Ivan Rupnik is Associate Professor of Architecture at Northeastern University and Founding Partner of MOD X, a research-based advisory he started along with Ryan E. Smith and Tyler Schmetterer that supports the global offsite construction industry. He joins Housing Insiders to talk about building codes: how they work (and in the case of the US, could work a lot better), and how a nationalized approach could make factory-built housing more scalable and affordable. The US holds the dubious distinction of having some of the most fragmented building codes in the world. Fifty years ago, HUD Secretary George Romney launched Operation Breakthrough, recognizing that America's fragmented building codes were strangling housing innovation and affordability. Despite proving the massive costs of regulatory complexity, Romney's vision was shelved – while other countries adopted his blueprint and revolutionized their own housing industries. Ivan talks about what countries like Sweden and Japan are doing to build housing quickly and affordably, offering a roadmap forward that’s been hiding in plain sight.

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Further reading:

How an American Dream of Housing Became a Reality in Sweden

Modularization Precedes Digitalization in Offsite Housing Delivery

A YIMBY Theory of Power