homes that deliver both good performance and good design. “We’re both trying to do the same thing,” says Holly Mumford, founder, Hereabout.
“From my experience as a custom residential architect, the thing that goes quickest from the budget is high-performance and sustainability measures,” Mumford says. “I want to provide people homes with those measures baked into the design from the beginning, rather than adding them later to the home.”
Hereabout helps make homes more sustainable and efficient in part by using standard widths and lengths for the design and the framing materials, resulting in less waste. Hereabout’s plans also provide sustainability suggestions for various components, such as the paint and windows. And Hereabout promotes sustainability by designing “for the long term,” Mumford says—designing homes that enable clients to live in them happily for years to come.
B.PUBLIC and Hereabout have high hopes for the future. They want their designs to be used not only by individual builders and homeowners but also by neighborhood developers.
New Off-Site Construction Standards: Codes Working Group Brief
This work incorporates valuable elements and insights from members of the ABC Collaborative Working Group on Codes, Standards, Permitting, Testing, and Accreditation.
New off-site construction standards:
Potential & implications of ICC/MBI 1200 and 1205 for advanced building construction
It is no secret that the US construction industry faces a confluence of challenges, including stagnant productivity, costly delays due to extended labor shortage and supply chain variability, and persistent hesitation towards innovation. Advanced building construction (ABC) approaches, such as highperformance prefabricated off-site construction, offer a promising solution to these challenges and help invigorate the construction industry while providing a spectrum of environmental and economic benefits. Off-site construction can provide superior energy efficiency, tighter building envelopes, carbon and waste reduction, significant cost efficiencies, buffering of supply chain delays, and attractive employment for a new generation of the construction workforce, among other benefits.
Benefits of Off-Site Construction Depend on Code Approval
Accelerated construction timelines and their associated cost savings are often highlighted by fabricators and suppliers as key benefits of prefabricated systems. Off-site construction processes allow multiple building components to be constructed simultaneously while protecting the components and workers from weather-related and other risks. As a result, off-site construction can yield 50% faster construction timelines with higher quality control — welcome improvements in an industry (dominated by conventional building practices) where some 75% of projects are late, over budget, or both. Prefabricated buildings are an attractive option for developing new construction projects because of their potential advantages over conventional construction. However, the economic and time-saving benefits of off-site construction quickly diminish if states and cities do not have efficient mechanisms to determine the compliance of offsite construction with applicable building code requirements. If code officials are unfamiliar with the methodology and terminology for approving closed prefabricated panels or modules at the site, projects using off-site construction can be delayed, while the backlogs of permits, inspections, and compliance paperwork burden local officials. Projects may also be rejected outright. Ultimately, these challenges may deter builders from choosing an otherwise attractive pathway to new construction. The current code landscape and regulatory barriers reflect the construction industry’s aversion to change. However, the transformation of building code paradigms can unlock more streamlined and efficient approaches to construction.
Fragmented Landscape: Codes Can Hinder or Help Adoption of Off-Site Construction
In states without clear code compliance pathways for off-site construction inspections and approvals, off-site projects can face lengthy delays, limiting the realization of off-site construction’s advantages. In states that do have off-site code compliance programs, outdated regulations, and nuances bring in confusion, unnecessary delays, and added costs, thus preventing the widespread adoption of off-site construction practices and limiting manufacturers to jurisdictions with familiar local code officials. This is partly a result of the fragmented and complex building code landscape in the United States, where building code requirements often differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and state to state.
In the United States, states or localities that adopt and enforce codes are referred to as authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs). AHJs often rely on model building codes developed by the International Code Council (ICC) and known as the International Codes (I-Codes). The I-Codes include the International Residential Code (IRC) and International Building Code (IBC), in addition to energy, zoning, and fire codes. The IRC and IBC are published on three-year cycles, and states and localities retain the authority to choose the version of the code to adopt through legislative or regulatory action.
States and localities typically base their adopted codes on a version of the IBC and IRC with various amendments, differing degrees of enforcement, and exceptions or additions. They adopt and update their building and residential codes independently of one another — every six to nine years on average — adding another layer of fragmentation.
Even within a state or locality, the codes for different construction types may be based on model codes from different years. For example, Utah adopted and enforces its commercial building code based on the 2018 version of the IBC, while residences are held to codes based on a version of the 2014 IRC. In Tennessee, commercial buildings are held to the 2012 IBC, while residences must meet requirements based on the 2018 IRC. While most AHJs develop their respective building and residential codes by slightly modifying the I-Codes, several US states have not adopted an IBC or IRC statewide. This allows municipalities to govern residential and building code adoption, mandates, and enforcement.
The outcome is a building code landscape that is highly fragmented, ranging from enforced statewide mandates or no building codes to specific exclusions and odd nuances. Colorado, which does not have a statewide code, leaves code adoption, compliance, and enforcement to its 59 permitting municipalities. Of these, 15 have no residential or building code requirements, and the remaining have adopted recent codes, resulting in jurisdictions with stringent building codes next to neighbors that have none. Although Iowa does not have a designated or adopted statewide building code, state government buildings must comply with the 2015 IBC. Maine took a different approach when it adopted the 2015 IBC and IRC statewide but allowed towns with fewer than 4,000 residents to choose to adopt and enforce codes independently. In New York State, the 2018 IBC and IRC are mandated and enforced at the state level, barring New York City, where different building codes apply. In short, the basis for and enforcement of building and residential codes and enforcement is fragmented on multiple scales.
One common thread across the fragmented code landscape is that building codes and industry standards are generally written from the perspective of site-built construction. Nevertheless, permanent prefabricated construction must comply with these local building codes.
