Alt-Mod™: How Colorado’s Modular Leaders Are Redefining the Cost of Multifamily Housing Nationwide
Two of the industry’s most experienced leaders in modular construction with over three decades of combined modular specific experience, delivering thousands of housing units and millions of square feet, are fundamentally changing how modular multifamily housing is delivered. That depth of expertise across Architecture, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Construction has given them a clear, practical understanding of where modular construction saves money, and where it doesn’t.
Dean Dalvit, Architect, Engineer, and owner of EVstudio, one of the country’s most experienced modular A/E design firms, together with Nathan Peterson, Engineer, Contractor, and owner of Vederra Modular, Colorado’s largest modular housing factory, present Alt-Mod™, a revolutionary new approach to modular multifamily construction.
With a significant investment in focused research and development and real-world application, their work has already moved beyond theory. Alt-Mod™ projects are already under contract, demonstrating average total project savings of more than 15%, with some approaching 20%. These results are based on actual budgets and projects moving toward construction. A true game changer for multifamily construction.
Across the United States, the need for scalable and cost-effective construction methods has never been more urgent. Rising costs, labor shortages, and inefficiencies in traditional construction methods have made it increasingly difficult to build multifamily housing affordably. Modular construction is a part of the solution, offering improved schedule certainty, reduced waste, and better quality through factory production. Yet even with these advantages, modular projects still encounter constraints, like structural redundancy, that can limit their full potential. Alt-Mod™ is a proprietary multidisciplinary design and fabrication building technology that rethinks how modular construction integrates into the broader building process to address those constraints. By rebalancing the work completed in the factory with site-built construction, Alt-Mod™ allows each to do what it does best, optimizing efficiency and reducing total construction cost without sacrificing design quality or performance.
A System-Level Approach to Construction
Alt-Mod™ is a different way of assembling modular buildings. Precision planning with proprietary assemblies and processes enable modules to be stacked in an alternating configuration that creates intentional void spaces between modules. These voids are completed in the field to complement the finished square footage.
By placing the program spaces with complex systems and finishes inside the modules, and moving the open program spaces into void spaces with boundary walls, floors, and ceilings served by the adjacent modules, Alt-Mod™ substantially reduces the total number of modules
required while maintaining the same unit count and mix. Fewer modules mean substantially lower manufacturing and transportation costs. Meanwhile, the additional work to finish the voids on site is delivered at a much lower incremental cost, producing a meaningful net reduction in total project cost.
This approach requires hyper-integration between Architecture, Structural and MEP Engineering along with the Modular Manufacturer from the beginning and throughout design for a clear understanding of systems integration and sequencing. The result is a unified delivery strategy that assembles with ease.
Efficiency Without Compromise
Alt-Mod™ preserves all the core benefits that make modular construction attractive. Factory-built modules deliver speed, quality, and reliability advantages. The innovation is how those components interact with the rest of the building.
Design quality and aesthetics are not compromised in any way. The system is inherently flexible and can adapt to a wide range of building types, unit mix designs, and architectural expressions. The unique relationship between modular volumes and field-built spaces creates new architectural opportunities rather than limiting them.
Alt-Mod™ is a proprietary system protected by patents pending, copyrights, and trade secrets. These protections exist not to create barriers, but to ensure the integrity of the system and the quality of its application as it is introduced to the market.
Case Study: 68-Unit Affordable Housing Project in Colorado
The value of Alt-Mod™ is most clearly demonstrated through real project outcomes. A 68-unit affordable housing development currently in design and scheduled to break ground this summer was priced using a side-by-side comparison between a traditional modular approach and an Alt-Mod™ system strategy. The results were significant.
The Alt-Mod™ approach reduced modular component costs by 33% through a strategic reallocation of scope between the factory and the field. With the additional cost of on-site finish work added back in, total project cost was reduced from $22.65 million to $18.61 million representing 18% in overall savings. Other projects that have been priced with Alt-Mod™ are consistently falling between 15% and 20% savings.
The key insight is by reducing the number of modules and shifting appropriate scope to lower-cost field construction in the void spaces, Alt-Mod™ lowers net costs while maintaining performance and design intent. To put it plainly: Simply manufacture and ship less empty space.
Looking Ahead
The time is now to revolutionize how we build multifamily housing. Alt-Mod™ is being applied on active projects and continues to evolve through real-world use. If you are exploring ways to reduce cost, accelerate delivery, or rethink your development program, we invite you to learn more. Reach out to EVstudio or Vederra Modular, exclusive providers of Alt-Mod™ technology, to start a conversation about how Alt-Mod™ can help achieve your project goals and deliver lasting impact in your communities.
