Reframe Systems | May 2024 Newsletter
Hello Everyone! Welcome to the Reframe Systems newsletter where you can find updates on our progress towards delivering net-zero homes for all.
For those of you who are new here, thank you for joining us! Reframe Systems is developing robotic microfactories for manufacturing net-zero homes 2x faster, 2x cheaper and with 10x lower carbon. Please check out our Substack article on the company’s inception!
First Customer Project Set!
We are very excited to announce the on-site delivery of our first customer project at 40 Dorothy Road in Arlington, MA! The project is a 900 square foot, net-zero Passive House Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) for the Housing Corporation of Arlington. Built in our microfactory in Andover, MA, the two modules for the ADU were shipped, delivered and set in a single day! Our new friends at Sherman Crane were fantastic partners in ensuring a smooth and safe process. Our delivery team will be “buttoning up” and finishing the last details of unit through the second week of May to get it ready for occupancy. We also want to thank our partners Forge, who are joining us to staff this build with both building professionals and apprentices. HCA will offer the 2-bedroom, 1.5 bath home for rent as an affordable apartment for a low-income family. They have been a tremendous partner and we are so pleased to have our first customer project be a part of their portfolio.
Here are some action shots from the delivery day!
Partner With Us!
We are actively seeking development partners and land owners who are looking to build net-zero residential projects. Our immediate pipeline is focused on the greater Northeast ranging from New York up to Maine. If you know any developers who might be interested in partnering with us, please reach out to alex@reframe.systems
Reframe in the News 🗞️
We welcomed Scott Kirsner of the Boston Globe to our factory in February to talk about modular construction, the housing crisis and unlocking construction productivity. Check out the article at the Boston Globe here
Design Development
We are developing a collection of new building designs that encompass a variety of use cases. These range from low-density projects like single family home communities and ADU’s, mid-density projects like duplexes and triple deckers, all the way up to higher density buildings like traditional garden style apartment complexes
New Products and Service Types
Beyond our design + build work, we are developing panelized building kits to deliver Passive House building envelopes and support deep energy retrofits. Consistent with our goal of developing a truly flexible manufacturing line, we are able to tackle these various product lines without altering our fundamental production line
We are seeing increased customer interest in the production of high performance wall panels. In Boston (and across the country) many builders and developers are facing increased requirements to meet Passive House performance standards. As part of our commitment to deliver net-zero carbon housing, we are engineering all of our buildings to meet US Passive House certifications. Learn more about Passive House here
Innovation Milestones
Robotic framing is here! We are officially supplementing our build work teams with robotic-framed walls. Our beloved robot, Adam, framed one of the wall panels for our Dorothy Road project. We are looking forward to witnessing Adam’s growth as we begin to rely more on robotic framing to support our build-team’s productivity 🤖🤝👷
New Website Updates
Be sure to check out our new ADU product page! We would greatly appreciate sharing the website link with your network - or with friends and family who might be interested in our ADU!
New Reframe Team Members! 👏
We recently welcomed two incredible new team members to the Reframe Systems family. Please join us in giving a warm welcome to Jessica and Ethan! Both of our newest team members come to us with uniquely impressive backgrounds and have already hit the ground running.
Jessica Boatright joined the team in January as the Head of Business Development & Strategy. Jessica has two decades of experience in real estate and housing development. Throughout her career, she has worked across sectors on innovation, strategy and community building. Most recently, Jessica led Neighborhood Housing Development at the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Housing. During her tenure, she oversaw the creation, acquisition and preservation of 1000’s of units across Boston’s high cost housing market. As a real estate developer at Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation and 2Life Communities, she directed preservation and new construction on both multifamily and commercial projects. As a leader in those organizations, she oversaw strategic planning, organizational design and policy initiatives. Her affordable housing career in Massachusetts started in the Division of Public Housing and Rental Assistance at Massachusetts’ Department of Housing and Community Development. In her first planning role, with Concordia, LLC, she directed comprehensive community planning efforts and capital master plans around the country. Jessica received a Master in City Planning and a Certificate in Urban Design from MIT, a BA in Public Policy Analysis/Anthropology from Pomona College, and completed the Coro Public Affairs Fellowship.
Ethan Keller started full-time at the beginning of February as our Design Automation Lead. Ethan has been contracting with Reframe for the past few months and has already shown the value of his skills across several fronts, primarily using Onshape to streamline processes in design, robotics, and manufacturing. Ethan joins us after a five and a half year stint at Onshape where he served as a Senior Software Engineer with the last 2 years as part of the Part Studio Team. While at Onshape, Ethan developed many features that we will be building upon. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Cornell University. In his spare time Ethan volunteers designing parametric gravity fed water treatment plants for places in need with AguaClara.
Recent Events
HUD and MOD X's Offsite Construction Workshop and Tours: In early February, members of our business development team attended a two-day event hosted by MOD X. The event brought together housing professionals from around the world (UK, Ireland, Sweden, Japan as well as US representatives) to visit offsite construction facilities in Boston, Maryland and Virginia. These events are crucial for continuing education in the industry and establishing partnerships with groups at different stages of the build stack.
Passive House Maine: Our co-founder and CEO Vikas spoke at passivhausMAINE’s Winter Forum on Feb 16th. Vikas joined industry experts including Evan Smith and Kurt Roth for the “Innovation Nation” panel where he discussed how the Company’s robotic microfactories can help scale the construction and retrofits of net-zero passive homes in Maine, Massachusetts and beyond.
What We’re Reading 📚
Sekisui House buys M.D.C. holdings for $4.9 Billion - This acquisition will put Sekisui House on the map as the the fifth largest home builder in the U.S. expanding the company’s global footprint and supporting its goal of delivering 10,000 homes outside of Japan by 2025.
“A rising tide lifts all boats” 🚢 we’re very excited for the impact this will have not only for the U.S. housing market, but the industrialized construction industry as well.
The Rising Demand for Workforce Housing - “As production rates continue below demand characteristics, higher income renters are forced to take what they can in the housing markets, albeit with their higher incomes helping them compete more effectively. This then forces middle income renters to seek inferior housing, because that’s what they can compete for”
We’re here to alleviate this burden by bringing high-quality, low-cost housing to market.
Upcoming Events and Opportunities
Industry Events: We’re excited to meet with members of our network at the following upcoming events. If you or a member of your team will be attending any of these, please reach out so we can connect!
21st Walk For Affordable Housing | May 19, 2024 | 12:00 - 2:00PM | Jason Russell House, Corner of Jason St & Mass Ave, Arlington MA
HUD Innovative Housing Showcase | June 7 - 9, 2024 | National Mall | Washington D.C.
Building Tech Forum | June 11, 2024 | 5:30 - 9:30PM | Joyce Cummings Center | Tufts University | Medford MA
Factory Tours: If you will be up in the Boston area and would like to come tour our facilities in Andover, please shoot me an email to schedule a tour: alex@reframe.systems