Notably, off-site construction can refer to manufactured homes (historically called mobile homes) as well as permanent prefabricated modular or panelized construction. While manufactured and modular or panelized homes are prefabricated at off-site locations, they are regulated by different codes. Manufactured housing is regulated at the federal level by Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards administered by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The HUD code first came into effect in 1976, and HUD last updated its energy provisions for manufactured housing in 1994, although new standards are set to go in effect later this year. (Manufactured housing built before 1976, properly referred to as mobile homes, does not comply with the HUD code.)
In contrast, permanent prefabricated construction is held to the same local residential and building codes as conventionally constructed buildings. While manufactured housing is an important option for homeownership for nearly 22 million Americans, the remainder of this brief focuses on navigating codes for permanent prefabricated construction.
The IBC and IRC do not mention the term “modular,” but, again, all permanent prefabricated construction projects must adhere to local building and residential codes, introducing layers of complexity and barriers for the offsite construction industry. Unlike the federal HUD code that guides manufactured housing code compliance nationwide, there is no national code for modular construction at this time.
By definition, prefabricated buildings comprise volumetric modules or panelized systems constructed off-site and transported to and installed or assembled at their final destination. This introduces challenges for onsite inspections when the wall assemblies are already closed before they reach the site (closed construction). For example, a local official may need to inspect the insulation within a wall, but the wall system is closed at the manufacturing facility and the local inspection official lacks a mechanism to inspect and approve what they cannot see once the system arrives at the job site. This often leads to delays in inspection approval or, perhaps, failure of code inspection altogether. Additionally, this fragmentation increases barriers to market entry for innovative ABC solutions such as energy-efficient podded HVAC units, highly insulative technologies, or dynamic windows to satisfy code compliance standards across a multitude of jurisdictions. Navigating fragmented building codes and compliance thus deters ABC technologies’ widespread adoption and is a barrier to their development as it represents a potentially insurmountable cost for seed-level technology that offers superior energy efficiency, performance, or durability.
“Silence in the code is not an exemption from the code.”
-Modular Building Institute (MBI)
Just as the adoption of building codes varies from state to state, the regulation of off-site construction also differs, introducing an additional level of complex fragmentation for off-site builders, inspection officials, and end-users. While 39 US states have state-level regulatory offices that oversee off-site construction, the rules for each of these programs vary significantly. some cover only commercial or residential projects, others include only modular or panelized systems. Additionally, while some allow the use of third parties for plan review and inspection, others carry these out in-house. There is an additional level of inconsistency related to the department responsible for overseeing these programs in each state. In Illinois, the Department of Public Health holds the statewide regulatory authority over off-site construction. However, in Maryland, the Department of Labor regulates off-site construction. In the 11 states that do not have state-level off-site compliance programs, the entire regulation is the responsibility of local officials who often lack the expertise, resources, terminology, or framework to inspect and approve off-site projects.
Lack of consistency in regulating off-site construction undermines the inherent efficiencies of these approaches. If a manufacturer expands across state lines or localities, it may need to alter its compliance processes to accommodate jurisdictional differences, counteracting the benefits of having a highly replicable process. While states without off-site regulatory compliance frameworks stand to benefit from implementing a mechanism to inspect and approve off-site projects, the entire industry would gain from consistent and uniform processes across state lines.
The Solution: Introducing ICC/MBI Standards 1200 and 1205
Given the complexity of code adoption processes, varying degrees of code implementation and enforcement, and silence from the IBC and IRC on off-site construction, off-site manufacturers, contractors, and officials plainly need clearer compliance pathways. To fulfill this need, the ICC and Modular Building Institute (MBI) created the 2021 ICC/MBI Off-Site Construction Standards 1200 and 1205. Standard 1200 governs the planning, design, fabrication, and assembly, while Standard 1205 covers the inspection and regulatory compliance of off-site construction. The first edition of ICC/MBI Standards 1200 and 1205 was developed by the ICC/MBI Off-Site and Modular Construction Standard Consensus Committee (IS-OSMC) in compliance with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-approved ICC Consensus Procedures. The ISOSMC comprises 15 representatives from nine stakeholder categories (manufacturer, builder, standards promulgator/ testing laboratory, user, utility, consumer, public segment, government regulator, and insurance) to ensure adequate consensus and fulfillment of ANSI requirements. While the effort to advocate for the inclusion of Standards 1200 and 1205 into the 2024 IBC was unsuccessful, they are readily available for immediate adoption and use by jurisdictions.
“Most folks would say codes are not the most exciting topic, but I see them as the intersection of a variety of things—it’s the pathway to unlocking off-site construction, affordable housing, resiliency, sustainability, and bringing those pieces together.”
-Ryan Colker, Director of Innovation, International Code Council (2020)
The adoption of these standards serves as a tool to support the promise of off-site construction on two key scales: individual jurisdictions and across jurisdictions with widespread adoption. In individual jurisdictions that adopt the standards, off-site construction has greater potential to ease the ongoing affordable housing crisis faced by many regions through efficient and fast construction of high quality buildings at lower cost. On a large scale, widespread adoption of the standards effectively reduces the burden of navigating the current patchwork of regional regulations and promotes industry standardization, allowing manufacturers to operate more efficiently and expand their markets.
ICC/MBI 1200-2021 Standard for OffSite Construction: Planning, Design, Fabrication, and Assembly
ICC/MBI Standard 1200 provides guidance and insight for the planning and preparation requirements of offsite construction projects. Standard 1200 outlines the appropriate roles for architects, modular manufacturers, construction managers, and general contractors; planning requirements for the location of the manufacturing plant relative to the final construction site; and material procurement and lead times. In addition, Standard 1200 includes the requirements for maintaining a controlled manufacturing environment and material protection, effective supply chain integration, structural versus nonstructural modular, fabrication process, and on-site assembly. The Standard is available for adoption by AHJs and sets forth a framework to allow modules to comply with local building codes while providing a clear structure of the required roles, responsibilities, and necessary documentation at each step. The requirements of Standard 1200 establish off-site construction code compliance consistent with the scope of the I-Codes to protect public health, safety, and welfare, without unnecessarily increasing construction costs, and support the use of new materials, products, and methods.
