HUD Awards $400,000 to West Virginia University for Research on Innovative Housing Construction

HUD Awards $400,000 to West Virginia University for Research on Innovative Housing Construction

The project will test and standardize innovative construction practices for greener housing systems.

MORGANTOWN - Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Policy Development and Research awarded a grant of $400,000 to West Virginia University (WVU) to support research on innovative housing construction methods.

"There are not enough quality affordable homes in America; we need to build more," said HUD Agency Head Adrianne Todman. "At HUD, we work every day to uplift communities by supporting programs to help people find affordable homes and that includes supporting research projects like the one we are announcing today at West Virginia University. These projects can help us, and our partners, learn and standardize best practices to create new innovative building technologies, a part of the solution for increasing the housing supply nationwide."

Through this research partnership, West Virginia University will collaborate with Omnis Building Technologies, LLC to develop innovative building panels made of geopolymer concrete and foam cores reinforced with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) grids. These panels, designed to reduce CO2 emissions and enhance thermal performance, will be used to construct a 1,600-square-foot building on WVU's campus. The project aims to improve construction efficiency, ease of assembly, and sustainability, supporting the development of greener building technologies.

"We are thrilled to continue expanding the evidence base for the use of bold new technologies that can help solve our housing crisis," said Solomon Greene, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research. "We know that in addition to building more affordably, we also need to increase resiliency and energy efficiency, and WVU's demonstration will help us learn how to build greener homes for all Americans."

Studying innovative construction practices is an important step toward increasing our nation's supply of high-quality housing and HUD supports initiatives designed to increase the production of affordable housing and give more communities access to homes they need.