Building nearly 1000 units to date, Factory_OS creates multifamily housing using off-site factory construction that delivers high-quality housing faster and at lower costs. The Mayfair is one example, built in El Cerrito, Calif., with 156 units at a rapid transit system station.

Nancy Holliday

Factory_OS announced today that it has raised $55 million in Series B funding from six tech and finance industry giantsAutodesk, Citi, Facebook, Google, Morgan Stanley and round leader Lafayette Square. The investment will help Factory_OS accelerate growth and further integrate digital technologies to build multifamily housing using a safer, more sustainable, less expensive and more efficient construction process.

Acting on the belief that housing should be built more like cars, Factory_OS takes an integrated, industrialized and tech-enabled approach to removing barriers throughout the housing development process. The San Francisco Bay Area-based company has an active research and development program and incorporates design, technology, construction and workforce innovations in pursuit of its vision: to change how we build housing.

Factory_OS is committed to delivering high-quality, tech-ready, cost-effective multifamily housing that is more environmentally friendly and creates new living-wage jobs resulting in far-reaching community benefits.

The three-year-old company has already proven its concept of high-quality off-site factory construction combined with rapid onsite installation in the Bay Area, the nations most expensive housing market.

Factory_OS has built nearly 1,000 units to date, including supportive, affordable, student and market-rate housing. In addition to driving down production costs by 20 to 40 percent, Factory_OS can erect a 100-unit apartmentbuilding in less than 10 days, delivering housing over 40 percent faster than conventional construction can.

The company expects to cut costs by 50 percent over the next year as its partnership with Autodesk enables further integration of the design, technology and construction processes. That cost savings doubles the amount of housing that Factory_OS can create with the same investment.

With a shared vision of improving construction outcomes through technology, were excited to build on our original investment in Factory_OS to improve the home-building process, from design through fabrication and supply chain management, said Andrew Anagnost, CEO of Autodesk. Our two-way collaboration not only helps us improve our products, but also helps ensure more homes can be built faster, less expensively and more sustainably. Factory_OS is a 350,000 square foot laboratory that enables us to continue proving innovations in construction.

The capital infusion will enable Factory_OS to ramp up manufacturing in its second Mare Island facility, invest in robotic and other advanced technology initiatives for both facilities, expand into Los Angeles, and open a housing innovation center that will model technology and design advances. In addition, it will partner on research and education activities to spur industry adoption of housing innovations.

Working with the established production ecosystem to drive efficiency, quality and equity across the board is core to Factory_OSs approach.

By retooling multifamily housing production from beginning to end, were supporting everyone involved with constructionarchitects, engineers, general contractors, union workersto do what they do faster and more efficiently, said Rick Holliday, CEO of Factory_OS. We aim to have an impact on housing costs that goes beyond construction, so were also engaging with policy and finance players to create a comprehensive framework that everyone can benefit from.

Bringing innovation to the sector is vital, as housing instability has worsened amid the pandemic, said Jeremy Johnson, co-head of Citi Community Capital. By changing the way housing is built, we believe Factory_OS will bring more efficient and lower-cost delivery of multifamily units to the neighborhoods where we live and work. Were proud to be a part of this effort and look forward to making homes more affordable for our communities.

Factory_OS sees its workforce approach as essential to achieving its vision. Through its partnership with the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council, Factory_OS employs 500 union workers earning competitive wages and benefits. Also, through its unique training programs with the union and redefined construction process, Factory_OS has expanded the depleted construction workforce to make it more gender and racially diverse, as well as more accessible to a broader employee base.

As Factory_OSs first partner, were excited to share the benefit of these companies expertise in finance and technology, said Bob Alvarado, executive secretary-treasurer of the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council. We embrace technology and are proud to work with Factory_OS to grow the workforce, enhance skills and productivity, and create new middle-class jobs with living wages and benefits.

Factory_OS investors are strongly motivated by the companys enormous impact potential.

Facebook builds and supports communities, said John Tenanes, Facebooks vice president of global facilities and real estate. Our investment in Factory_OSan innovator building technology to bring down the cost of housing constructionis part of our broader company initiative to help fund scalable and affordable solutions that will help to alleviate the housing crisis in California.

Damien Dwin, CEO and founder of Lafayette Square, called it "meaningful and exciting" thatthe impact-driven asset management platforms first investment is in Factory_OS.

Our strategic partnership is a great first step in fundamentally changing the business of housing, Dwin said. Looking at the industry from 360 degreesfrom design and development, to financing and construction, to resident services and employmentis key to creating a sustainable model that elevates our communities.

Read the original:
Factory_OS Raises $55 Million to Advance Modular Construction to Help Solve Housing Crises - ForConstructionPros.com

Plans to build a new estate to develop an eyesore patch of land have been given the green light by Copeland Council.

Approval was granted by the council for an 18-home build consisting of two and three-bedroom affordable rented homes by Home Group.

The location for the modular homes will be at the junction of Meadow Road and Uldale Road in Whitehaven.

Councillor Carl Walmsley, who represents Mirehouse East ward, is delighted that the plans have been approved, as he said the two and three-bedroom homes will transform an eyesore strip of land into something useful and needed.

He said: Im delighted with the news. Ive supported it from the start. It will be a brilliant first impression into the area. I have seen the modular properties in Egremont.

I think the majority would rather see some new housing there as a nice first impression of our estate driving in from town, than a muddy patch with piles of rubble.

I think I speak on behalf of the majority of residents in welcoming this development.

David Armstrong, senior delivery manager at Home Group, said: Following the success of Royal Drive in Egremont, a first of its kind in Cumbria to use state-of-the-art modular houses, we are delighted to have obtained planning approval for this new site.

We are also pleased to be using the same construction team to deliver the scheme, with the houses again being produced and installed by ILKE homes, with the foundations, drainage and other groundworks being installed by local company Ashcroft Demolition.

The project will deliver much needed two and three-bedroom affordable rented homes in the same style and specification as at Royal Drive, and also tidy up an area of land which has become an eyesore to local residents.

Once completed, the modular houses are highly efficient and visually indistinguishable from traditional properties. The homes have all been very well received by customers and our other partners and were excited to be continuing this work in the region.

Excerpt from:
Modular house build gets the go-ahead in Mirehouse | News and Star - News & Star

We are at a moment of overlapping planetary health emergencies: COVID-19 and climate change. Both have their origins at the intersection of humanity and the rest of the natural world, both exacerbate pre-existing health inequities and both have the ability to bring health systems and economies to their knees.