ICC/MBI 1205-2021 Standard for OffSite Construction: Inspection and Regulatory Compliance
ICC/MBI Standard 1205 addresses the societal and industry challenges in the inspection and regulatory compliance of off-site residential and commercial building components. Standard 1205 also provides a framework for permitting, inspections during assembly at the manufacturing site, final inspections on-site, and third-party plan review and inspections. The roles and responsibilities of builders, state modular programs, and AHJs are outlined as well. Standard 1205 provides guidance for streamlining inspections and approvals through insignias, identification and data plates, implementation of quality control processes, and factory inspections, which are then followed up with on-site inspections at the final site. These procedures reduce the barriers for final on-site inspection processes and allow for faster construction timelines to realize the cost and time savings offered by off-site construction. In addition, they provide code officials and third-party inspectors a pathway to approve off-site construction projects.
Source: ICC/MBI Standard 1200; ICC/MBI Standard 1205.
To achieve the promise of off-site construction and a more efficient, sustainable, affordable, and innovative construction industry, effective code compliance mechanisms need to be identified and implemented. Collectively, Standards 1200 and 1205 set out a framework for the efficient and consistent approval of off-site construction projects, benefiting regulatory officials and inspectors, off-site manufacturers, and the localities where they are adopted. When Washington State adopted the third-party framework for off-site construction inspections from Standard 1205, its regulatory approval backlog was reduced from 20 weeks to three weeks, lowering the burden on local officials.
Clear mechanisms for consistent permitting, in-factory and on-site inspections, and approvals also benefit manufacturers by reducing delays and added costs. In Illinois, a developer of an apartment building cited an additional $10,000 cost per unit when navigating the state’s off-site code regulations, which required additional inspections for high wind load conditions — a vestigial compliance requirement from when the state was focused on regulating mobile homes. It may also result from lack of clear terminology: modular buildings are secured to permanent foundations, akin to conventionally built housing, whereas manufactured housing is secured to a steel chassis. The unnecessary regulatory burden and barriers to approving off-site projects can be alleviated by the adoption of Standards 1200 and 1205. This will also reduce costs for manufacturers, allowing units to be constructed at lower costs and with greater replicability across markets. In tandem, this can allow faster construction of affordable housing. Adopting the clear and consistent framework set forth by Standards 1200 and 1205 allows off-site construction a foothold to gain greater traction as a solution to some of the complex challenges faced by the construction industry and society at large.
States and jurisdictions can adopt ICC/MBI Standards 1200 and 1205 into their statewide or local code to help enable the benefits of off-site construction. The 11 states without off-site programs are especially well-positioned to capitalize on off-site construction. Off-site manufacturers in states with well-developed off-site programs, such as California, will also benefit from the consistency; they can readily expand to other areas with consistent off-site regulatory processes without investing supplemental time and resources to educate AHJs. However, due to the code development and adoption processes in the United States, the standards currently serve only as an available resource — they neither hold the weight of the code as law nor can they be enforced until they are adopted by local authorities. The current status of the standards allows states and jurisdictions to adopt the standards at their own discretion with amendments and control (The benefits and drawbacks of a national offsite code for modular and panelized construction will be analyzed in a forthcoming, complementary brief).
IRC and IBC Development and Adoption
As noted previously, the IBC and IRC are developed independently by the ICC on a three-year cycle. The ICC code development process includes three inclusive and transparent stages. In the first stage, the ICC issues a public call for code change proposals. The code proposals are then made available for public review through the ICC’s cloud-based program to allow for broad involvement and transparency.
The second stage involves direct feedback through committee action hearings where code development committees hear public input on the merits of including proposed changes in the next edition of the code. The code development committees presiding over the committee action hearings are open for anyone to apply to serve. The ICC appoints members to the committee based on application recommendations from the Codes and Standards Council. The committee represents various interest categories, such as government regulatory agencies, users, building owners, designers, insurance companies, private inspection agencies, academics, producers, builders, contractors, manufacturers, and distributors, to capture a diverse array of stakeholder input. The committee then votes to either approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove code change proposals. The code development committees’ actions are open to public comment, whereby any participant may challenge a committee’s actions. The code change proposals are then considered at public comment hearings and voted on by eligible voters defined as representatives of government agencies with no financial stake in the outcome and committed to protecting public health and safety.
The final stage follows eligible voters’ final consensus. The ICC Board validates and confirms the code changes, and a new edition of the IRC and IBC is finalized and published. The most recent editions are the 2021 I-Codes, including the IRC and IBC.
The ICC develops building codes through a governmental consensus process to safeguard public safety. Although updated versions of the IRC and IBC are published on three-year cycles, states and AHJs update their local codes independently and at their own discretion. The result is often outdated I-Codes across many states and a delayed trickle-down of building code provisions into state adoption and enforcement. The following section outlines the building code adoption process by states.
Code Adoption
The process whereby AHJs adopt codes occurs on varying timelines determined by the state legislature, government agency, building code board, or building code commission. How codes are adopted and the relationship between state and local-level action also varies. Codes can be adopted at the statewide level for application across the state, with local governments enforcing the code. In Maryland, the code adopted statewide can be exceeded by local regulations, whereas in Virginia, local authorities do not hold the power to amend the statewide code. Some states chose to identify a code as required only if a locality elected to adopt it, as Mississippi does. States may also leave the adoption and enforcement of codes entirely up to local jurisdictions, as highlighted by Colorado’s structure.
