The Future of Nature-Based Housing Development
Scaling mass timber, low-carbon housing with Juno
James Ball | Director of Sustainability, Juno
Housing development is lagging tragically behind other industries to adopt innovation at scale. There is a massive opportunity to reimagine the design, construction, maintenance, and reuse of buildings. This need for innovation is a social and environmental imperative, as housing is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. If not solved, we will not reach the 2030 emissions reduction targets.
The built environment generates 40% of annual global CO2 emissions. Additionally, real estate development productivity remains lower than it was in 1965. The U.S. is 5.5 million units behind on housing. The gap between supply and demand is growing by 300,000 units a year. We’re in the midst of both climate change and housing crises.
A better way to build
Juno was created to help scale massive decarbonization within the real estate industry. We use a product approach to create multifamily housing with mass timber components.
Our real estate platform combines hardware, software, and an asset-light operating model to accelerate the design-build process. Juno is lowering both embodied and operational carbon more than any other scalable housing solution on the market.
Juno’s building system uses carbon-sequestering mass timber sourced from sustainably managed US forests. It’s made up of 33 repeatable components — from mass timber floor slabs to prefabricated bathrooms — to create dozens of unique apartment layouts.
These components simplify and speed up the design, procurement, and installation process. As a result, Juno buildings go up 60% faster than conventional construction. Our approach also reduces job site waste, with less material going to landfills.
We’re currently building the first componentized mass timber apartment building in the U.S., in East Austin, Texas. It’s a 100% electric, energy-efficient building, enabling it to be powered by renewable energy.
Data-driven development
Research and development in the real estate industry are minuscule compared to the technology, communications, and transportation industries. Buildings remain in alpha, with a lack of repetition that makes it impossible to make predictive models, reduce variability, and create scalable value.
Juno’s product approach to housing is finally able to drive continuous improvement and ongoing efficiencies in real estate. We gather key data on component performance that improves the quality and speed of constructing our buildings.
A repeatable set of components also allows us to build a robust supply chain of trusted vendors. In an industry that has been losing productivity, this is an exciting new way to move the development process ahead.
Forests hold the key to the future of housing
Wood buildings are safe, durable, healthy, and beautiful. Mass timber is the only high-rise structure that is renewable and naturally sequesters carbon. Unlike concrete and steel which are carbon-intensive and extractive industries, wood buildings connect sustainable forests to sustainable cities.
Nature-based building materials solve many problems at the same time. They not only help solve climate change but are also more cost-effective to develop — while boosting the economy by creating more jobs. In order for a regenerative future to succeed, we must protect natural resources while creating value for society.
An increasing number of states are approving or have approved mass timber for tall building construction. Four states approved the new building code in 2021. Now 25 — half of the U.S. — is embracing this more sustainable approach.
Join us
Innovation is typically slowed by the fragmentation of the building industry. If we are going to accomplish our ambitious absolute zero carbon goals we need to move in the same direction with existing solutions.
Juno is streamlining the complexity of interactions that happen in real estate across a building’s whole lifecycle to aggregate and accelerate decarbonization. We are always looking for partners to join our ecosystem.
Learn more about working with us at Juno.co.
