All articles tagged with #modular homes
After the devastating 2023 wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, factory-built modular homes were rapidly installed to provide long-term, dignified housing for displaced residents, addressing the shortcomings of traditional FEMA trailers and highlighting innovative approaches to disaster recovery and affordable housing.
Binyamin Appelbaum argues in the New York Times for a shift towards mass production of modular homes in factories, citing the need for a sequel to the failed 1969 initiative, Operation Breakthrough. Appelbaum highlights the potential benefits of standardized building materials and regulations, as well as the ability to significantly reduce construction time from eight months to a single day. He suggests that government investment and subsidies, similar to those that have driven the spread of solar panels, could revolutionize the home-building business and address issues of housing market volatility and transportation costs.
Ukrainian firm HOMErs has developed modular homes that can be quickly assembled from standardized factory-made units, offering a potential solution for the millions of refugees and people who have lost their properties in the conflict. The modular homes, which can be flat-packed and transported on a single lorry, have been donated to families in Ukraine, providing them with a new and more suitable living space. HOMErs aims to scale up production by building a new factory in Slovakia, with the goal of supplying hundreds of homes per month. The modular homes offer a cost-effective and efficient way to rebuild communities affected by the conflict, while maintaining quality and sustainability.