Once a new building code is selected, it is adopted through legislative or regulatory agency action. Legislative building code adoption occurs through a legislative body (state legislature, or city or county council) where the code is introduced and modified by applicable committees. At this stage, input and collaboration from external stakeholders and nontechnical groups is collated on the new code, and modifications are implemented. Regulatory action adoption involves executive branch agencies, building code boards, or building code commissions tasked with reviewing and adopting building codes. A typical regulatory action adoption process relies on an advisory board of appointed industry stakeholders — from design and construction professionals to code enforcement officials — to review the code and make recommendations. The advisory board’s recommendations are then publicly reviewed.
While most states base their building codes on a version of the IRC or IBC, they are often renamed with state-specific names to reflect the modifications. In Maine, the state’s building codes are based on the 2015 IRC and IBC and are referred to as Maine Uniform Building and Energy Codes (MEUBEC) to reflect the state-specific amendments. Utah and South Dakota, along with a few other states, use the legislative process. Most states, including California, Connecticut, and Florida, use regulatory agency actions to adopt new building codes.
Alternative Pathways to Code Adoption
While the ICC’s code development process updates the IRC and IBC every three years to reflect current best practices, the slow uptake of updated codes by states hinders the widespread adoption of ABC and other innovative technologies and practices. When considering the code adoption process from the perspective of off-site construction, progress is constrained by a myriad of factors: limited compliance approaches at the state level, lack of process and infrastructure in localities without statewide programs, and general unfamiliarity with the existing compliance mechanisms for modular construction and innovative technologies. As mentioned earlier, the IRC and IBC do not mention the word “modular,” leaving ambiguity around — and hampering the deployment of — off-site construction and its many potential benefits.
However, ICC/MBI Standards 1200 and 1205 for Off-Site Construction are available for adoption by states and AHJs independently of the IRC and IBC adoption cycles. The voluntary adoption of these standards would allow localities to efficiently deploy ABC practices at scale and unlock the benefits of off-site construction to reinvigorate the construction workforce, reduce waste, better address the affordable housing crisis, and enhance sustainability. Salt Lake City has implemented these standards.
2021 ICC/MBI Standards 1200 and 1205 in Action
In a unanimous vote by the city council, Salt Lake City became the first jurisdiction to adopt ICC/MBI Standards 1200 and 1205 for Off-Site Construction in March 2021.
Salt Lake City was the preferred location for the adoption of off-site construction standards due to three factors: absence of a statewide off-site program, existing regulatory barriers for code officials in the city’s jurisdiction, and increasing shortage of affordable housing.
Utah does not have a statewide regulatory program to inspect and approve off-site construction. The state-level gap in the building codes led a local building official in Salt Lake City to find the emergent off-site standards and present them to the city council for adoption. The standards are designed to complement local building and residential codes, which allowed the city to readily adopt them into code.
Prior to the adoption of Standards 1200 and 1205, Salt Lake City mandated city building officials to inspect all construction projects within the jurisdiction. However, building officials were not allowed to leave the jurisdiction to conduct the required inspections. By limiting inspections and approvals to city building officials within the city jurisdiction, this regulatory structure effectively prohibited off-site construction. Standard 1205 provides an effective mechanism for third-party inspections that allow authorized delegates to complete in-factory code compliance inspections for the city. While reducing the burden on local building inspectors, Salt Lake City also opened the door for manufacturers to complete off-site projects in a city that was once off-limits.
While building officials saw value in filling a gap created at the state level and an opportunity to enhance the current code with an approval mechanism for off-site, the city council members considered the standards an enabler of the efficient creation of additional high-quality, affordable housing for constituents. Like many densely populated areas in the United States, Salt Lake City faces an affordable housing crisis exacerbated by the increasing cost of homeownership and rent. The adoption of the standards provided delineated roles for manufacturers, inspection officials, and building permitting agencies, and responsibilities and requirements for in-factory and on-site inspections. In the nine months after adopting Standards 1200 and 1205, Salt Lake City was able to increase housing in a quick and flexible manner. While the Standards are primarily used to inspect and approve the construction of prefabricated additional dwelling units (ADUs), the city recorded a substantial increase in housing: in less than a year, 30 ADUs were completed, 17 are in the inspection processes, 11 plans are under review, and 34 permits are pending. Salt Lake City also actively engages with off-site manufacturers to plan an affordable housing development of 50 units for low-income individuals and families.
The combination of these three factors made Standards 1200 and 1205 a natural fit for adoption for Salt Lake City, but any locality facing similar challenges could benefit from the mechanisms and frameworks in the standards. Salt Lake City is an example of using Standards 1200 and 1205 as a tool to ease regulatory barriers for off-site construction, complement local building and safety codes, allow for factory and third-party inspections to reduce the burden on local AHJs, create opportunities for off-site manufacturers, and alleviate the affordable housing crisis. The city’s forward-thinking perspective and benefits realized in under a year provide a compelling case for other states and jurisdictions to replicate.
How ABC Collaborative can Advance Off-Site Construction through Code Adoption
The ABC Collaborative report Market Opportunities and Challenges for Decarbonizing US Buildings presented stakeholder analysis identifying widespread confusion and frustration with applicable standards, building codes, permitting, and approval processes across multiple stakeholder types when discussing industrialized construction (IC), which includes prefabricated construction methods. Due to the regionality of building codes and standards and an inconsistent interpretation of applicable rules, code officials are often unfamiliar with new technologies or processes being implemented, leading to onerous scrutiny, construction delays, and sometimes unjust rejections.
