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Writer's pictureLaurie Fisher

What Makes PHNX Different?


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What's revolutionary about a PHNX Home is not what it's made of, but how we go about putting it all together. Founded by an architect and a builder, PHNX Development is the first design/build company to fully integrate design and construction; we call it Coordinated Design/Build.


The PHNX Team spent two years analyzing the entire design and construction process from start to finish, looking for opportunities to improve and streamline the process. What are the things that make design take a long time? How can a project move more quickly through permitting and plan check? What areas of construction are the most costly and why? What things slow down construction? How can we give the client the beauty, quality and durability that they are paying for, instead of misleading them by marking up cheap products and materials?


An important part of this analysis also included the level of service and the client's experience. Both the design and construction industries have acquired terrible reputations over the years, from lack of attentiveness to the client's needs, to failures to deliver as promised, to even downright dishonesty. The PHNX Team - Penna Construction and LCFA Studio - has decades of happy, satisfied clients, on both sides of design and construction. PHNX values integrity above all else, and it became a PHNX priority to solve what is probably the most difficult challenge in the industry: how do we bring peace of mind and predictability to what is by nature a totally unpredictable process?


PHNX selects its materials and methods only after fully discussing the pros and cons of implementation with the whole team. Everyone weighs in and a solution is found. We embrace technology and innovation - as long as it is tested and reliable. Everything that goes into a PHNX Home has been proven in the field, often for decades.


Using Component Based Design proprietary products for our core structural systems enables us to reduce our reliance on volatile market costs for materials and labor. Building Information Management (BIM) technologies make it possible for manufacturers to turn around one-off custom designs and quotes in a matter of days, and these quotes are so accurate they are often estimated to the penny. Pricing is stable and any cost increases are scheduled so PHNX can plan ahead for them.


People often ask why it's still so rare to see buildings being built with ICF and steel, even though these methods have been around for more than 30 years. The short answer is that the design and construction industry doesn't like change. Change costs money. Innovation is not incentivized.

PHNX has proven that it doesn't have to be that way. PHNX designs what PHNX builds, so we control the whole process. Efficiencies achieved during design become cost and time saving methods in the field. Since PHNX works within the existing industry framework, evolution is baked into the process. Whenever new materials and methods prove themselves in the field and are ready to be implemented, PHNX can easily modify or add them to the specifications - if they make the project better.


At this time, there is no other design/build team in the state of California that is able to do what PHNX does. We design and build custom ICF homes that are Type II non-combustible construction and net-zero. For a fraction of the initial investment typically required, we deliver everything you need to make an informed decision, including a PHNX 10% Concept Budget and Schedule along with your custom PHNX Home Concept Design Package. We move forward only if you want to; there's no pressure or commitment.


PHNX Development is dedicated to making the design and construction experience better for everyone, but most importantly, better for you. Contact us for a consultation today!

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