The “Lego” home building system (Part Two)

Now that we learned all the obstacles that get in the way to making our home building techniques more in line with modernity, where do we see efforts made in that direction? Well, there are still companyies currently Trying to disrupt this situation by the boundaries.

I don’t know what’s going on in Europe or in Asia, but in the United States, 

• Plant Prefab is a California‑based company building high‑quality, architect‑designed modular homes by focusing on sustainability and speed. 
• Villa is another outfit focused on accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which are easier to standardize and ship than full homes. 
• Biltwise is another modular builder working on efficient, sustainable prefab systems. Method Homes is known for custom, high‑design modular homes built offsite. 
• Dvele is a high‑tech modular home company emphasizing energy efficiency and smart‑home integration. 
• Module based in Pittsburgh is a mission‑driven modular housing company focused on affordable, community‑oriented housing. 

The list goes on with more companies aiming a that goal, but the question remains, why hasn’t a “Tesla of Housing” emerged yet? It’s simply because housing is not like cars or phones. 

Again, it’s regulated locally, it’s still built on‑site, its tied to land, heavily dependent on local labor, if made far away, expensive to transport and the industry remains slow to adopt new methods. Even very well‑funded disruptors like Katerra, backed by SoftBank, collapsed under the weight of trying to industrialize a fragmented industry. 

This said the companies that are succeeding tend to start small (ADUs, small homes, repeatable designs), stay regional instead of going national, are partnering with local builders instead of replacing them, focusing on sustainability and energy efficiency and using panelized or hybrid systems instead of full volumetric modules. 

So, at this moment, the future of modular may not be giant Lego‑like blocks, but smarter, lighter, more flexible prefab systems, until we become all surprised by a new invention that will make us exclaim: “Why didn’t I thought of this!”