The health impacts of COVID-19 are well-known those of climate change less so. A new report by the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, an international collaboration among 38 leading academic institutions and U.N. agencies, shows that as the globe warms humans are experiencing increasing heat emergencies, wildfires, severe weather, trouble with food yields and potential for novel infectious diseases.

We need to multisolve manage COVID-19 and climate change at the same time, looking for the sweet spots where a single measure can deliver the triple-win of improving public health, contributing to a sustainable economy and reducing the drivers of future crises.

The Canadian policy brief associated with the Lancet report has suggestions for doing just that.

The report shows a record 2,700 heat-related deaths occurred among people over the age of 65 in Canada in 2018. Globally, the last two decades have seen a 59 per cent increase in heat-related mortality in older people.

The economic costs are also growing: work hours lost due to extreme heat exposure were 81 per cent higher in 2015-19 compared to 1990-94. Immediate action is required.

Many Canadians have had their living circumstances made precarious through COVID-19. In its fall budget update, the federal government announced $1 billion in funding, through the Rapid Housing Initiative, to be used for the construction of modular housing and affordable housing units.

All of the projects funded through this and other federal construction and retrofit programs should be evaluated for their location relative to flood-prone areas, their ability to ensure adequate ventilation and air filtration to cope with heat emergencies and wildfire smoke, and their alignment with our goal of living in a net-zero nation by 2050.

We must also clear the air of the pollution we can control. The Lancet report shows that in 2018 there were 7,200 premature deaths in Canada related to fine particulate air pollution from human-caused sources. This is four times higher than the number of deaths from transport accidents.

The largest portion, found by the Lancet to be over 30 per cent, was due to emissions from households, such as burning fuel for heating. That means that energy efficient retrofits can save lives!

Read more: Canada's new climate plan: Q&A about Bill C-12

Pollution from cars, trucks and other transport was shown in the report to be responsible for 17 per cent of deaths due to fine particulates in 2018. It is also responsible for 30 per cent of Canadas greenhouse gas emissions. Investments in zero-emission vehicle infrastructure and collective transport, such as electric vehicle charging stations and electric buses are huge wins for health.

Active transport investments have the added benefit of increasing physical activity, which reduces chronic disease. A recent study showed that compared to those who commute by private motorized vehicles, all-cause mortality was reduced by 20 per cent in those who cycle, and 10 per cent in rail commuters, with walk commuting associated with a seven per cent lower incidence of cancer. In the United Kingdom, investments in cycling infrastructure have been found to deliver about five British pounds of health and social benefits for every pound invested

Read more: 10 tips for coping with wildfire smoke, from a public health expert

Finally, we need to increase the resilience of health systems. In addition to ensuring health-care structures are prepared for floods and fires in terms of siting, adequate ventilation systems, and more, we must take another look at supply chains.

We learned through the pandemic that producing personal protective equipment (PPE) at home helps to ensure its availability in the face of supply chain disruption. Weve also seen the disadvantages of not having the ability to produce the leading COVID-19 vaccines at home.

With climate set to drive further health-related emergencies as well as economic crises a shift from a culture of efficiency to one of resiliency is required. We could decrease our healthcare-related footprint and reduce the risk of supply disruption by switching to reusable medical supplies such as gowns and blood pressure cuffs.

The proposed national formulary, a good first step towards a pharmacare system, can also serve as a list of essential medicines considered for domestic production. Co-ordinated work between the public and the private sector, potentially including the creation of new crown corporations, could help ensure supply of critical items, as it did during the Second World War.

Read more: 7 lessons Canada should use from WW2 to fight the climate emergency

Canada is now full of armchair epidemiologists, but few of us could draw an approximation of the countrys projected warming curve. A leap in understanding is required: this forecast must inform planning in all sectors.

Canada is warming at about double the global rate. Under all feasible emission scenarios it will be about 1.8C warmer than a 1986-2005 baseline by the time todays newborns are in their twenties, rising to 6C by the time they are in their 60s if we do not urgently decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

As the Lancet report says, unless immediate action is taken this will threaten not only lives and livelihoods, but also compromise the hospitals and clinics we depend on.

COVID-19 is a hinge moment in human society a time to pause, to reset. Although health workers have been appropriately lauded through this pandemic for the care they are providing, it is becoming clear that from wearing masks to retrofitting our homes, we all share the responsibility, and the honour, of saving lives.

See more here:
COVID-19 recovery is an opportunity to tackle worsening climate crisis: New report - The Conversation CA

A rapidly expanding social enterprise has defied the coronavirus crisis to help over 60 people to find new jobs providing a life-changing boost for out-of-work housing association tenants.

Turnover at Creating Enterprise, based in Mochdre, near Colwyn Bay, has also increased to more than 10 million thanks to a burgeoning order book thats also secured a top honour.

It was recently named as the fastest growing firm in Wales at the 2020 Wales Fast Growth 50 awards, expanding by 664% between 2017 and 2019.

The ground-breaking organisation, a subsidiary of housing association Cartrefi Conwy, was established as a community interest company.

As well as maintaining Cartrefis 4,000 properties, Creating Enterprise helps local people, including tenants, to find employment, training and volunteering opportunities.

Its commercial profits are reinvested into its highly successful Creating Futures academy.

The organisation has also launched another successful venture constructing modular homes.

Ambitious plans are underway to build 350 of the revolutionary zero carbon properties across North Wales, creating a further 50 jobs in the process.

The aim is to establish pop-up factories to manufacture the wooden frames wherever there is a development.

So far this year Creating Enterprise has created eight jobs and supported a further 55 local people into employment.

The experience has been life-changing for Thomas Strange, 23, from Tyn y Groes, just outside Conwy.

He had struggled with depression and stress to the point where he found it difficult to get out of bed and leave the house.

The opportunity to work as a general assistant with the property maintenance team has completely turned his life around and improved his future prospects.

He said: The academy has really helped me out. They rang me up every week, supporting me mentally and helped me find work.

Creating Enterprise definitely helped me with my recovery and helped put me on the track that I want to be on, back in employment, making friends and things.

Im a lot happier in myself, so Im getting there. Im really chuffed. I really like it here, I also really like the people here, which is a big bonus.

Another tenant who has found work and a new purpose thanks to Creating Enterprise, is father-of-four Jarred Lampkin, 40, from Abergele, who had previously been a stay-at-home dad for nearly 20 years.

After enrolling in the Creating Futures academy, a chance to do volunteer work was scuppered by Covid but he has now been given a 12-month paid contract with the property maintenance team.

Jarred said: Its going brilliantly, I love it. Its really satisfying to be out doing something again. Im absolutely made up.

