To innovate, we must integrate.
Families don't experience separate disciplines. They experience one home—and one community.
Design for the whole equation.
Housing affordability, energy costs, health, accessibility, climate resilience, and community well-being are interconnected. Treating them separately can create expensive tradeoffs. We believe they should inform each other from the beginning.
Consider total cost—not just construction price—including maintenance, utilities, adaptability, and long-term value.
Prioritize energy efficiency, durability, lower environmental impacts, and responsible use of materials.
Create housing that supports health, independence, social connection, and local housing choices.
Two initiatives. A shared purpose.
FIRST Communities focuses on the practical work of developing and delivering homes.
The NH Housing Innovation Lab is envisioned as a platform for testing and validating new building approaches, with findings that could inform FIRST and other housing initiatives.
The connection is learning: research can improve practice, and real development constraints can help shape useful research questions.