Resilient construction has become a hot topic in the homebuilding industry. In fact, it was one of the themes of this year’s IBS Show Village, where my company, Impresa Building Systems, showcased its new Carolina Cottage.
But, what do we mean by resilience? The dictionary defines it in general as the ability “to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions,” or “to recoil or spring back into shape after bending, stretching, or being compressed.” Synonyms include strong, tough and hardy.
When it comes to homes and buildings, The Urban Land Institute has a similar definition. Resilience is “the ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from, and more successfully adapt to adverse events.” It’s the capacity of a home to adapt to changing conditions and to maintain, or regain, functionality during a disturbance or stress. It’s also the ability to bounce back after that disturbance or stress.
As for what kinds of stress, resiliency is understood as a building’s ability to withstand, and recover from, natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, wildfires, floods and severe winter storms.
The concept of resilient construction is not new, but changing weather patterns and weather events seen regularly on the news have made it more relevant than ever.
Today’s homebuyers expect — in fact, they require — more comfort, efficiency, and convenience than ever from their new home. In addition, homeowners have become increasingly concerned about impacts from tornadoes, flooding, hurricanes, seismic events, fires, etc. Safety and security have been added to most people’s must-haves when building a new home.
Off-site modular construction is a very effective way to fulfill these needs. Modular is a method of dividing a home plan into sections, or modules, building those modules off-site, then delivering and installing them on-site to create a finished home.
Most people understand the “what” of modular, but they rarely think about the “how.” They don’t realize what a feat it is for a large module (the average one is 14 ft. wide by 56 ft. long), to be driven down the road on a carrier, lifted by a crane and joined to several other modules on a permanent foundation.
To accomplish this feat, many extra details need to go into a module’s construction. These details are meant to enhance and maintain structural integrity while the module is transported on the highway, then lifted and set into place. The homebuyer gets the benefit of a home that’s stronger and more secure than its site-built counterpart. In other words, more resilient.
But while structural integrity is essential to a resilient home, it’s not everything. This way of building also has much in common with green building. That’s because many of the strategies needed to achieve true resilience — for example, enough insulation to keep the home habitable if the power goes out or if interruptions in heating fuel occur — are the same ones that green builders have promoted for years as ways to reduce energy use. The solutions are the same in many cases; the difference is the purpose behind them.
Modular shines here as well. It’s more effective to implement green strategies in a dry factory with quality assurance protocols, than on a jobsite exposed to the weather.
What’s clear is that the basic features built into every modular home to help it withstand transportation and installation also make it better able to withstand natural and man-made events.
Some homes will require features above and beyond the basics, but those features will vary by location because construction is regional. This, too, is a simple matter for a modular factory. With the intentional implementation of additional, location-specific upgrades, modular homes can be built quickly and efficiently to meet the resiliency requirements needed in any part of the country.
The bottom line is that modern modular construction offers a cost-effective path for today’s homebuyer to build safety and security into any new home.