I dont think Id be doing anything without the help of the academy here, because Id applied for jobs left right and centre and I wasnt getting a look in. The guys here helped me to create a CV and everything and thats made all the difference.

According to Creating Futures manager Sioned Williams, the positive impact they were having on the lives of people like Thomas and Jarred was immensely satisfying and spurred them on to do even more to help out-of-work people find jobs.

She said: Through our employment academy at Creating Futures we ringfence jobs for Cartrefi Conwy tenants but the apprenticeships and other services such as job search support and volunteering opportunities are open for anybody to apply for As a subsidiary of Cartrefi, we deliver all of the property maintenance work for the properties in Conwy, and beyond with external contracts as well.

It creates a really virtuous circle because were creating jobs for tenants and all the money thats made is recycled with the profit being reinvested in the academy.

Creating Enterprise is really doing well as an organisation. It has been a spectacular journey in a really short amount of time.

Cartrefi Conwy chief executive Andrew Bowden was hugely proud of what Creating Enterprise is achieving.

He said: Its growing and developing way beyond my original expectations.

We had a track record of doing more for our community and helping our tenants into employment and education and now were able to do even more.

Its life-changing for many people because Creating Enterprise is often working with those furthest from the job market.

Many of the individuals concerned may have been turned off traditionally by education, may have been turned off by actually going on to further education because of what they thought they were capable of or what they can do, and this actually turns that around and turns it on its head.

Creating Enterprise are demonstrating that these are capable people who can do a lot more than they think, and were just giving them that opportunity which is a massive success story.

The numbers are fantastic, but its the individual life stories that you hear that are transformational for them individually and their families. Its utterly life-changing.

Link:
Mochdre employment academy is just the job for 60 out-of-work tenants - North Wales Pioneer

New data shows that last year the delivery of homes reached numbers not seen in over three decades. And housebuilding will now play an important role in Englands economic recovery from COVID-19.

Official statistics from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government reveal 243,770 homes were delivered in 2019/20, which is the highest number of homes built in a year since 1987. It was also the seventh year in a row that the number of homes delivered has increased.

Housebuilders added more than 1,700 student accommodation units and 2,130 communal dwellings to the housing stock. Additionally, the governments reforms to change of use made nearly 27,000 new homes available.

The development of new-builds is a big part of the increase in housing, making up 90% of the homes delivered from 2019 to 2020. In years to come, the delivery of more new-build properties can help the UK meet the shortage of housing.

Since 2010, more than 1.8 million homes have been delivered throughout England. Over the past decade, the government allocated 3.9bn through the Housing Infrastructure Fund, the Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes programme and the Help to Buy schemes. These have helped bring certainty and confidence to the sector.

The government has been supporting housebuilding during the COVID-19 pandemic. In June, the government extended planning permissions. This ensured construction that was temporarily disrupted could continue. Additionally, change of use and permitted development rights have been updated. More reforms are likely to come into effect next year as well to speed up the planning process.

Build, build, build is a large part of the governments strategy for the UKs recovery post-pandemic. The government has made housebuilding a key focus and has pledged to level up the country.

Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation, comments: Delivering new homes generates huge investment in infrastructure and amenities in communities, benefiting both new and existing residents.

Looking ahead, building more high quality, environmentally friendly homes can play a major part in supporting the economy as the country recovers from the impacts of coronavirus.

In the Spending Review, the government announced 20bn of investment in housing, including 7.1bn for the National Home Building Fund. The government claims the fund will unlock 860,000 new homes. The Spending Review also included 12m of resource to take forward changes to the planning system.

As a whole, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Governments will receive nearly 10bn of funding in the 2021/22 financial year. The majority of these funds will go towards developing additional new-build homes.

Robert Jenrick comments: The pandemic has posed significant challenges for home building but this government will continue to support the industry and the 20 billion investment announced at the Spending Review will ensure we deliver the homes this country needs.

In the longer term, our overhaul of the planning system will deliver even more high-quality, sustainable homes in the communities which need them most.

The construction sector adapted well to the challenges brought by COVID-19 and social distancing measures. Since the outbreak, better planning and general productivity improvements have been made on construction sites. These improvements could help the sector deliver more new-build properties in a timely manner in months and years to come.

Additionally, through the National Home Building Fund, funding will be going towards modern methods of construction. These construction methods have numerous benefits, including speed of deliver and better quality. Offsite-built houses and modular homes can help add more high-quality housing to the UK property market.

Read the rest here:
Housebuilding soars to a 33-year high in England - BuyAssociation

The Panelized and Modular Building System market report offers an in-house analysis of global economic conditions and related economic factors and indicators to evaluate their impact on the Panelized and Modular Building System market historically to propose a tentative future scenario and current growth traits. This detailed report on Panelized and Modular Building System market largely focuses on prominent facets such as product portfolio, payment channels, service offerings, applications, in addition to technological sophistication.

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Top Manufacturers:Algeco ScotsmanChampion Home Builders Inc.EOS Facades LimitedFrame Homes UKFusion Building SystemsHadley Industries PLCInnovarKingspan Timber SolutionsLindal Cedar Homes Inc.MerronbrookMetek Building SystemsModern Prefab Systems Pvt. Ltd Inc.Oregon Timber FramePinewood StructuresRitz-Craft CorporationRobertson Timber EngineeringSalvesen Insulated FramesSIP Building SystemsSIPS Eco PanelsTaylor Lane Timber FrameThorp PrecastWalker Timber Group

A thorough take on essential elements such as drivers, threats, challenges, opportunities are thoroughly assessed and analyzed to arrive at logical conclusions. These leading players are analyzed at length, complete with their product portfolio and company profiles to decipher crucial market findings. Besides these aforementioned factors and attributes of the Panelized and Modular Building System market, this report specifically decodes notable findings and concludes on innumerable factors and growth stimulating decisions that make this Panelized and Modular Building System market a highly profitable.

The report also lists ample correspondence about significant analytical practices and industry specific documentation such as SWOT and PESTEL analysis to guide optimum profits in Panelized and Modular Building System market. In addition to all of these detailed Panelized and Modular Building System market specific developments, the report sheds light on dynamic segmentation based on which Panelized and Modular Building System market has been systematically split into prominent segments encompassing type, application, technology, as well as region specific segmentation of the Panelized and Modular Building System market.

