The Construction REvolution
A cross-sector collaboration to reduce the cost of housing by creating an innovation hub for effective offsite construction
Photos show units on the production floor at Rise Modular in Owatonna, MN
Momentum IN WASHINTON
Construction Revolution Founder Mary Tingerthal testifies before Congress
Mary testified before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development at a hearing entitled Innovation in U.S. Housing: Solutions and Policies for America’s Future. Select the preceding link to watch Mary’s remarks, with her introduction starting at ~36:20.
Minnesota Senator champions offsite construction
Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) toured a modular housing manufacturing facility and commended the use of offsite methods in the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) Family Housing Expansion project. She planned to bring back details of what she saw to her colleagues in Washington, according to a press release with the photo below from Rise Modular. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, passed by the U.S. Senate in March 2026, contains provisions related to offsite construction.
Senator Tina SMith (D-MN)
“This is incredible, innovative work they’re doing”
National Institute for Building Sciences aims to modernize regulation of offsite construction
The National Institute for Building Sciences (NIBS) announced a workgroup funded by HUD to to develop a Housing System Certification Program Standard, “signaling a potential transformation in how residential construction is regulated nationwide,” according to a press release from the congressionally mandated organization.
“Unlike the prevailing model, in which residential buildings are permitted as one-off, site-specific projects, the proposed certification program treats homes as complete systems or products, similar to regulatory frameworks for automobiles and aircraft. Under this model, projects built with certified systems would be permitted and inspected against the system-level certification, greatly simplifying the current process. The overall goal is to improve how jurisdictions evaluate repeatable, configurable housing systems while providing a code pathway for increasing the supply, affordability and resilience of U.S. housing.”
A Technical Committee will support the development of the standard, including representation from the Construction Revolution.
Breakthrough Regional Pilots
HUD launches Breakthrough Regional Pilots across the country
The Construction Revolution partnered with MOD X, a global leader in offsite construction knowledge exchange, to design and facilitate an Offsite Accelerator for 25 multi-sector housing leaders in Minnesota.
Modeled on the Offsite Accelerator, MOD X designed the Breakthrough Regional Pilots Project, which was awarded funding by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to facilitate strategic planning workshops for regional pilot partners in five additional states across the country, each of which developed their own action plans to increase offsite construction capacity.
Action Plan
Construction Revolution publishes Action Plan to make offsite construction a reality in Minnesota
The Action Plan for Minnesota is based on workshops and findings from the Construction Revolution Summit, which you can learn more about through videos, session summaries, and presentation materials.
Minnesota stakeholders identify Action Plan updates
Minnesota stakeholders have identified opportunities to update the action plan based on recent progress and emerging challenges. They convened twice as a part of the HUD Breakthrough Regional Pilots Project (more below).
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis has also presented research (article, slides) from stakeholder interviews on the opportunities and challenges for volumetric modular construction in Minnesota.
Curated Resources
Itasca Project report rates offsite construction as high impact and high feasibility
Discover more resources on offsite construction curated by the Construction Revolution, such as how offsite contruction compares to other innovative housing practices in this graphic from the Itasca Project Housing Innovation Report (item 6D).
“The Summit shows that there is a backbone of support in Minnesota for modular building.”
