Programs Now Underway
- Wildfire-ready custom homes that are fire-safe, healthy and climate resilient
Energy-positive living with efficiency and solar integration built in
Faster timelines from permit to move-in within 8–12 months
- Accessible financing backed by philanthropy and cooperative credit
OUR Vision
BuildLA Initiative seeks to address systemic challenges exacerbated by the disaster, ensuring that recovery efforts promote equitable access to resources and opportunities for all affected residents.
- Development, Co-development & Finance
- Fire Mitigation
- Labor Solutions
- Supply Chain Management
- Integrated Energy Innovation
Stronger together
If private entities, plus state, county, and local governments rise to the occasion and embrace comprehensive, innovative solutions tailored to the scale of the crisis, a vibrant recovery is possible.
Research for Safety
For protection in an urban conflagration, such as we saw in the Eaton and Palisades wildfires, more is needed: a new powerful building standard for disaster resilience, clean and healthy indoor air, and energy positive living.
“If an airtight building envelope—paired with an energy-positive design—can slash energy use by up to 90%, enhance healthy airflow, quiet our spaces, and, crucially, save lives with fire resistance… maybe it’s time we rewrite the rules. Let’s make this the world standard.”
Andreas M. Benzing
Unprecedented wildfires met with Passive House science.
- Market Failure → Aggregated Capital Models (Insurance collapse addressed by pooled public/private/philanthropic funds)
- Uninsurable Communities → Risk-Reduction Pilots (High-risk zones stabilized via insurer partnerships testing fire-resilient builds)
- Rebuild Cost Inflation → Prefab Innovation Consortia ($1,000/sq ft costs halved through off-site systems)
The scale of the devastation is almost incomprehensible, and the challenges ahead are monumental.
The road to recovery is fraught with systemic weaknesses and looming dangers. An already dire insurance crisis has worsened, leaving many families and communities—across a spectrum of incomes and resources—facing the overwhelming expense of rebuilding.
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
Buckminster Fuller