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Types:Timber FrameLight Gauge Structural Steel FramingConcreteOther

Applications:ResidentialCommercialInfrastructureIndustrial

The following is a brief of some of the most relevant company initiatives that several players in global Panelized and Modular Building System market are featuring in to solidify lead amidst staggering competition in global Panelized and Modular Building System market:

Market Segmentation: Global Panelized and Modular Building System Market

The report unfurls with unravelling crucial data on prominent segmentation, with elaborate references of growth likelihood and potential of each of these segments in steering massive growth outflow. By segmentation global Panelized and Modular Building System market is categorized into the following:

Product-based Segmentation: This section of the report renders a crucial analytical reference point of vital product and service types that invigorate massive growth despite mounting competition, regulatory compliances and catastrophic alterations

Application-based Segmentation: This part of the report also ropes in crucial data pertaining to diverse application areas that have gained massive prominence over the historical years and also stand the opportunity to fortify applicability through the forecast years.

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Regional Segmentation: The report in its subsequent sections also highlights vital details on regional and country specific milestones that have been playing decisive roles in encouraging specific vendor and manufacturer activities. Additional details on end-user response have also been tagged in the report based on which prominent players across regions can well implement growth appropriate business decisions, eying market fortification in global Panelized and Modular Building System market.

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Table of Contents

Chapter One: Report Overview1.1 Study Scope1.2 Key Market Segments1.3 Players Covered: Ranking by Panelized and Modular Building System Revenue1.4 Market Analysis by Type1.4.1 Global Panelized and Modular Building System Market Size Growth Rate by Type: 2020 VS 20261.4.2 Software1.4.3 Service1.4.4 Other1.5 Market by Application1.5.1 Global Panelized and Modular Building System Market Share by Application: 2020 VS 20261.5.2 BFSI1.5.3 Healthcare and Life Sciences1.5.4 Government and Defense1.5.5 Retail and Car1.6 Study Objectives1.7 Years Considered

Chapter Two: Global Growth Trends by Regions2.1 Panelized and Modular Building System Market Perspective (2015-2026)2.2 Panelized and Modular Building System Growth Trends by Regions2.2.1 Panelized and Modular Building System Market Size by Regions: 2015 VS 2020 VS 20262.2.2 Panelized and Modular Building System Historic Market Share by Regions (2015-2020)2.2.3 Panelized and Modular Building System Forecasted Market Size by Regions (2021-2026)2.3 Industry Trends and Growth Strategy2.3.1 Market Top Trends2.3.2 Market Drivers2.3.3 Market Challenges2.3.4 Porters Five Forces Analysis2.3.5 Panelized and Modular Building System Market Growth Strategy2.3.6 Primary Interviews with Key Panelized and Modular Building System Players (Opinion Leaders)

Chapter Three: Competition Landscape by Key Players3.1 Global Top Panelized and Modular Building System Players by Market Size3.1.1 Global Top Panelized and Modular Building System Players by Revenue (2015-2020)3.1.2 Global Panelized and Modular Building System Revenue Market Share by Players (2015-2020)3.1.3 Global Panelized and Modular Building System Market Share by Company Type (Tier 1, Tier Chapter Two: and Tier 3)3.2 Global Panelized and Modular Building System Market Concentration Ratio3.2.1 Global Panelized and Modular Building System Market Concentration Ratio (CRChapter Five: and HHI)3.2.2 Global Top Chapter Ten: and Top 5 Companies by Panelized and Modular Building System Revenue in 20193.3 Panelized and Modular Building System Key Players Head office and Area Served3.4 Key Players Panelized and Modular Building System Product Solution and Service3.5 Date of Enter into Panelized and Modular Building System Market3.6 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion Plans

Chapter Four: Breakdown Data by Type (2015-2026)4.1 Global Panelized and Modular Building System Historic Market Size by Type (2015-2020)4.2 Global Panelized and Modular Building System Forecasted Market Size by Type (2021-2026)

Chapter Five: Panelized and Modular Building System Breakdown Data by Application (2015-2026)5.1 Global Panelized and Modular Building System Market Size by Application (2015-2020)5.2 Global Panelized and Modular Building System Forecasted Market Size by Application (2021-2026)Continued.

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Global Panelized and Modular Building System Market Growth in the Forecast Period of 2020 to 2026 With Top Companies: Algeco Scotsman, Champion Home...

More than 100 new jobs look set to be created in Hull after off-site construction specialist M-AR secured a new 100,000 sq ft factory.

The Melton-based company has acquired the large premises in Freightliner Road, enabling it to increase and accelerate the delivery of modular housing across the UK.

Production capacity will be tripled for the 13-year-old firm, allowing it to deliver 750 homes a year, ramping up to 1,000 by 2022.

Rob Grimbleby, managing director, said: Expanding our manufacturing operation is a key strategic milestone for us and is testament to our great people and our partners, many of whom have worked alongside us for many years.

Modern methods of construction provide a route to increase the supply of high-quality buildings around the country, and its been great to see recent announcements from the government in support of the off-site sector.

We are proud to be opening our second factory in the UK in delivering much needed, energy efficient housing that assists housing associations, registered providers, local authorities and our developer partners to respond to the current housing shortage.

Indeed, the unique challenges of Covid-19 and the housing crisis will see an acceleration in new forms of delivery, and we are well placed to help customers deliver turnkey projects. Enquiries remain strong across all our market sectors, and we are particularly excited about the housing sector, where we feel we have the right skills and approaches to provide best value to our new and existing customers.

The expansion plans at the former Actavo facility follow a string of key framework appointments and contract wins, including the Central Housing Investment Consortium, a 15 year 573 million housing programme and the 400m Procure Plus off-site housing framework.

M-AR will further invest in development training, providing skills for local people to work on the low carbon homes, made from light gauge steel. They include bungalows and apartments.

It is estimated that one quarter of new homes will be of modular build, with East Yorkshire a strong cluster.

The combination of a strong concentration of trades following the post-war rebuilding of Hull and it being a prime timber import location saw the sector blossom, with caravans and park lodges widening to commercial, industrial and now residential accommodation, with building methods brought on significantly.

Go here to see the original:
100 new jobs to be created as modular homes building comes to sprawling Hull site - Business Live

As COVID creates urgency around homelessness, frontline workers say the affordable housing solutions fail to address the root causes

Samuel Engelking

The phrase is a favourite for municipal and federal governments alike, but its meaning has become deceptively confusing over the years: affordable housing. The term has been used to describe rental rates for middle-class households, to gesture widely to a crisis plaguing Toronto and to refer to housing supposedly made for the citys most vulnerable communities.

But who is affordable housing really for? Housing advocates say that the term has changed so much that it has become meaningless, vaguely pointing to a level of affordability that is nowhere near accessible for the citys currently unhoused population.

