Written by Mike Haskew
Photos courtesy of Liv-Connected
In today’s housing market, the headlines can be discouraging; homes and materials are expensive; interest rates are high; supply is low. But as is often the case: adversity breeds innovation.
Such is the story for Liv-Connected, a modular home manufacturer founded in 2019 in a collaboration between architects, a physician/digital health expert and live event professionals.
“Liv-Connected was created to explore creative solutions to bring health, well-being and architecture into the housing industry,” explains Chief Operating Officer Jordan Rogove. “Our goal is to use small design moves that create big impacts.”
How so? Enter: modular construction. This prefabricated building method prescribes constructing a building offsite in a controlled environment, then reconstructing and finishing it on the intended property (on a foundation). But these aren’t the clunky, cookie-cutter models you may be picturing.
Designed by architects, Liv-Connected’s primary products, the Conexus (single-family modular homes) and Via (tiny homes on wheels), allow the consumer to adjust the levers of size, material and function to create homes that are attractive, affordable and befitting their lifestyle.
For example, the Conexus (featured here) can take the form of a single bedroom in 500 square feet of living space or scale up to a three-bedroom, two-bath configuration in 1,200 square feet — a size range ideal for people who are downsizing, retiring or looking for a weekend retreat.
Each includes thoughtful layouts with full-sized bedrooms and bathrooms and pitched ceilings and are finished with interior packages curated by the award-winning DXA Studio of New York. Exterior and interior finish options include metal, wood, slate and more — all in a variety of colors.
The homes come with a long list of environmental and health advantages as well: The materials are sustainable, low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) and recycled or recyclable where possible. Liv-Connected strategically selects woods with low moisture content to avoid mold and mildew. To boot, it’s often sourced local to Liv-Connected: “During the pandemic we found the supply chain for many materials had become very limited, so we pivoted to all locally made,” explains Allysa Taylor, director of operations for the company.
Beyond materials and good looks, the packages are planned with long-term function in mind. Allysa explains the designs are made to accommodate a new era of smart-home technology focused on sustainability, health, comfort and luxury: “We offer packages for integrating digital healthcare into the home, off-grid/cold-weather packages and upgraded packages with more luxury appliances and finishes.”
But Liv-Connected’s work doesn’t begin and end with the walls of their clients’ homes; the company is active in Congress to amend existing building codes and barriers in order to cultivate a better public understanding of modular housing, which offers a litany of benefits (think: the ability to assemble an affordable home in the matter of hours), yet faces persistent misconceptions.
“We saw one of the biggest hurdles to fixing the affordable housing crisis was approvals to build homes in the first place, so we began working with the government,” explains Jordan. “We are specifically working with HUD on revising the code so modular housing can be approved in a market that is currently dominated by manufactured and trailer homes. These efforts will hopefully expand the opportunities for factory-built solutions to solve that shortage using a more efficient way of building.”
Allysa echoes the sentiment, noting more than two-thirds of Americans feel they cannot currently afford to buy a home:
“Our goal is to reach this massively underserved market by creating thoughtful, timelessly designed, safe and dignified homes that can meet the market cost demand while fitting in with a contemporary aesthetic and lifestyle.”
It’s cutting-edge innovation, but it’s also what little homes were always meant to be: perfectly practical — and heavy on the charm.
Home Details
Square footage: 500
Bedrooms: 1
Baths: 1 Full
Builder: Liv-Connected
