b'INNOVATIVE HOUSINGwere opening up a lot of communities The interior of a Bison Modularhome eyes to different housing construction technologies that are out there. MODULAR MISCONCEPTIONSModular homes are indeed having their moment, but there are common misconceptions that the teams at Bison and NUQO find themselves addressing.Oneisthatmodular home construction takes job oppor-tunities away from local communities. Suppliers say thats not the case.There are people who are worried that this process takes jobs from local trades if the building is built elsewhere. Thats actually not true, Richards insists. For the homes we make, 50 per cent of the work still involves on-site preparation, like building the founda-tions, installing the connections, and looking after all the finishing. So in effect, modular construction is a hybrid approach that engages Indigenous communities while also helping those that are remote and may have a lack BUT IS IT A HOME? of local trades.Modular and 3D-printed homes are compelling alternatives to traditionalAffordability is another question that housing. However, a common question lingers in the minds of many can come up in the modular home who view modular through a dated lens: Are these innovative houses discussion. While modular homes can really homes?be slightly more expensive than tradi-tional builds, Richards explains that the I can answer that question with an emphatic yes, states Rory Richards,nature of their construction can also president of NUQO Modular. Rather than sterile boxes with uninspiredoffset traditional building costs. If interiors, Richards points to the fact that todays modern modularyoure in a remote Indigenous commu-designs can be made, furnished and decorated to be warm, inviting andnity, a traditional home build can mean having to bring in tradespeople and exceedingly attractive places to live.put them up in nearby camps or hotels a few cities over. With modular, you The houses were making are homey, culturally proud, and full of beautifuldont need to do that, so that can environments with warm, natural light, Richards says. When someoneflatten the overall price.comes and walks around a finished unit, theyre always like, Oh my goodness, this does feel like a home.Lastly, there is a lingering percep-tion that modular homes mean lower Bison Modular is another builder of modular homes that clients can bequality. While this may have been the proud of. Were making a solution that is a home to them, not just acase years ago when the process was house, says the companys vice president, Shane Prevost. We providein its infancy, it is far from the case a number of customizable options and decorations, and we incorporatetoday. You have to remember that cultural elements wherever we can, such as pine ceilings and pine casingswere building in a factory setting, on the windows. following industry protocols, and employing quality control managers who are looking in-depth at what were As for 3D-printed homes, here too concerns about comfort and livabilitydoing at all stages.can be put to rest. According to Ian Arthur, co-founder and president of nidus3D, any apprehension about houses created with the new, cutting- PRINTING A HOMEedge technology fades when owners see their options. We get thisWhat if you could print a home question [about livability] all the time, he says. But the homes can beon-site from the ground up? This finished and decorated to each homeowners style. is the promise of 3D construction printing (e.g., additive manufacturing), a process in which buildings are 20A CCIB PUBLICATIONSummer 2024'