Affordable housing in Toronto could refer to a variety of housing structures, including subsidized, modular, supportive, rent-geared-to-income and social housing. Each has a slightly different purpose and represent different levels of affordable.

A Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives report found that a renter would need to make $27.74 per hour to be able to afford a one-bedroom in Toronto. And a minimum-wage worker would need to work 79 hours per week. When you consider a vacancy rate that, in 2019, hovered around 1.5 per cent (a healthy rental market should have a minimum rate of three per cent), you have all the makings of an affordable housing crisis.

The government defines affordable housing as shelter expenses that represent less than 30 per cent of pre-tax (or gross) income.

Though the crisis is one that hits most income levels, its effects are most vividly seen among the more than 10,000 people currently unhoused in Toronto any given night. And with a chronically low supply of affordable housing options, they have nowhere to go.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, shelter capacity went down in order to allow for physical distancing, and encampments began to pop up in parks as people experiencing homelessness looked for alternative places to stay.

The city has been reluctant to allow the encampments, citing city bylaws that dont allow people to inhabit parks overnight. But with limited shelter capacity and the pandemic resulting in more unhoused people due to job loss and evictions, options are slim.

In recent weeks, the city has announced initiatives to tackle the shortage of affordable housing options. It plans on building 250 supportive modular homes over the next two years, and has also received funding from the federal government for the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI), with the goal of creating a minimum of 417 new permanent affordable homes.

However, housing activists say these plans are insignificant and, ultimately, not truly affordable. The demand for affordable housing vastly eclipses the meagre supply being proposed by the city, and activists say that very few of these units are genuinely affordable for the people who need it most.

Since federal and provincial governments pulled out of social housing funding in the 1990s, the rental costs of so-called affordable housing funded by the municipal government have often been much higher. In Toronto, units that start off affordable dont stay that way, meaning that the city is losing its current affordable housing supply while barely adding to the new supply. Activists are calling for a commitment from the city to rent-geared-to-income and supportive housing, coupled with a real effort to control the citys rental market.

The way we think about homelessness needs to change, says Greg Cook, an outreach worker and housing advocate with Sanctuary Toronto.

The term chronic homelessness is problematic, because it individualizes a systemic issue, he says. Its actually a failure by the media and the government to acknowledge that we have a crisis because people cant afford housing.

Cook says government officials are quick to point to mental health and addiction as the complex issues fuelling homelessness, but he says all that does is obfuscate the real economic problem.

Basically, were not willing to, at the very least, regulate a runaway real estate industry thats making tons of money, he says. Meanwhile, people just cannot afford rent on minimum wage or the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) or Ontario Works (OW).

The way we think about and regulate rent prices also needs to change, says Melissa Goldstein, a local housing advocate. She argues that a lack of vacancy control and eviction prevention has turned Torontos rental market into the wild west.

Vacancy control would limit the amount landlords can raise rent in between tenancies. In Ontario, landlords can only raise rent on existing tenants every year by a provincially mandated residential rent increase of 2.2 per cent. But landlords can also raise rent between tenants, and without vacancy control, they can scale up rent prices by 30 or 40 per cent.

If we had vacancy control, I think it would not be nearly as important that we dont have adequate social housing, because we just wouldnt have the rising rents that were seeing, she says. Housing would just be more affordable.

Matias Kunzle, Montgomery Sisam Architects

The citys modular housing project takes shape at 11 Macey Avenue in Scarborough.

David Hulchanski has studied homelessness and housing affordability in Toronto and Canada for over 40 years. Hes tracked how social housing spending has gone down over the past few decades. From 1965 to 1995, the city of Toronto added an average of 3,900 new social housing units per year to the housing market, meaning social housing made up around 12 per cent of the total housing supply.

At the time, the federal government was responsible for funding most social housing initiatives, recognizing that municipalities had nowhere near enough cash to keep up with demand.

Until around the late 1980s, homelessness wasnt really a well-recognized or much-used phrase, Hulchanski says. In the few reports or studies looking at homelessness from the 60s to 80s, the common phrase was homeless and transient men.

What was going on since the Industrial Revolution was there would be some people, mainly men, who werent associated with a family home, who drifted from job to job and lived in poorer areas in the city, he explains.

However, in 1993, the federal government made the decision to cease funding new social housing. By 1996, the feds announced that management and subsidization of social housing would be transferred to provinces. In Ontario in 1998, the provincial government transferred financial responsibility for social housing to municipalities, and passed the Social Housing Reform Act in 2000 to implement the transfer.

Hulchanski says the downloading of social housing is a major factor in the rise of homelessness as a widespread crisis. Because of the lack of social supports and the cutbacks of new social housing, you had everyone and anyone women, men, young and old, families finding themselves unhoused, he explains.

People always talk about how the federal government pulled out of supporting social housing, Goldstein adds. The impact of that has been huge because there hasnt been anything to replace it.

In December 2019, the city released the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan, a 10-year plan outlining goals for, among other things, building more affordable and supportive housing units. The target is to build 40,000 new affordable housing units over 10 years, with 18,000 of those in supportive housing.

Supportive housing provides a combination of housing assistance and supports, including for mental and physical health.

The problem with that plan is really just the lack of funds to implement the goals, Goldstein says.

To make the plan a reality, the federal and provincial governments must fund each action item. The city is asking Canada and Ontario to provide capital and ongoing operating funding to support the creation and delivery of 18,000 supportive housing homes over the next 10 years, which are anticipated to cost a total of $6.4 billion in capital costs and $300 million in ongoing annual operating costs.

Even if the city does come up with the money, Cook worries it wont be enough. Im frankly concerned it wont even keep up to the level were at now, he says. In the last 10 years, they didnt even get halfway to what they said theyre going to do.

In the citys 2000-2010 action plan, the goal was to create 1,000 affordable housing units annually. Toronto hit that target once in 2012 due to additional provincial and federal economic stimulus funding. In other years, the city barely reached 400 units.

Even then, it was basically making housing somewhat affordable for middle-class people, Cook says. I would argue that that trend has continued, so when they say 40,000 units, most of those units arent accessible to people on ODSP and OW.

Compared to the citys historical social housing supply, Hulchanski says Torontos current plan is totally insignificant. He notes that while their goal averages out to around 4,000 new units a year, those units wont count as true social housing.

I call it fake affordable housing; its market housing to help developers who build rental buildings to market their very expensive rental buildings, he says.

The city has increasingly turned to a public-private partnership model. Developments will often combine not-for-profit, private and public participation on projects, resulting in affordable units being included alongside other units in a new condo or apartment building.

