Scius is thrilled to be a semi-finalist in Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Housing Supply Challenge Round 5! This round called "Level-Up" aims to address the entrenched housing affordability crisis in Canada. Level-Up’s goal is to scale system-level solutions like skill enhancement, automation and streamlined supply chains to expedite housing provision. Successful solutions will lead to quicker development, reduced costs and permanent improvements in Canada's housing delivery process.

Led by BC Housing, our project will develop a first-of-its-kind platform using leading-edge technology to accelerate the design and construction of mid-rise multi-family housing in British Columbia. Scius is project manager for this ambitious initiative that has the potential to revolutionize the way housing gets built in BC and across Canada. Our project team includes: Iredale Architecture, BIM One, Timber Engineering Inc., Core Two Construction and Property Consultants, bCollective Homes Inc., Archistar.ai, and KOPE.ai.

The platform will offer open-source, replicable, pre-approved blueprint designs and resources for designers, city planners, non-profits, and the residential construction industry. These designs will be Building Information Management (BIM)-enabled and designed for manufacture and assembly, using AI-powered tools to reduce costs and build time.

We are also collaborating with Metro Vancouver and nine prefab companies across province to speed up the design, approvals, and construction of mid-rise multi-family housing. With the help of SvN Architects + Planners and bCollective Homes Inc., Metro Vancouver has already developed a short, machine-readable model zoning regulation ready for local governments to adopt.

The next phase of work includes creating more blueprint designs, adding more prefab companies to our digital marketplace for offsite products, and piloting the solution on a series of projects across the BC lower mainland. We will also research the impacts of our program on the housing supply chain (a program of research that will be led by FPInnovations). With our project partner BIM One, which is based in Quebec, we have already started to introduce our solution to the Quebec market and look forward to expanding its application to other regions.