Supply stakeholders articulated that amending building codes and standards to consider ABC processes will increase efficiency and reduce timelines in the approval and permitting processes. The ABC Collaborative facilitates a Working Group on Codes, Permitting, Testing, and Accreditation to assist in the widespread adoption of advanced building technologies by improving code uniformity, education, interpretation, and enforcement. The working group brings together subject matter experts and industry stakeholders for regular discussions on easing the barriers to off-site construction through mechanisms related to codes and standards. The Working Group is open to interested parties with relevant expertise — individuals interested in joining this ongoing work can contact the ABC Collaborative via this website.
Conclusion
The high level of building code fragmentation in the United States is evident in the varying levels of code adoption and enforcement, local nuances, and regulatory bodies responsible for off-site compliance programs at the state and local levels. The result is a building code landscape that is unnecessarily challenging and restrictive for the next generation of ABC practices. The lack of code consistency among different states and other jurisdictions hinders growth in the off-site construction industry and impedes economies of scale for off-site construction and innovative technologies. It also effectively restricts the areas where ABC materials and technologies can be efficiently deployed, which further deters innovation in the industry. On the surface, building codes might appear to be an unlikely lever to solve the complex challenges in the construction industry. A deeper look reveals building codes are one of the most effective tools to reduce institutional and market barriers for ABC. Standards 1200 and 1205 are tools available for states and localities to embrace off-site construction and deploy it to their advantage. In states and localities without off-site programs, the standards offer a clear and readymade pathway for the inspection and approval of off-site projects. In states with existing modular programs, the standards offer greater consistency across the code compliance landscape for builders. Effective mechanisms for off-site code compliance can promote widespread adoption of ABC.
B. PUBLIC Prefab and the domino effect of sustainable practices
EDIE DILLMAN Featured on Sketchup | sketchup.com
B. PUBLIC Prefab is a woman-owned public benefit corporation that brings sustainability to the building industry through prefabricated building panels. They use SketchUp to collaborate with their existing partners, draw new clients in, and win work.
Home completed using B. PUBLIC Prefab panels. All images courtesy of B. PUBLIC Prefab.
B. PUBLIC Prefab is a team of architects, designers, and change-makers united around sustainability. They believe building with prefabricated elements will help the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry take a step toward a more sustainable future.
One of B. PUBLIC Prefab’s biggest challenges is figuring out how to communicate the myriad benefits of prefabrication to builders and decision-makers who could use the panels in their projects. Building envelopes have been built on-site for generations of builders, and big shifts in the construction process are never easy.
B. PUBLIC Prefab window panels on a construction site. All images courtesy of B. PUBLIC Prefab
In a conversation with B. PUBLIC Prefab’s Edie Dillman, co-founder and CEO, Natasha Ribiero, designer, and Brian Dieterle, architect, we learned more about how using prefabricated panels can boost efficiency in construction. They shared how prefabricated panels can change a builder's career for the better and how prefabrication can make their work sites leaner, cleaner, and greener. We also discussed how B. PUBLIC Prefab is leveraging SketchUp in its outreach efforts and in-house estimating and design.
Building sustainable workforces
A worker installing B. PUBLIC Prefab roof panels. All images courtesy of B. PUBLIC Prefab
It is mission-critical to B. PUBLIC Prefab that they support the careers that make their builds possible. People who work in construction are in a prime position to drive the industry toward global sustainability.
"There is such a crisis around the trades's workforce. Allowing people to work and have longevity in a trade career is really important to us."
Edie Dillman, co-founder and CEO, B. PUBLIC Prefab
B. PUBLIC Prefab holds quarterly in-person trainings to make using their panels more accessible for builders. At the trainings, builders learn how the panels work in a construction project, how to create an estimate for installation, and about the many advantages of prefab versus building on-site. B. PUBLIC Prefab invites builders to projects under construction so they can watch the panels in action as part of an actual build.
Through a consistent commitment to nourishing healthy, long-term careers in the building trades, B. PUBLIC Prefab hopes to inspire sustainable mindsets in the people who make up part of an industry that currently accounts for 39% of carbon emissions. Every person who understands the efficiencies of prefabrication can share that knowledge with colleagues and clients, tipping more dominoes toward a healthier planet.
On-site speed through off-site fabrication
Timelines for construction workflows: site built versus B. PUBLIC Prefab. All images courtesy of B. PUBLIC Prefab.
The trainings give builders a sneak peek into the cost and time-saving benefits of using prefabricated panels at the work site.
"Builders who've been building a certain way for many years come in and immediately recognize the benefits. Things they always have on their minds when building in the field are not issues with prefab.”
Brian Dieterle, architect, B. PUBLIC Prefab
In addition to speeding up build times and making budgets more predictable for contractors, prefab has a huge effect on a build site's ecological impact. Prefabrication is done to specification off-site, and the panels delivered are only those needed for the project. There is very little construction waste on prefab construction sites, eliminating the ubiquitous construction dumpster full of building materials destined for the landfill.
"If you look at a normal site-built home, the construction waste is pretty astonishing. To go to one of our installs and see how clean and seamless it is, it’s impressive and something that maybe people don't think about right off the bat when they think of prefab."
Natasha Ribiero, designer, B. PUBLIC Prefab
Interior of home in progress with B. PUBLIC Prefab wall panels. All images courtesy of B. PUBLIC Prefab.
There's little to no construction waste when the panels are fabricated. During a webinar with the staff at the fabrication shop in New Mexico, builders asked what the percentage of waste was. The team answered by panning the camera to four pieces of wood in the corner that were waiting to be reused.
"There's virtually no waste when we create the panels because it's controllable. On-site, it's hard to have the time or the energy to save cut ends, stack them, and bring them back somewhere else so that somebody else could use them. With prefabrication, it's a good reason to be under one roof and have all the material there so that when you need it, an extra piece is coming from scrap, and you're not cutting virgin lumber."
