Ivy launches Offsite Hub, the modular building network

The housing emergency, at the heart of European and national policies, can only find a concrete response through rapid, accessible and sustainable intervention solutions. The European Housing Plan is explicit: it is necessary to industrialise the construction sector by leveraging the so-called 'modern construction methods' (Mmc), moving significant shares of production processes to the factory and adopting standardised logics capable of guaranteeing economies of scale in terms of time, resources and quality of the result.

In this context, Offsite Hub was born, a platform that aims to coordinate companies, designers, developers and institutions around the Mmc. The first meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, 3 March, in Milan, in the spaces of Cariplo Factory. Coordinating the initiative will be Edera - the Innovation Centre promoted by Near Sgr (formerly Redo), Fondazione Housing Sociale and Ance - which since 2020 has represented a national reference point on the evolution of construction and, in particular, on offsite construction, based on modular components quickly assembled on site.

Thanks to the experience gained in the EnergieSprong international network, Edera has already built an ecosystem of almost 100 realities among innovative companies, designers, research organisations, institutions, cooperatives and housing companies, with a total stock of over 150,000 homes. The centre has also initiated collaborations with public administrations, starting with the municipalities of Milan and Rome, within the framework of decarbonisation strategies for the building stock. An ecosystem that now aims to grow further.

"The European Union is definitely accelerating," observes Thomas Miorin, CEO of Edera. "The European House Plan requires affordable solutions, supported by new industrialised supply chains that, in Italia more than elsewhere, must also be confronted with the need to secure and make efficient an ageing and fragile existing housing stock. Only by increasing the level of collaboration and innovation in the construction sector can we expect to achieve these results'.

The meeting on 3 March and the nascent Offsite Hub will be open to companies, developers, planners and managers of public and private assets, with the aim of building a shared ecosystem of discussion and work around three main lines: new construction, to make the acceleration of affordable housing supply economically sustainable; redevelopment, to reduce the time and cost of deep renovation interventions; temporary construction, to support urban regeneration and transformation processes. The work started at national level will be part of a path towards the creation of a European association dedicated to offsite construction, aimed at sharing standards, industrial models and regulatory solutions among the various member countries. "To build a competitive offsite supply chain,' adds Miorin, 'we need structured ecosystems in the individual countries and a supranational network capable of pooling skills and experience.