Driving Housing Design through Innovation

Dan Swift, President, CEO + Chairman, BSB Design

As President of BSB Design and one of our 2019 Innovation Summit presenters on “Redefining the Customer Experience”, Dan Swift shared some of his more than 20 years of experience in the architectural design industry and the challenges and opportunities he sees for innovation in homebuilding.

 

 

Key Takeaways 

“Driving Housing Design through Innovation”

  1. Working on Flawed Assumptions
    What if we looked away from what our competitors were doing and instead looked at what our customers really want, which is a transformational homebuying experience? 39% of the population values time, pride, and innovation over money, meaning a cheaper home alone isn’t going to cut it. The data is out there: Now is the time to look through the lens of the consumer and design to the consumer’s preferences. Homebuilders need to learn more about their customers and design and build to their needs.
  2. Houses of the Future
    We are on track to build houses that maximize human peak performance and make people live longer. 72 neuroscientists and 360 entrepreneurs from 32 different countries have come together to work on a re-imagined home called the “Thoughtful House”, where spaces are easy, relaxing, and rejuvenating and designed around critical moments in everyone’s lives.
     
  3. Adding to the Equation
    Making houses more affordable should be thought of as more than just downsizing. By moving away from retractive design, and looking for opportunities to downsize, we should instead move towards a more creative mindset of additive design and work on building up from the smallest parts of the house; eliminating what is no longer needed.

The Alliance Takeaway

So, how are we as home providers going to meet the needs of this market that values innovation, saving time, and taking pride in what they own? By taking the Steve Jobs approach to innovation and designing something that does not exist yet. A new home should feel and perform fundamentally differently than an existing home. The industry needs to take a new approach to design and innovation if it is ever going to compete with re-sale, meet the needs of current homebuyers, or attract a new pool of customers to the market.

Further Reading:

Redefining the Customer Experience Part II | The Business Case for Delivering Outstanding Customer Experiences | 05.14.19

Redefining the Customer Experience Part III | Designing a Better Customer Experience using Data-Driven Personalization | 05.14.19

Builders Betting On Luxury Townhomes As Millennials Eye Homeownership” | Forbes.com | 01.13.19

Modernizing How We Build” | Hanleywood | 06.04.18