Edie Dillman, co-founder and CEO, B. PUBLIC Prefab
Prefab for happier, healthier homes
The more that people value sustainability, the more the demand for environmentally sound building practices will increase. B. PUBLIC Prefab's panels support this market growth by making it easy for builders and clients to continue making green choices.
Cost-reduction, comfort, and health
B. PUBLIC Prefab panel composition. All images courtesy of B. PUBLIC Prefab.
Dillman thinks that low, predictable energy bills are a matter of fairness. In today's changing climate, that's only possible with precise design and construction. In addition to the financial peace of mind, people who live in houses built with B. PUBLIC Prefab panels say they are ultra-comfortable. The well-insulated, non-toxic panels prevent air leakage for cleaner air and more soundproof homes.
"A sound artist moved into a house built with our panels in an area of northern New Mexico that has high winds 360 days a year. She was there for about three days when she called and said, 'Forget it. Stop selling houses. It's actually a sound studio. I've never experienced this kind of quiet.'"
Edie Dillman, co-founder and CEO, B. PUBLIC Prefab
As the climate crisis continues to wreak havoc on our outdoor spaces, builders and inhabitants alike will benefit from sustainable techniques for ensuring clean, healthy indoor environments.
The domino effect of sustainable choices
Attributes of B. PUBLIC homes. All images courtesy of B. PUBLIC Prefab.
When a person decides on sustainable, prefabricated envelopes for their home, Dillman contends that more sustainable decisions follow.
While B. PUBLIC Prefab is not an electric-only company, many homes using their panels are being built to that standard. If a homeowner considers putting gas into their future home, they have to account for a more robust ventilation system, which requires more energy than a system for an electric-only home. People tend to opt for something other than gas, avoiding unsustainable options that would mitigate the energy benefits of building an efficient home with prefab panels.
“Once you're on this path of sustainability, there are so many benefits to continuing. It doesn't make sense to diverge from that path because it is probably more costly, and you might have health effects from it."
Edie Dillman, co-founder and CEO, B. PUBLIC Prefab
Using SketchUp to tip the first domino
In construction, just as in many other industries, getting people to change how they've operated for decades can be an uphill battle. B. PUBLIC Prefab puts a lot of effort into educating architects and builders on the benefits of their panels and how they can fit into — and in many cases improve — their current construction process. B. PUBLIC Prefab uses SketchUp as a communication tool to reach AEC professionals who could benefit from prefabrication.
SketchUp for sequencing high-performance construction
B. PUBLIC Prefab construction sequencing using SketchUp. All images courtesy of B. PUBLIC Prefab.
B. PUBLIC Prefab construction sequencing using SketchUp. All images courtesy of B. PUBLIC Prefab.
One of the biggest challenges in construction is project management. The budget, scheduling, and organization of even the most minor construction projects can get complicated quickly. An additional challenge for B. PUBLIC Prefab is that most project management software isn't built to consider prefabrication. This makes it extremely difficult for B. PUBLIC Prefab to communicate budget and time-saving benefits to potential partners.
Examples of estimate models B. PUBLIC Prefab builds in SketchUp. All images courtesy of B. PUBLIC Prefab.
Examples of estimate models B. PUBLIC Prefab builds in SketchUp. All images courtesy of B. PUBLIC Prefab. (Click to scroll through images.)
SketchUp fills the information gap by showing builders how prefabrication can slide into their schedule and budget.
"We give them a tremendous amount of data upfront. We're doing SketchUp estimates within a week and giving them a concrete cost for our assembly. We’re giving them materials they can insert into their bids and their sequencing. SketchUp is how we communicate that information back to them."
Edie Dillman, co-founder and CEO, B. PUBLIC Prefab
Modeling sustainability in SketchUp
SketchUp models and layouts of B. Public Prefab homes. All images courtesy of B. PUBLIC Prefab. (Click to scroll through images.)
"SketchUp has made it really seamless and easy to build out the house in basically no time. I don't see another tool that could be as useful just to build it out quickly and to be able to see the panels and how they're laid out. It's an invaluable tool from our perspective.”
Natasha Ribiero, designer, B. PUBLIC Prefab
Communicating with SketchUp components
Prefab Home Assembly SketchUp Video - B.PUBLIC Prefab
B. PUBLIC Prefab uses SketchUp to communicate what’s possible with prefab to builders and architects. They invite fellow building professionals to experiment with prefabricated envelopes through a free downloadable .skp file that houses all their panel options, including walls, floors, roofs, panels with cutouts for windows, and more.
"It's fun for some people to go on our website and download the components and play around,” Ribiero told us. B. PUBLIC Prefab encourages people to use the components like Legos and experiment with panel combinations that could lead to unique designs and models.
B. PUBLIC Prefab hopes that more builders will open their minds to prefabrication and its benefits with increased access to their panels. AEC professionals who want to reduce waste and lower the carbon footprint of their projects can turn to prefab to build more sustainable homes more efficiently.
Sustainability is a part of SketchUp’s mission, too. Start a free SketchUp trial to experience how leveraging tools like PreDesign can give you insights into factors that will help you make sustainable choices — before you start modeling.
Click here to give B. PUBLIC Prefab panels a try in SketchUp.
Bonny Doon couple takes active role designing ‘passive’ home
Press Banner By: DREW PENNER June 2, 2023
From their perch in their home atop the mountain in Bonny Doon, partners Tonje Wold-Switzer and Sebastian Little took in a panorama of lightning strikes that would go on to devour more than 900 homes in the region, including theirs.
They were aware a storm was on its way, but to actually witness nature’s fury in full effect was arresting—particularly the rolling set of clouds that looked like an incoming tidal wave.
