Need Housing to Be Affordable, Sustainable, and Scalable? You Don't Have to "Pick Two"

Across the United States, the housing crisis is no longer abstract. Wildfire rebuilds, rising costs, workforce shortages, and long permitting timelines are colliding at a moment when demand has never been higher. If the industry continues building the way it always has, the results will stay the same.

Recorded live from Greenbuild in Los Angeles, this episode of Digital Builder explores what it will take to deliver housing that is affordable, resilient, and scalable—without treating those goals as tradeoffs.

Host Eric Thomas is joined by Edie Dillman, CEO and Co‑Founder of B.Public Prefab, and Vamsi Kumar Kotla, Founder of ReMo Homes, for a candid conversation about what’s broken in residential construction and where meaningful progress is happening today.

Together, they examine how panelized and modular approaches can reduce soft costs, speed delivery, and improve long‑term performance—while still respecting the expertise of builders and the realities of the jobsite. The discussion also looks beyond construction itself, touching on workforce development, wildfire recovery, digital twins, and the role of building science in creating homes that perform over decades, not just at handover.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. Why the housing crisis is driven by more than just build costs—and why operational costs, resilience, and long‑term ownership matter just as much
2. How modular and panelized construction can help balance affordability, sustainability, and scalability without forcing a “pick two” compromise
3. Where the biggest cost savings actually live in residential projects, and why soft costs are a critical lever for change
4. How offsite construction succeeds when builders are treated as partners
5. Different perspectives on technology in housing, from digital twins and IoT to passive building science and material‑first resilience
6. Why solving the housing crisis will require multiple approaches—and broad collaboration across the industry

This episode offers a grounded, honest look at the future of housing, and why innovation paired with collaboration—and a little joy—matters more than ever.