Fire-Resilient Building Systems

On Saturday, March 29, 2025, Joseph and Ron gave a webinar for LA fire victims interested in rebuilding their homes. They presented three partial prefabricated building systems that are not only inherently fire-resilient but result in one tenth of the construction waste compared to wood-frame construction and considerably reduce time on the jobsite. All three of these systems will contribute to longer building lifespans than traditional residential construction.

You can find the webinar recording here:

Form Found Design Webinar on Fire-Resilient Strategies

For FFD, fire resiliency isn’t a constraint to be incorporated, but it is a design problem. It is no longer a luxury design feature that can be selectively ignored but must be integrated into the design from the beginning, rather than considered disparate, à la carte features. This integrated design thinking goes beyond selecting materials that harden a building from fire exposure. The entire design process must be rethought to fundamentally integrate resiliency, sustainability, and lifecycle timelines into a cohesive design solution.

At FFD, all projects start with questions, rather than assumptions. Joseph and Ron listen to client needs, analyze the site and environmental conditions, and apply their own expertise, which is a direct result of their ongoing design research. This design research includes the three partial-prefab technologies mentioned in the webinar:

1.      Metal Buildings + Panels

2.      Computational Framing

3.      Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT)

Cleft House "Hybrid" Steel Frame

Metal Buildings + Panels

Prefabricated Metal buildings combine off-the-shelf steel building “kits” and hybridize them to meet the needs of the client, rather than creating costly, custom steel-framed homes. This prefab alternative to custom-steel offers benefits such as being non-combustible, earthquake-resistant, and recyclable, with high insulation value, and can be constructed quickly and economically, as seen in the case study of the Cleft House. The steel was built at 2/3 the cost of custom steel by hybridizing two existing steel-frame kits. The project also uses insulated steel panels to achieve R- values 2X what the building code calls for.

Computational Framing

FFD has designed and coordinated 10 homes using computational framing, which creates a digital fabrication pipeline for Cold Formed Steel (CFS) allowing custom steel wall and truss assemblies to be printed, labeled, and delivered directly to the jobsite. Every framing member in the house is installed with the same screw and installed according to an assembly diagram. This kit-of-parts system commoditizes the framing process using assembly-line efficiencies but can be customized directly out of the machine. This paves the way for the benefits of mass-customization to be realized as homes may have the same structural systems but can vary slightly to reflect the client’s unique design criteria. Light gauge steel is non-combustible, recycled and recyclable, earthquake resistant, termite-proof, and offers accelerated construction timelines as walls and trusses are fabricated in a warehouse and delivered to the site. This results in a highly accurate product, with only 1% waste rather than the 10% waste of wood-frame construction.

Cross- Laminated Timber (CLT)

The building industry found that the solid mass of wood can protect from fires when lumber is laminated into large enough slabs for walls, floors, and roof elements. Rather than burning all the way through, the surface will char but protect the inner material. Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a departure from stick-built construction which is much more combustible due to its smaller cross-section. Walls, floors, and roof slabs are all possible with this system. Panels are delivered on-site, preassembled with a water-resistive barrier (WRB) and vented strapping for exterior siding, stucco, or roofing. Windows and doors are delivered simultaneously for on-site installation. CLT is an all-in-one solution that offers fire resistance, carbon sequestration, and high insulation values, making it a sustainable and efficient option for construction.

Lakeside Connecticut CLT Private Residence, Design by OPAL