palm springs — Latest innovations While building a house is being touted as a game-changer that could revolutionize the construction industry in South Florida.
The concept seems simple.
“We’re making adult-sized Lego to build adult-sized houses,” said Lenco, a Miami-based company that uses renewable composite materials to make building blocks for home construction. USA President Ken Smuts said.
Smuts traveled to Turkey and brought renewable energy composite lego I brought the idea back to him.
He said it had passed the insurance industry’s rigorous tests for wind, fire and hydro ratings.
“We conducted impact testing in Miami-Dade County and reached approval through Tallahassee,” Smuts said. “We tested this to the point of failure with wind speeds in excess of 250 miles per hour. A typical unreinforced concrete block would fail in compression at about 1600 PSI, but this block will fail at 16,000 PSI. .This is ten times stronger.”
The new design will help build homes faster, he said.
“With no tools or heavy equipment required, the building literally comes together in an eight-week construction period,” Smuts said.
Architecture is similar to the use of timeless toys for children.
There are 22 unique Lego-like pieces. Construction workers then assemble the parts according to color-coded diagrams.
Adhesives are used to create chemical bonds that are stronger than the materials themselves.
The first project is a 96-unit apartment complex in Palm Springs, just west of Lake Worth in Palm Beach County.
Officials say construction costs are 20% cheaper than traditional construction.
Ultimately, the savings are Leads to lower insurance premiums.
“We are seeing 40% lower premiums for builder insurance in the building process,” Smuts said.
The concept has gone from toy-like to now a renewable, complex interlocking system that could be the first innovative approach to architecture in more than 100 years.
Smuts said it will be several months before Lenco’s Jupiter plant, where it makes composite blocks, is fully operational.
The company aims to start mass production and build at least 5,000 apartments a year. And the company plans to move into building single-family homes in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.