Hulchanski points to Mirvish Village as an example of how Toronto conceives of affordable housing. Its a for-profit development that includes 916 rental units at different affordability levels.

According to a recent report by Goldstein, 85 of the units will rent for 80 per cent of average market rent (AMR) for 25 years, after which point rent can be raised again. Another 281 units will rent at 30 per cent of median before tax total income for households in the area for 10 years.

According to the city of Torontos 2020 affordable housing model, 80 per cent of AMR would equal $1,099 for a one-bedroom apartment.

Goldstein writes that the city funding that went toward this development could have funded 65 units of permanently and deeply affordable public housing. These units would rent at the established deeply affordable rental rate of 30 per cent of individual household income, rather than the median before-tax total income for households in the area.

Goldstein says the city is losing affordable housing at a much faster rate than its being created.

We lose it every time somebody moves out and housing gets more expensive, and we lose it through rent redevelopment, she says. When a unit with rental housing is redeveloped, Goldstein says the redeveloped properties are often rented at a higher rate.

Her report mentions the Queens Hotel eviction, in which 27 tenants were mass evicted for redevelopment and renovation purposes after the city failed to secure it as affordable housing.

As mentioned earlier, the pandemic spurred the city to announce Torontos first modular supportive housing project, which will see 250 units built over two years.

So how much will they cost to rent?

Ahmed Hussen, the federal minister of families, children and social development and MP for York South-Weston, says the government has different definitions for different affordability levels.

Some mixed housing units incorporate some market rental units, some somewhat affordable units, and then some deeply affordable units, he says. Deeply affordable means 30 per cent of the persons income and somewhat affordable is 80 per cent of AMR in Toronto.

He couldnt specify at what rate the RHI units would rent for, but even if all 417 units are created within a year, along with the 250 modular homes, the city is still falling far behind its yearly 4,000 affordable housing units goal.

Hussen says that while the federal government is happy to provide funding for initiatives like the RHI, the province needs to step in too.

We said we will eliminate chronic homelessness, but were not going to meet those targets or even exceed them if we dont have other levels of government come in, he says.

In response to an interview request, a rep for Parkdale-High Park councillor and city planning and housing committee member Gord Perks said the city has issued the COVID-19 Housing and Homelessness Recovery Response Plan, which is an urgent appeal to the federal and provincial governments to create 3,000 permanent, affordable homes, within the next 24 months, for homeless, vulnerable and marginalized residents.

The 3,000 homes would include 1,000 new permanent modular homes, 1,000 new permanent affordable rental homes created through acquisitions and shovel-ready construction projects and new portable housing benefits that will assist 1,000 people secure housing and pay rent.

A spokesperson from Ontarios ministry of municipal affairs and housing said in a statement the province is providing the city with an additional $217 million through housing and homelessness programs next year and accelerating approval for the two modular housing projects and three developments in West Don Lands. The statement also points to the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit, a joint federal-provincial housing allowance that will invest up to $1.4 billion over nine years.

Matias Kunzle, Montgomery Sisam Architects

The citys housing plan aims to build 40,000 new affordable units over 10 years, with 18,000 of those in supportive housing.

Since last November, Candace, whose name has been altered for privacy, has been living in a shelter hotel with her two children after leaving an abusive home situation. At the time, she was put on a priority list for community housing. But its been a year and she says she hasnt heard anything.

Picture someone who maybe lost her job and fell behind on her bills and ended up getting evicted. She has nowhere to go, she doesnt have friends or family, so she ends up at a shelter. The list that she goes on is the housing list for a person whos homeless, Candace explains.

Thats a forever list. Thats 10 years. Thats not emergency.

A report by Social Planning Toronto found that in 2019 over 110,000 households were on the waitlist for social housing.

It could take years before [someone] can get out of the shelter system and get housing, says Roxie Danielson, a street nurse who works with people in the shelter system. The ODSP rates are just so low, and its just not enough for people to afford market rent, for example.

[The city] announced theyre going to buy some land and put modular housing there, but it was nowhere near enough the amount thats needed for people that actually do need housing, she continues. The city is just not investing enough there.

The lack of supply means people on waitlists end up in housing that doesnt meet their needs.

Candace ideally wants to move to Halton. But shes seen other women at the shelter on the waitlist get housing in neighbourhoods she would never consider.

I chose somewhere out of town, somewhere quiet, somewhere that I can feel safe to raise my kids and my kids can walk to school and be safe, she says.

Diana McNally is a frontline worker who works with the Toronto Drop-in Network, and she sees the lack of housing options as a recurring problem particularly when it comes to supportive housing.

Ive known lots of folks who really dont want to be housed in these kinds of units. Maybe they have animals and they cant have animals. They have a partner, but its a bachelor unit. Oftentimes, in supportive housing, youre not allowed to have guests, she says. Theyre looking for a place that suits them and theres not necessarily a lot of flexibility.

She thinks about the lack of options when people wind up homeless again after being placed in permanent housing.

If you look at folks who are sleeping rough, about 16 per cent of them, once they are housed, return to homelessness within one year, and they return an average of 2.3 times, she says. Any idea that it is permanent housing is patently false.

McNally says part of the solution is to include people experiencing homelessness into conversations around housing needs and housing solutions.

We really need to actually engage people in a much more fulsome way to ask what are the services that they really need to remain housed, and make sure that those are in place over long periods of time, she says.

She also notes that while the government can say that projects such as the modular housing units are geared towards multiple equity-seeking groups, the supply is so low that theres no way for that to match up.

In fact, this kind of housing does not necessarily make sense for a lot of folks, she says. And so I deeply question, how are they going to prioritize who has access? I dont know.

Hulchanski points out that the idea of supportive housing being key to getting people off the streets is not new.

He cites a 1999 report on an action plan for homelessness that highlighted the need for supportive housing; then only a few years later, the federal government pulled out of social housing funding entirely.

A key part of [the 1999 report] was a modest ask for 5,000 additional supportive housing units over a short period of time, and then maybe more depending on if we need more, he says. Again, we know what to do. We just havent been doing it.

@juliamastro

Julia Mastroianni and Melissa Goldstein discuss Torontos affordable-housing crisis in the latest episode of the NOW What podcast, available on Apple PodcastsorSpotifyor playable directly below:

Julia Mastroianni

Julia Mastroiannis first attempt at writing resulted in the first 20 pages of a novel that she promptly abandoned, a year after starting, at age nine, because she couldn't bear to read her own work. Since then, shes completed assignments at various publications, including Post City Magazines and the National Post.