“It was like a tornado but super miniature,” Little said. “But it came and went. Like, really strange.”
The couple was lucky. First of all, their family survived. And because they’d just moved into the neighborhood, they had less of an emotional attachment to the property.
Along their reconstruction path, they’ve been hit by fewer regulatory hurdles than others in Santa Cruz County. They decided to lock in a contractor early, and were able to get started on construction quickly.
Thanks to some lucky breaks and decisive action, the family became one of the few CZU Lightning Complex Fire victims who have been able to move back to the North County.
In the process, they chose to embrace a new architectural trend they say helps tackle the root cause of the situation they found themselves in.
They decided, instead of rebuilding the classic ranch home with an atrium in the center they’d purchased, they’d move forward with a project that seeks to adapt to a world beset by climate change and increased forest fire risk.
Their solution? Erecting a so-called “passive home.”
This style of construction relies on new technology and building techniques to boost energy savings. It also taps into the natural features of the site to maximize sustainability, such as orienting structures to harness solar power.
Tonje Wold-Switzer shows plans for the “passive home,” which relies on new technology and building techniques to boost energy savings. (Drew Penner/Press Banner)
And on June 3, the public will have a chance to examine the design features the couple has become so passionate about during an open house from 10am-2pm at 131 Cottini Way in Bonny Doon, where curious souls can get tours of 13 electrification stations and speak to experts about the unique features.
This is not a marketing gimmick, they say—not by a long shot. They’re true believers.
“In general, people who have passive houses become evangelists for passive houses,” Little said. “We feel that way, too.”
Can you blame them? After all, they went through quite the ordeal.
It wasn’t that Wold-Switzer was unprepared for wildfire. In fact, she’d had to evacuate during an earlier blaze, back when she lived in Last Chance.
It was that experience—along with Community Emergency Response Team training—that taught Wold-Switzer what to do as the natural disaster unfolded.
“It was so ominous,” she said, noting at least they had N95 masks on hand, due to the ongoing pandemic. “You could only see a few feet in front of you.”
All told, the fire would take out nearly 1,500 structures throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains.
The couple and their two children had escaped danger by staying with friends for a few days. Then, they moved to a hotel in Santa Clara. Eventually, they found an AirBnB in Santa Cruz County, where they’d remain for almost two years.
Rebuilding after fire
As the couple began to pick up the pieces, they considered a number of different options.
“Through our investigation of building types that would go up fast and at a lower cost, we stumbled upon high-performance prefabs and then cellulose insulated passive homes,” Wold-Switzer said. “From there, going all-electric was a natural choice and furthered the alignment between our climate crisis concerns and our being part of the solution in the capacity of how we live and consume day-to-day.”
While passive residences often require electricity for lighting, electronics and heating water, by selecting energy-efficient appliances and relying on alternative energy (such as solar panels or wind turbines), owners can vastly reduce their reliance on the grid. Some studies point to a 90% increase in energy efficiency.
Wold-Switzer and Little decided on an assembled home that uses structurally integrated panels (SIP).
“We found sort of a hybrid model,” Little said.
Sebastian Little and Tonje Wold-Switzer hope others will embrace their energy-efficient approach to wildfire recovery. (Drew Penner/Press Banner)
Green advocates are hoping to see an uptick in residential design efficiency, particularly in the wake of the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which has unleashed up to $14,000 for households interested in switching from gas to electric appliances.
Wold-Switzer and Little teamed up with B.Public Prefab out of Santa Fe, N.M., for the architectural drawings, as they worked with 4Leaf Inc., the County’s contractor, to win approval for their dream home.
Benjamin Riordan, another Bonny Dooner, was the contractor they selected to put the puzzle pieces into place. Three months after signing with B.Public, in March 2021, site work began. They had a foundation poured by August, and last June marked their triumphant return.
Little says they went with a muted blue tone for the exterior to soften the sharp modern aesthetic, which includes corrugated metal and concrete.
Now they’re hoping to convince others to embrace their energy-efficient approach to wildfire recovery.
“What I learned about passive homes during the process that I wasn’t aware of—that added tremendously to my resolve about building one—was the fire resiliency,” Wold-Switzer said. “And I think there’s an opportunity for policy advocacy on the state and local level to incentivize climate-adaptive building models.”
The community is invited to their open house on Saturday, June 3, from 10am-2pm at 131 Cottini Way in Bonny Doon.
Changing the Way We Build - B.PUBLIC Prefab
EDIE DILLMAN Featured on Go Solo | subkit.com
Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in home care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Edie Dillman, Co-Founder of B.PUBLIC Prefab, located in Santa Fe, NM, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
B.PUBLIC Prefab is a team of architects, designers, and change-makers meeting the climate and housing crises head-on. We're reimagining building for the better with technology that achieves extreme energy reduction, deep sustainability, and unmatched livability. We work with clients directly to design customer homes, architects and designers designing with our prefab components for high-performance buildings, and developers building NetZero and sustainable communities.
