ICF Construction Key to Affordable, Quality Low-Income Housing

On a recent trip to Louisville, KY, NRMCA Vice President, National Resources, Amy Miller met with Jill Lewis Smith, AIA, president of Civic Consultants Inc. Over the past 15 years, she has designed about half of her municipal projects with ICF construction. Most of the industry believed that ICF construction costs more, but was a better sustainable building option. Jill and her staff started to notice that in literally all cases, the ICF constructed projects were coming in at lower or equal cost to their conventionally framed counterparts, Miller said. When challenged with the design of low-income housing, Smith felt this would be an opportunity to show that ICF construction could be an option that could compete with the cost of wood frame construction and would offer safety and long-term energy savings for residents.

As a part of a HOPE VI Grant program in Louisville, Mrs. Smith designed four 2-story single family residences ranging in size from 1,540 to 1,950 square feet. The four units are currently under construction. These homes are designed with the detailing and methods Jill and her staff at Civic Consultants Inc. have created to lower energy costs by about half, and provide storm resilient dwellings. Another segment of the project has been designated for traditional wood construction. According to Mrs. Smith, the homes are similar in square footage and the price of construction is the same. The four homes along with at least four traditionally framed homes with similar square footage and design will be monitored by the Louisville Metro Housing Authority for five years for energy and water use, maintenance costs and durability. The concrete for the ICF construction was supplied by NRMCA Producer member Ernst Concrete.

 

Mrs. Smith works closely with the Kentucky Ready-Mixed Concrete Association, Miller noted. Through its work with her, she was also able to design a concrete parking lot for another part of the project. "No one ever thought it was possible to build a price-competitive ICF product for this market segment," Smith said. "This is a game changer as this project, along with similar projects we’re working on, proves that ICF can be utilized for any market segment when designed correctly and constructed according to the design. The solution to our national need for affordable housing is simple, the ICF constructed home. What this means is we can break the cycle of poverty by giving the lower income individual a home to invest in, rather than a disposable mobile or modular home."

For more information, contact Amy Miller at amiller@nrmca.org.