ABSTRACT
As the modular housing industry in the US continues to recover after the great recession, it has become increasingly focused on sustainability. The concept of a low-energy modular home is gaining traction, with companies like Unity Homes, Blu Homes, Method, and LivingHomes offering high-performance models. The ecoMOD project is a research and design/build/evaluate initiative, focused on high-performance new modular homes as well as energy-efficient renovations of existing homes. The project teams strive to address the two most important challenges facing the next generation of designers: the significant environmental impact of the built environment, and the growing economic divide between high-income and low-income individuals. The first important design decision was determining how to ensure the ecoMOD South homes would be truly high performance. After months of research, design, collaborative decision making, cost estimating, and material procurement, the ecoMOD South project finally went into production in late December 2012.
