Where Innovation Meets Action
Follow the Challenge and our partners across the Housing Innovation Alliance ecosystem.
Upcoming Events
+ National Housing Supply Summit
Mar 18, 2026, Washington, D.C.
May 19, 2026, Charlotte
May 19–21, 2026, Charlotte
+ Housing Innovation Challenge Exhibition
Oct 2027, Charlotte
People are priced out of the dream of homeownership. Nearly 75% of households across the country are unable to afford the median-priced new home and more than 50% of Gen Z renters believe winning the lottery is their only ticket to buying their first home.
Construction costs keep rising. Productivity and innovation haven’t kept pace. Traditional methods can’t deliver the speed or affordability needed to solve this growing problem. This Challenge aims to change that; bringing together the best minds in design, engineering, construction, technology, and business to rethink the entire process of how homes are designed, built and utilized for long-term value. Building on the 20-year legacy of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon, the Challenge expands the conversation from energy performance to total cost of housing - focusing beyond what price the home can be delivered to include its cost of maintenance, utilities, insurance and the other hidden, growing costs of homes.
Dive into the latest episode of The Art of Construction, where host Devon Tilly and co-host Dennis Steigerwalt sit down with Bobby Vance and Richard King to explore bold ideas shaping the future of housing - from modular innovation and industrialized construction to solar-powered cars and the legacy of the Solar Decathlon. Highlighting the Housing Innovation Alliance’s mission to accelerate breakthrough solutions, this conversation invites listeners to consider a simple question: Do you have a solution, idea, or dream that could help solve the housing crisis? Register for the Housing Innovation Challenge in Charlotte, North Carolina by December 12th for your chance to compete. As Bobby notes, “We’re working to bring the best ideas to life, as quickly as possible.” Join us as industry trailblazers share insights, stories, and a shared vision for making housing more attainable.
Press and Media
Press Release
AOC Episode 382: Are you up to the challenge? Help us solve housing affordability
The article frames the Housing Innovation Challenge as part of a growing movement using competitions to “open the door to innovative solutions” by challenging the “confines of the current housing industry’s processes,” emphasizing that fresh thinking emerges when students, designers, industry, and cities are brought together to test ideas in real conditions rather than theory alone. It highlights how the Challenge creates space to rethink “how homes are designed, built, and delivered,” connecting design innovation with constructability, affordability, and scalability, and positions the effort as a way to move beyond incremental change toward solutions that can meaningfully respond to the housing crisis by “reimagining how we approach age-old challenges.”
Competitions Bring Much Needed New Thinking To Stale Housing Industry
"Universities are where the next generation of builders, designers, and problem-solvers are being trained," said Bobby Vance, Competition Director and Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech. "Students are living the consequences of today's housing costs. Bringing them into the solution, side by side with industry, creates a pipeline of leaders who understand innovation and attainability pressures firsthand."