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There's no such thing as affordable housing in Toronto - NOW Toronto

Creating structures and imaginary worlds with Lego building bricks can be fun at every age. An abbreviation of two Danish words, leg and godt, the Lego name is a creation of Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen that translates to play well. This intention has flourished since the Lego Groups invention of small bricks with interlocking studs in 1958, and the brightly colored bricks inspire kids and adults to do exactly that.

When combined in Lego sets, the bricks and pieces can create a range of specific projects, like a space rocket, townhouse, or construction vehicle. Whether youre looking for a small project for a child or a large project that can take days for an adult to complete, there are a variety of Lego sets available for any age group, price, or interest. Read on to discover some of the best Lego sets by category.

When shopping for a Lego set, there are a number of things to think about, such as project theme, age appropriateness, and number of pieces. Since Lego sets can be used as both toys and collectors items, its helpful to determine the objective of your selection. No matter the set you buy, there is the added flexibility to combine sets, because the traditional Lego brick still fits together with any piece manufactured since 1958.

Children and adults are attracted to Lego sets for different reasons. Younger children tend to play with the bricks in a less structured way, while older kids and adults may focus on building techniques and the accuracy of the finished project.

Adult Lego enthusiasts may buy sets with the intention to collect and display the completed project as a design element in their homes. Some of the best Lego sets can increase in value over time, making them a good investment.

For children and adults, the act of assembling Lego bricks can provide a relaxing experience that may help relieve anxiety and stress. In the United States, behavior therapists and teachers use Lego sets as a tool to calm hyperactive children and promote cooperative learning. When children construct a set with other kids, they strengthen their collaboration abilities and develop more effective communication skills.

Some sets are used for group activities through after-school programs and interactive Lego fan-run communities that include building clubs and informational websites.

While there are kids and adults at every age who look forward to the challenge of constructing intricate Lego sets, the building complexity of each set is evaluated and assigned to a certain age group. The recommended age group is printed on the packaging, so its easy to identify the best Lego set that is age appropriate.

Age recommendations are especially important when selecting Lego sets for toddlers who are too young to play with the small parts that could be a choking hazard. Starting at age 2, children can play with chunkier sets called Duplo that are designed to help toddlers with fine motor skills and imaginative play. The sets with the iconic smaller bricks are recommended for kids who are over 5 years old.

The size of the completed project can be a big factor when shopping for a Lego set. While a Lego project can be built and then taken apart when its done, many Lego enthusiasts plan to display the finished project. Some adults and children combine Lego sets to create little worlds that can include realistic towns from one type of set and imaginative worlds with creatures and vehicles from other various sets.

The chosen size of the completed set and collection of sets can be determined by the amount of space available to devote to the hobby. Its important to look at the completed set size when shopping. Many Lego sets with hundreds of pieces range in size from inches to a little more than a foot in mass. Sets that include thousands of pieces can be as big as 40 inches wide or 27 inches tall. Sets of this size are perfect for the minifigure characters that are just four bricks tall, but it can be more challenging to find space in your home for those larger sizes.

A Lego sets level of difficulty and completion time depends on the number of pieces. Lego sets with more parts can take many hours or days to assemble.

Beginner sets with larger bricks for toddlers have about 16 or more pieces. Standard-size brick sets for beginners typically have about 100 pieces, so it shouldnt take young builders long to put them together. Most Lego sets for older children have a range of 100 to 1,000 bricks. The complexity of sets amps up when the number hits more than 1,000 bricks, and the largest sets exceed 7,000 pieces.

Over the years, the size of Lego sets has continued to grow. The number of bricks in a set has increased by an average of 1.9 percent annually, while the largest sets are increasing an average of 5 percent each year.

Adding to the challenge, the Lego sets that have a lot of pieces include nonbrick pieces. These can include baseplates, wedges, slopes, tiles, windows, doors, wheels, fences, and decorated parts. Good organization is an important component in keeping track of the types of pieces and successfully completing one of the larger projects.

Some Lego sets combine fixed and movable parts. The fixed parts include the standard bricks and accessories like base plates and windows. The movable parts are made up of pieces like axles, gears, and connector pegs.

Adding to the movement features are motorization. There are two types of motors: the pull-back and Powered Up. Some Lego sets offer Powered Up as a tech platform that supports sensors and smart motors to rev up your set for speed, sound, and lights. A wireless Bluetooth connection via a free app allows for remote control operation.

Lego offers a multitude of themes based on age, purpose, and interest. For kids, the themes include pirates, space, dinosaurs, superheroes, houses, castles, and more. For teens and adults who are interested in constructing collectibles, there are modular houses, cars, buildings, and seasonal sets. There are sets inspired by well-known films and produced because fans have voted for them, themed sets with power functions to make vehicles move, and a series of Lego sets that brings iconic buildings from around the world to life.

Lego Group also produces licensed theme sets such as Batman, Spider-Man, DC Universe, Marvel, Disney, Harry Potter, Jurassic World, Minecraft, Ninjago, and Star Wars.

Lego knows that some builders crave creative freedom instead of following instructions. While some builders may use structured sets to build their own new forms, others prefer to use sets designed for free-form creativity. For these builders, Lego offers sets that let builders decide what creations they want to make. There is a starter set for the youngest builders that comes with a storage case filled with plain bricks, decorated bricks, numbered bricks, a buildable wagon base that has turning wheels, two windows, a dog, and a boy figure.

For builders ages 4 to 99 years old, there is a set with 1,500 pieces that includes bricks in 33 colors. It also includes a green baseplate along with windows, eyes, and wheels for creating structures, figures, and vehicles.

No matter the set used, constructing the plastic bricks into a completed form encourages children to problem solve, think creatively, follow directions, and persevere. The process also aids in developing spatial awareness, fine motor skills, and coordination.

The widespread interest in Lego sets bridges generations, making them fun for every age. Used as an education tool, a make-believe toy, or a serious hobby, Lego sets foster ingenuity in all age groups and are versatile in their use and in their finished forms.

The versatility and durability of Lego sets stands out among other toys, especially since the bricks and accessories can last for decades and are interchangeable from one set to another. With each addition of more bricks and sets, the amount of building opportunities expands, and creativity abounds.

Lego sets can make the perfect gift. When shopping for a Lego set, keep in mind the recipients age, set size, number of pieces, power capability, and the theme to ensure all your requirements are met. Here are some of the best Lego sets available on the market.

