Rapid Recovery: Western North Carolina Industrialized Construction Tech Hub’s Response to Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene caused significant damage to Western North Carolina. NC Office of State Management and Budget estimates that between 121,000 and 132,000 homes have been damaged due to Helene and roughly 12,000 people were estimated to still be displaced from the storm in early January 2025. This amplified the already existing shortage of good quality housing in the region. We now face the dual challenge of quickly developing affordable high-performance housing that also includes resilience against extreme weather events. To address this, ADL Ventures and Howard Building Science convened a consortium of regional Council of Governments, Developers, Builders, Prefabricators and Academia called ‘Western NC Industrialized Construction Tech Hub’. Through collaboration and recent industrialized construction (IC) projects in the region (Duke Street Cottages and Hickory Grove), the group secured a donated parcel of land to highlight IC deployment speed, aesthetic diversity, and act as a “how-to” guide for other regional developers. Our presentation will go into depth on the setup, execution, and learnings from these IC projects.  We will also discuss how high-performance construction can also be disaster resilient (FORTIFIED™) housing for vulnerable populations. These projects used a variety of industrialized construction methods; Modular, panelized, and hybrid. This presentation will showcase the importance of collaborative partnerships in creating sustainable, affordable, and resilient housing solutions in rural America.Learning Objectives:Need of the hour: Nexus of industrialized construction, disaster resilient and high performance homesGetting community buy in through consortium building, data collection and shared responsibilitiesDocumentation of planning and execution process for replicability and scaling using ‘how-to’ playbooksCase studies: High performance, IC-based neighborhoods

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