LocationsRebuilding smarter: How innovators are redesigning the future of housing
April 28, 2026
Around the world, housing is being reimagined through circular design, low-carbon materials, integrated energy systems, and climate-resilient architecture – creating buildings that waste less, last longer, and work better in uncertain conditions.
In Moldova and Ukraine, that shift is unfolding under far more urgent pressures. War, rising costs, and energy insecurity have made conventional construction – slow, wasteful, and emissions-heavy – increasingly difficult to sustain.
Selected as winners of the BOOST: Green Futures Challenge – a UNDP regional impact acceleration programme – the ventures spotlighted here from the cohort are pushing housing innovation forward: rethinking what homes are made of, how they're built, and who they serve. Faced with the scale of need, these solutions are using local materials, modular methods, and off-grid systems to create homes that respond to the realities on the ground.
Fast, low-carbon housing through modular micro-factories
What if the future of housing could be produced in compact, mobile factories? Briller.House, a Ukrainian startup, is building zero-carbon modular homes designed by AI and manufactured using portable systems in decentralized micro-factories.
“Conventional construction is slow, expensive, and full of inefficiencies,” says Andrew Ganin, Briller.House’s co-founder. “We wanted to rethink the process from the ground up – and then automate it.”
Their model blends AI-driven architecture with CNC-powered micro-factories, creating prefab homes that can be assembled in days. Each unit is designed to minimize waste, optimize material use, and eliminate the need for cement – one of the biggest sources of construction emissions. Briller homes are designed for speed – but also for performance. According to the team, their insulation is at par and beyond EU standards, and each unit is engineered with energy efficiency in mind, from walls to windows.
With Ukraine facing an urgent housing crisis, millions displaced and infrastructure stretched, Ganin sees Briller’s system as a way to “leapfrog” outdated methods – offering fast, low-carbon housing that can be deployed flexibly in post-crisis zones.
Briller have already built homes in Ukraine and Germany, with plans to scale production through micro-factories, producing modular housing for families and displaced people, showing that affordable, scalable green housing is possible, even in the most difficult conditions.
Building insulation panels with straw and clay
Not all innovation comes from tech. Sometimes it comes from combining plants-based and centuries-old techniques – reengineered for the modern world. In Moldova, Eveco Construction is proving that sustainable housing can be both low-tech and high-performance, using natural and recycled materials like straw, clay, and timber to create prefabricated wall panels for homes and buildings.
“People think sustainable housing has to be expensive,” says Zaharii Dolomanji, co-founder of Eveco. “We’re showing that it can actually lower costs – and lower emissions – when you build with what’s already around you.”
Their system is modular, breathable, and adapted to Moldova’s climate – offering strong thermal insulation and a significantly lower carbon footprint than conventional wall materials. Every Eveco panel locks in carbon instead of releasing it, thanks to its plant-based core and minimal industrial processing. The panels can be produced locally and installed quickly, making them ideal for rural areas, energy-poor households, or renovation projects.
But the real innovation may be cultural: Eveco is changing how people think about materials. In a market still dominated by concrete and imports, they’re creating demand for local, circular construction – and designing for a future where buildings are part of the biosphere, not separate from it.
3D-printing with low-carbon geopolymer concrete
For many, the first instinct after destruction is to clear away the debris. But what if that debris could become the foundation for what comes next?
In Ukraine, Geopolimer is rethinking how buildings are made – using large-scale 3D printing to construct walls and structures from geopolymer concrete that incorporates industrial byproducts and recycled materials. Instead of relying entirely on traditional cement, their approach reduces both waste and emissions by using what would otherwise be discarded.
"Our goal is to prove that construction can dramatically reduce its carbon footprint – not through small optimizations, but by fundamentally changing what we build with and how we build it," says Ruslan Kucher, co-founder of Geopolimer. The company has developed a complete ecosystem: their own 3D printers, certified concrete formulas, and AI-integrated software that optimizes every layer. Unlike conventional construction, which is slow and emissions-heavy, Geopolimer's method prints structures directly on-site, minimizing transport, waste, and energy use.
Their technology has been validated through test structures that endured multiple harsh Ukrainian winters without damage, and is now being commercialized through architectural and decorative elements. With support from UNDP, the company is developing an AI-powered quality control system. Looking ahead, Geopolimer is working toward pilot projects in low-rise housing and exploring partnerships with local governments to turn reconstruction challenges into opportunities for innovation.
In a rebuilding economy, solutions like Geopolimer show how industrial waste can become a construction asset – and how technology can help rebuild faster, stronger, and greener.
Rebuilding the future
From Kyiv to Chișinău, these ventures are asking a simple question: What if reconstruction wasn’t just about rebuilding what was lost – but reimagining what’s possible?
Together, they are part of a housing transition that’s modular, circular, and people-first – driven by AI but grounded in local context.
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