Photo: amazon.com

This brick box is a good introduction for first-time builders, and its ideal for supplementing other Lego sets. The plastic storage box is packed with 790 pieces that are compatible with all Lego construction sets. Thats why the Lego Classic Large Creative Brick Box is recommended for ages 4 to 99.

Included in the set are building ideas for a house or scooter, but you are free to unleash your imagination. In the box, youll find 33 different-colored bricks, eight types of windows and doors, two green baseplates, and six tires and wheel rims. One baseplate measures 6 inches by 6 inches, and the other is 4 inches by 2 inches.

Photo: amazon.com

The budget-friendly Lego Creator 3-in-1 Townhouse Toy Store is a lot of value for the money. Kids can choose their adventure with three building options that include a townhouse, toy store, cake shop, and flower shop. Adding to the fun are realistic accessories such as a working rocket ride, cakes, two minifigures, a bird, and flowers.

For hours of fun and pretend play, children ages 8 and up can assemble a townhouse with a street-level toy store and an upstairs apartment. Then they can rebuild it into a cake shop with an outside seating area or reassemble it into a flower shop with a skylight. The largest building in the Lego set is the townhouse toy store, which measures 7 inches by 5 inches by 3 inches.

Photo: amazon.com

Your preschooler can build a steam train while developing communication skills, fine motor skills, and cognitive skills. The push-and-go motor moves the train along the tracks. An optional app has additional activities and allows children to operate the train with a remote control.

The Lego Duplo Steam Train set for ages 2 to 5 has a locomotive driver, squirrel and child figures, refueling can, suitcase, bread, and a spade. To assemble the locomotive, passenger carriage, train station, coal tipper, and tree, the set contains 59 pieces. Among the pieces are 16 individual tracks and five action bricks that make the train sound the horn, turn on the lights, refuel, change direction, or stop. The steam train with attached passenger carriage measures 3 inches by 11 inches by 2 inches, and the train station is 5 inches by 4 inches by 2 inches. Batteries are required, but theyre not included.

Photo: amazon.com

The Lego City Ice-Cream Truck set provides rich details to ignite the imagination of little ones ages 5 to 7. They can build the truck and serve ice cream to customers.

The 200-piece set comes with an ice cream seller, skateboarder, and a dog figure along with accessories such as ice cream cones, skateboard, helmet, and money.

Directions are included for constructing the colorful truck that measures 4 inches by 5 inches by 2 inches. You also can use the Digital Instructions Plus available through the Lego Life app. The digital instructions allow novice builders to zoom in and rotate the model to aid them with assembly.

Photo: amazon.com

Aspiring astronauts will find the building blocks necessary to build their way to a space mission in the Lego City Deep Space Rocket and Launch Control set. With the 837-piece set, they can construct a customizable multistage rocket with a cockpit, booster, and payload storage modules. A monorail system with two cars has access to multiple stops along the track.

The launch control tower is the heart of the space center, where two scientists and a launch director prepare the ground crew technician and two astronauts for liftoff. Additional items include a rover with an articulated grappling arm, telescope with folding solar panels, magnifying glass, and robot figure.

This Lego set is recommended for kids ages 7 to 9. The standing rocket measurements are approximately 16 inches by 4 inches by 2 inches, and the monorail track is about 3 inches by 14 inches by 18 inches.

Photo: amazon.com

Builders ages 12 and up learn about the elements of engineering as they construct the authentic 4,108-piece Lego Technic Liebherr Excavator. The functional, high-tech construction toy is run by three XL motors, four L motors, and two Bluetooth-controlled smart hubs. Its also operated with the Lego Technic Control+ app.

Hours of immersive play are provided with realistic features and motorization. Kids can engage sound effects, rotate the excavator, move the boom and bucket, and drive the machine forward and backward. With a smart device, they can record driving distances and power usage. The impressive excavator model requires batteries (not included) and measures 15 inches by 25 inches by 10 inches.

Photo: amazon.com

This Lego set is an accurate replica of the White House for builders ages 18 and older interested in history, design, and architectureor for those who just want to immerse themselves in a creative project. While assembling the 1,483-piece set, builders re-create the presidents Executive Residence and the colonnades that connect the East and West Wings along with the Rose Garden and Jacqueline Kennedy Garden.

Builders can divide the model into three sections for closer examination. The completed model is 4 inches by 18 inches by 7 inches.

Photo: amazon.com

Over the years, the Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon has remained a perennial favorite. The model is based on the Corellian freighter from the movie Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

The Lego design allows access inside the freighter and features a cockpit that opens. The interior is filled with details such as a cargo area with two containers, navigation computer with rotating chair, couch, Dejarik hologame table, galley, bunk, hidden smuggling compartment, and a hyperdrive with repair tools. The freighter is ready for battle with rotating top- and bottom-gun turrets, two spring-loaded shooters, and a lowering ramp.

The set includes seven character figures, so kids can act out Star Wars adventures with Finn, Chewbacca, C-3PO, Lando Calrissian, Boolio, R2-D2, and D-O. It is recommended for ages 9 and up and the starship measures 5 inches by 17 inches by 12 inches.

Photo: amazon.com

Builders construct Tony Starks Iron Man Hall of Armor using the 524 pieces in the set. The Lego set has a rotating podium with two posable robotic arms and detachable modules that are designed for combining and stacking in a variety of ways. Some of the modules are the lab, kitchen, and various storage units. The six Marvel Universe minifigures include Iron Man MK 1, Iron Man MK 5, Iron Man MK 41, Iron Man MK 50, and two Outriders.

The Lego Marvel Avengers Iron Man Hall of Armor is recommended for builders ages 7 and up. When the Iron Man Lab is completed with modules in standard formation, it measures more than 5 inches by 13 inches by 6 inches. The Igor Suit is about 3 inches by 1 inch by 3 inches.

The popularity of Lego sets endures because they are a quality product that captivates builders of all ages. Since the Lego Group continues to introduce new sets and institute new technology, you may have more questions. The following popular questions and answers may help.

Lego sets can be expensive because the company manufactures a higher-quality product than its competitors and pays licensing fees for brands such as Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel.

The largest Lego sets include Star Wars UCS Millennium Falcon, Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle, and the Taj Mahal. The Millennium Falcon set has the most pieces at 7,541.

Sometimes Lego sets have extra pieces; this may happen because the pieces arent counted. Instead, the pieces are automatically weighed and packaged. If you need an extra piece for a set, each piece has a unique number to make replacing pieces easier.

Lego pieces are stored in a variety of ways. For example, you can keep them in boxes, cubes, containers, or bins. Some Lego builders keep pieces in carts and chests with drawers.

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