Imagine moving into a new home in California that’s cheaper, safer, and built in a matter of days.
That’s what Daniel Lopez-Perez, Ph.D. promised as he stepped inside the geometric house he erected in his La Jolla backyard. The 440-square-foot house is the first prototype for his company, Polyhaus.
Lopez-Perez said it was built in a few days from dozens of thick three-ply mass timber panels. He said mass timber is roughly 4.5 inches thick. It’s assembled, measured, and cut into large panels in Washington. Then it’s shipped to be assembled, not unlike an Ikea product, just with heavier and higher-end material.
The prototype cost roughly $300,000.
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“Think of building a structure one two-by-four at a time. Think of all the hours of labor that that entails versus building a structure out of 60 panels,” said. Dr. Lopez-Perez.
He knows what he’s talking about.
“I am a professor of architecture, and I am the program director of architecture at the University of San Diego,” he said.
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However, he runs Polyhaus on the side. He said his mission is simple: “To advance production in the housing space.”
Lopez-Perez said home construction has not taken a giant leap forward in a century while phones, computers, and cars make leaps every few years. He explained labor takes up much of the cost of building homes. The Polyhaus houses can run from 440-to-2500 square feet but cost much less than traditional homes of the same size and take far less time to construct.
“This project is not about reducing labor and reducing jobs,” he said. “In the opposite, it is empowering local builders and local general contractors to just build more units.”
The units are capable of withstanding earthquakes, storms, and wildfires far better than traditional homes, Lopez-Perez said. The diagonal design of the panels is structurally stronger and the angled walls deflect winds much easier than a flat, squared surface. He also said he could hold a blow torch against the mass-timber panel walls for hours and it would not catch fire.
“For sure, mass timber could save lives. Absolutely. No question about it,” he said. “Mass timber is revolutionizing our discipline.”
Lopez-Perez said the home’s carbon footprint is also smaller than with traditional homes. He said concrete is worse for the environment than wood, which they’re harvesting in conjunction with U.S. Forest Service reforesting efforts. And, the Polyhaus design requires fewer materials than traditional homes.