Tell us about yourself
I came to B.PUBLIC Prefab from the Education-to-Workforce disruption. At the same time, my partner was creating the first line of standard building components that would be rolled out as B.PUBLIC Prefab; I was working with a nonprofit addressing critical skills gaps in our workforce and innovative ways to train and attract talent to high-demand career paths. The eureka moment that inspired me to start B.PUBLIC Prefab was that labor shortages in the trades were the result of 30 years of attrition. We cannot solve that gap in skills and experience without out-of-the-box (or in-the-shop) disruption. We need to think smarter, work more efficiently, and attract huge numbers of new and diverse workers to fill not just the workforce crisis - but the housing shortage and rising construction costs. I realized that by creating jobs that train tradespeople and, importantly, offer job security and transferable skills with meaningful pathways, we might be able to create a shift. And the kicker for me is that our technology is also the future of sustainable housing and energy-independent healthy homes. B.PUBLIC Prefab allows me to make an impact on multiple issues while focusing on growing our one company.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I am very proud of building something that is segment-defining out of nothing. Of course, I am also incredibly proud and grateful that we could survive launching a company at the exact time COVID threw the business world upside down. Being an entrepreneur always has unexpected twists - and COVID certainly taught us that by being a mission-based public benefit corporation, it is helpful to have a central focus on solutions when the world goes sideways - our focus was clear.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Sleep can be a challenge. Both the thrilling and the worrying thoughts can keep you up or wake you up. I love my work and have a hard time turning it off. Lots of people preach about taking good care of yourself as crucial for the health of the company and your ability to be at your top performance. I have a hard time with that balance and will always have to practice walking away from the computer or prioritizing a hike to stay balanced.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Don't quit your day job until you have an MVP.
Surround yourself with great advisors and ignore the folks to eat your time and don't feed your progress.
Make sure you focus on doing better for the planet, people, or a purpose. Profit is no longer enough, and money will not keep you working through the hard parts. It helps to know you have a larger purpose and that your work is service.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://bpublicprefab.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BPUBLICprefab
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b.publicprefab/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edie-dillman-159a639/
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B.PUBLIC Receives JTIP Funding for 12 New Green Jobs
B PUBLIC Prefab, PBC , Santa Fe and Las Vegas, N.M. 16 trainees. Santa Fe location
seeks to hire 4 trainees at an average wage of $28.88 for a total award of $62,494.08 and
Las Vegas has been approved for 12 trainees at an average wage of $25.76 for a total award
of $195,165.28. B.PUBLIC Prefab is a woman-owned Public Benefit Corporation (PBC)
with explicit goals to create regional green jobs and make corporate decisions that protect
the environment and increase accessibility to high-performance buildings for all new
construction. B.PUBLIC Prefab wall system creates high-performance building envelopes
for new residential construction. This is their first JTIP application.
Photo: B.PUBLIC Training
OffsiteDirt.com Highlights Pilot Builder Training Event
The flyer waves like a flag. Las Vegas, New Mexico has a new wall in town thanks to our PHriends at B.Public Prefab. Their commitment to the development of regionally focused green manufacturing and builder training is taking a great stride this season. The launch of a new R&D manufacturing facility in Las Vegas, NM and the hosting of our first builder training event in December is a great way to wrap up an active 2022 and boost the 2023 construction season.
"Several of us from High Country Timber frame attended the B.Public Prefab installer training in Las Vegas, New Mexico and we came away very impressed with the B.Public panelized system, its overall simplicity for efficient installation, and its proven high performance application for net-zero and passive house standard projects. Working with a well thought out and engineered high performance panelized system, with modern quality control processes integrated into the manufacturing line, allows me to proceed with confidence when recommending the B.Public system to our clients. Our goal is to introduce net-zero and passive house methods, materials, and standards to all of the homes we design/ build moving forward and I anticipate that B.Public will be a perfect partner in that endeavour. I've had two promising discussions with clients already just since returning from the training about using the B.Public system for their upcoming projects. Moving forward on the right path is a necessity for conscientious designers and builders as we have a critical moral and ethical role to play in the energy consumption arena in the days, months, and years to come."
--Tom Ortiz-Owens, High Country Timberframe and Gallery Woodworking, Boone, N
Johnny Rezvani of 475 said, "Being able to train multiple crews from different locations across the country all at once is representative of the way prefab panelization is able to scale. This method of construction is the most exciting growth area we're seeing in North America and is changing the game for the high-performance industry."
OffsiteDirt: Women in Building
“If it was easy, everyone would do it. Get up and keep running."
Edie Dillman is CEO and co-founder of B.Public Prefab – a component-based high-performance building company that prioritizes energy reduction and housing creation. As co-founder of a decidedly disruptive company, she is committed to systems change and the rapid adoption of solutions for the natural and the built environment.
What attracted you to your role/position?
I hit a moment in my career (or a specific birthday) where it was impossible for me to ignore the environmental crisis. I was in the very fortunate position of having an opportunity to start a new company with an off-site approach developed by my business partner. Honestly, it was a crazy leap of faith without a safety net. But playing it safe is not where change comes from and if we can do good in this lifetime I feel we must. So, this was my chance to help protect our planet, build homes, create some green jobs and share the great news that there is so much we can do. Go big or stop complaining - so I chose action and I am so thrilled to share our journey.
What are your goals for the next 24 months?
Triple our company! I want to grow our staff, manufacturing capacity, and the number of low-energy healthy housing units built with B.PUBLIC. We are in a growth surge and I feel like we are running at full speed for the next couple of years. We launched the company two years ago and thinking forward to the next two is so exciting. Yes, some days the to-do list and ambition for B.PUBIC is daunting - but it is also a privilege and a joy to help improve the building industry. Off-site construction and the next generation of green building is here and the next 24 months is going to be huge.
How will this company impact others?
This is a big one! Let me climb up on my soapbox for a moment. The number one impact is to improve the health of occupants of our homes. The indoor air quality and thermal comfort is our number one outcome - and it is a huge benefit to all that this is achieved by consuming radically less energy and carbon.
Today we are helping ten families rebuild from wildfires. Getting people home and safe is the kind of impact we want to have. Our homes are built for generations of permanent low-energy and resilience.
What are the latest trends in high performance?
Craftsmanship is trending! Pride in detail and good materials! Something so old-fashioned is trending. We are seeing this sweet twist on pride and high-tech materials.
Do you have a quote or montra that keeps you inspired? If not, how do you keep moving forward?
“If it was easy - everyone would do it.” Get up and keep running.