Sim[PLY]: Sustainable Construction with Prefabricated Plywood Componentry

The Sim[PLY] framing system was designed and developed in response to the need for sustainable housing and makes use of affordable “low-tech” materials with “high-tech” production technologies. This system has been tested and fabricated for the structure of the Indigo Pine House, an innovative housing module constructed for the 2015 Solar Decathlon Competition. The system leverages CNC routing technology to prefabricate structural components from common plywood sheet goods. These structural components use tab and slot joints secured with hand-applied steel cable ties, allowing for rapid and accurate final assembly without the need for power tools.This paper will explore the next steps in transforming residential construction with the Sim[PLY] framing system. In particular, the paper focuses on a new application: a Sim[PLY] “tiny house” prototype aimed at student housing communities. This flat-packed system is intuitive to use, easy and safe to construct by the average person, and easy to disassemble non -destructively, all while supporting strong thermal and structural performance.