California, Here They Come - Page 2

"If you want to build an Eichler or other mid-century modern, you'll have to have some steel and some  engineered beams," he noted. "All of post-and-beam makes a lot of sense for us."

"Now, with Title 24, it is hard for architects to meet the requirements," he said of modernism. He noted that BONE Structure's steel framing decreases the need for load-bearing walls and accommodates open floor plans. "We were designed to be in these types of projects."

Additionally, the product's energy efficiency allows for plenty of glass walls, doors, and windows, as well as being ahead of the curve of the California mandate for all new homes to be ZNE after 2020.

"It gives you a lot of flexibility in how you configure the space inside," said Bovet with that friendly and distinct Canadian intonation. "Arguably, you can do something crazy...We don't really believe in one size fits all."

Similarly, he added, "We don't want to be attached to one style of architecture...In Canada [for example], because of the snow [load], it's hard to have a flat roof."

The company is currently building its first California home, on the Stanford campus, for one of Bovet's professors, climate and energy scientist Mark Z. Jacobson. Its next two projects are set for Half Moon Bay and the Oakland hills, while most of the 15 others in the works are on the Peninsula.

"The California market has been above expectations for us," Bovet said happily. Not that this came as a surprise to him, he said, while comparing BONE Structure with another local success, Tesla. "When I think about it, it really is more of that in terms of the type of client we attract.

"People [here in California] are more demanding in terms of technology and sustainability," Bovet said. "People here ask the right questions."

Story originally published in 2016.