Ivory Innovations—an applied academic institution and foundation dedicated to catalyzing innovative solutions in affordability—announced the 2022 Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability winners.

Demonstrating ambitious, feasible, and scalable solutions to housing affordability, this year's three honorees include Volumetric Building Cos. in the construction and design category, Blackstar Stability in finance, and Build UP in public policy and regulatory reform.

Selected from a list of top 10 finalists and originally from 170 nominations, the Ivory Prize finalists and winners are determined by Ivory Innovations’ Advisory Board with support from Ivory Innovations' fellows and associates.

"When we started the Ivory Prize, I wasn't sure of the ideas or impact we would have. It's incredible to see the progress of many of those in the Ivory Innovations community, and we're excited to add a few more exceptional efforts to that group," said Clark Ivory, founder of the Ivory Prize and CEO of Ivory Homes, during the video announcement. "Every idea is capable of making a difference. This is too big an issue for just one idea. We need thousands and need to help those ideas reach scale."

Now in its fourth year, Ivory Innovations has evaluated more than 600 innovative approaches to housing affordability. Over that period, 11 winners have been awarded more than $650,000 in prize money and have been connected with leading practitioners, capital partners, student interns, and pro bono consulting, or capacity building services. For 2022, approximately $240,000 will be distributed between the winners.

The 2022 Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability honorees include:

Construction and Design

A Turnkey Approach for Modular Housing with Volumetric Building Cos. (VBC), Philadelphia: Volumetric Building Cos. is a volumetric modular business that simplifies issues by integrating architecture, logistics, manufacturing, and construction into a single package. The vertically integrated company focuses on building the future by providing high-quality, sustainably produced buildings in less time across varied market sectors utilizing its technology-enabled design and engineering model, precision-driven manufacturing capabilities, and project-proven modular construction expertise.

Finance

Stabilizing Families and Communities with Blackstar Stability, Washington, D.C.: Blackstar Stability expands equitable ownership of affordable single-family homes by attacking predatory lending practices and restructuring distressed debt products. It works with families with land contracts and similar forms of seller financing to refinance their homes with traditional mortgages, improve their properties, and reduce costs.

Policy and Regulatory Reform

Rebuilding the Minority Middle Class with Build UP, Birmingham, Alabama: Build UP tackles root causes of intergenerational poverty to rebuild the minority middle class and close racial wealth disparities. Build UP is the first group in Alabama to implement a curriculum designed by the Home Builders Institute. This model, at the intersection of high-quality education, workforce development, and community revitalization, results in dignified, affordable homeownership and retention of talent and wealth, both of which seed stable home and school experiences for generations to come.

Learn more about each of the winners on the Ivory Innovations website.