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Transforming the home building process from design to delivery
ToGatherHomes™ provides a progressive design and build service to developers of affordable and social housing that reduces project timelines, costs, and waste, lowers carbon emissions and promotes community-oriented sustainable design solutions with its proprietary digital design library of timber housing, digital infrastructure and a select network of design and build partners. Its mission is to transform the home building process from design to delivery to provide affordable and sustainable housing for everyone.
Challenge
“Europe is in a housing crisis. We need to act now, and we need to act bold”. Oliver Ropke, Pres of the EU Economic and Social Committee, March 5, 2024
Housing affordability is at crisis levels across the EU. The surge in construction and labor costs has been impacting developers, restricting housing supply while demand remains high. According to the OECD, there is a housing underinvestment of €57 billion per annum in the EU. As supply is constrained, prices have increased by more than 43% since 2015 (Eurostat). Median-priced homes have become six times the average household income in Belgium (OECD), with this ratio reaching up to eight times in countries like Ireland. The traditional construction industry is outdated and cannot address the problem with only 1% productivity growth per year.
Meanwhile, for Europe to reach its climate goals, the construction industry’s large climate footprint needs to be drastically reduced. The built environment by traditional construction industry accounts for 39% of global energy-related carbon emissions, with 28 percent coming from the operation of buildings and 11 percent being embedded in materials and construction. The traditional construction industry is responsible for over 35% of the total waste generation in the EU. (European Commission Buildings and Construction). It is urgent that the industry starts using, recycling and reusing environmentally friendly construction materials.
In short, there is a pressing need for innovation, sustainability, and productivity in housing. This is why ToGatherHomes is committed to its mission.
After consulting with both public and private developers, the team identified five key issues that hinders addressing the current challenges in the housing industry.
· Expensive land, high material costs and labor costs.
· Lack of scalability for supply to catch up with demand.
· Reducing carbon emissions in housing development.
· Developing more sustainable projects.
Result: The developers are unable to meet the current demand for affordable and sustainable housing.
SOLUTION
ToGatherHomes’ service enables developers to deliver affordable, sustainable, and scalable timber-based housing projects with greater speed and efficiency compared to traditional concrete construction processes.
The company believes that achieving substantial cost reductions in construction relies not solely on material costs, but largely on optimizing the construction process itself. However, ensuring smooth digital information flow across various design disciplines and trades faces challenges due to software and technology disparities. To address this, ToGatherHomes advocates for developing a dedicated digital workflow system in collaboration with key partners as the most effective path to success.
In an industry where collaboration among multiple parties often consumes significant time and effort, the company's comprehensive solution is a game-changer.
ToGather Homes’ service includes the following:
o Direct access to the select network of design & build team and suppliers, manufacturers, contractors for a quick start and time savings. This network works along with the company's seasoned in-house team is to execute its designs for specific projects. Its design and build partners are well-versed in the company's design library and proficient in utilizing its digital infrastructure.
o Utilization of the design library (via the select design & build team) for a quick start, time and cost savings, in-built sustainability features, community and social-oriented design philosophy. Design library holds pre-engineered, prefabricated, timber-based social and affordable housing designs in 3 key typologies: single family row house, multi-family rowhouses, and 2 - 6 story multi-family apartments. Designs are developed in Building Information Modelling (BIM). The design flexibility supports the reuse of designs across various social and affordable housing projects. Designs are aligned with the Flemish Housing Code, meet the requirements of Flemish Society for Social Living (VMSW). Prioritizing timber structures and energy efficiency, the company's designs offer sustainability to reduce the environmental impact of residential projects. Rooted in a community and social-oriented design philosophy, its designs foster social cohesion.
o An efficient and lower cost design & build process with the utilization of the digital infrastructure (through the design & build team) throughout all subsequent phases, that is,: preliminary feasibility study, concept design, spatial coordination, technical design, procurement and coordination. The company's digital infrastructure facilitates project collaboration, automates various development processes and outputs, enables rapid information transfer, and ultimately streamlines the design and build process. The company's vision for this digital infrastructure encompasses the following components:
Digital collaboration platform where project information can be easily shared, exchanged, and modified to enhance communication among project participants.
Integrated database environment comprising of - Design library - Costing database for automated costing of designs per client project - Project database to capture each client development project and inform the overall platform - Client database to track all client engagement and agreements to enable digital sharing of data across project phases and the project team.
Digital tools that simplify key processes such as feasibility studies, supplies tendering, and construction process outputs. They ensure time and cost savings, effective risk management, uniformity, quality assurance, and process control.
MILESTONES
EIT Community New European Bauhaus Catalyse 2024 Accelerator Programme
In March 2024, ToGatherHomes was chosen to participate in the 2024 cohort of the EIT Community New European Bauhaus (NEB) Catalyse programme, a start-up accelerator for ventures working to implement New European Bauhaus values across Europe. It thus joined a shortlist of 24 startups, chosen from more than 100 companies. Besides participating in the programme, the company will be receiving €50K through a SAFE agreement.
VLAIO Grant (Flanders Entrepreneurship and Innovation Agency)
In June 2023, ToGatherHomes received a €50K grant from VLAIO for a feasibility study. The company completed a comprehensive study to assess local legislations, market preferences, and regional differences, shaping ToGatherHomes’ development of its offering. It is currently applying for a follow up development grant of €300K.
ToGatherHomes has already taken significant steps towards realizing its mission:
Strategic Team Setup: Assembled a diverse team including a Product Development Director, Finance & Strategy Director, Project Development Director, Design & Research Manager, Timber Engineer Manager, and a process/project management advisor, working collaboratively as an integrated product development team.
Feasibility Study: Completed a comprehensive study to assess local legislations, market preferences, and regional differences, shaping ToGatherHomes’ design library and digital infrastructure development project.
Market Research: Conducted extensive research on social housing and urban sustainable neighborhoods, covering community catalysts, housing types, social housing programs, sustainable mobility, density, and more.
Design Library Creation: Developed a design library of housing units based on core values and requirements articulated by ToGatherHomes. The MVP, is ready as of Q4 2023.
Business Plan: Developed a detailed business plan outlining business activities, financial projections, pricing strategy, and industry partnerships, informed by the feasibility study.
Industry Partnerships: Contracted with proven and established partners within the industry for their technical expertise. This team includes architects, engineers (civil, structural, geotechnical, mechanical, electrical), consultants (acoustics, fire safety, sustainability, BIM), a timber contractor, and a general contractor. Discussions are ongoing with industry partners especially ones that can help build the digital infrastructure. Seasoned builders and real estate developers have indicated interest in partnering up to co-develop the first prototype homes. Some names are Egoin, Blufab, Casais, Kingspan, Machiels Buildings and Implenia.
Community Engagement: Established relationships with real estate players in Belgium and formed a review panel comprising stakeholders for refining services and gaining valuable insights.
