Climate Adaptation & Low-Carbon Housing Challenge
The Anamakos Circular-Passive Development Process
What is the name of your solution?
The Anamakos Circular-Passive Development Process
Provide a one-line summary of your solution.
Circular economy buildings, built with transparent and ethical sourcing, 100% recyclable materials and a plan for deconstruction, a passive house building envelope, and modular biophilic facade and interior options.
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
Current models of real estate development are not Sustainable with even generally accepted sustainability standards such as LEED, WELL, Green Globes and other models of measuring impact on buildings being costly to pursue, incomplete in analysis, and insufficient in accounting for circular economy. With 6% of global emissions traceable to housing construction, real estate development is a large driving force in global greenhouse emissions and therefore has the potential to lead significant change as we strive for a zero-carbon world.
Furthermore, current sustainable real estate development practices lack integration with materials innovation. Current models of real estate development are not truly exponential in growth as seen by the increasingly popular ESG REITS which still fall short in creating regenerative and biophilic models that creatively generate high returns.
In terms of financing sustainable developments, historically VC funding has not taken advantage of the real estate development sector due to a lack of innovation and successful introduction of a tech-growth thesis into the space through a startup which discourages entrepreneurs and business leaders from working towards change in this sector.
What is your solution?
We have broken down our solution to a series of five progressive steps which collectively target the problem through a multifaceted approach.
Step 1: sourcing Structural Materials. Using effective data management tools to analyze and rank building materials sources and products, we will ensure the highest ethical and sustainable building practices from conception.
Step 2: Sourcing modular biophilic facade and interior materials. Deep diving into supply chain data and management, we will not only source sustainable raw materials but also ensure the transport and distribution of these materials is optimized by reducing carbon emissions from transport, as possible.
Step 3. Passive House Building Envelope and Energy System. We will work to establish Renewable Energy systems on-site or through specified purchases on-grid that determine renewable sources. This patented or proprietary design will be incorporated into the Build to generate a truly unique Passive House Building Envelope.
Step 4. Deliberate Deconstruction and Recycling Implementation. At planned end-of-life (anywhere from 6 years to 200 years later depending on the plan), we will institute deliberate deconstruction and recycling processes for the zero-waste transition to a new building. This will incorporate a planned energy budget for recycling processes to be transformed back into raw material.
Step 5. Integration with Local Ecosystems. For passive effect, we will offset negative effects of high energy use during construction and deconstruction and impacts from building infrastructure in an environment by active investment in and partnering around local ecosystem investments. This will be based on the native ecology, such as mangrove forests on Indonesian waterfronts, or cattails on German Riverbanks.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Our target populations are culturally rich, at-risk communities which could lend themselves to tourism as a strong revenue generator for the local economy. Locations include cities adjacent to national parks, such as St. Georges next to Zion National Park which is underserved as seasonal eco-tourism is their primary industry yet there is still room for expansion in the luxury sector of this industry which would provide for greater profit margins during the busy seasons and competitive advantage during the slower seasons. Another potential target location is New Orleans which already has a strong tourism industry but is under served due to environmental disaster concerns; we would solve for this concern by utilizing modular, floating structures that can be assembled and disassembled in coordination with disaster forecasts.
How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?
Our team brings experience in urban planning, real estate marketing, and Environmental Health and Safety. Tara Gupta has worked with an urban planner in Indonesia, Antonio Risianto with Community Housing Indonesia, while Antonio was proposing a plan for restructuring slums outside Jakarta while maintaining the inherent social fabric of these informal communities. Tara attended the Rhode Island School of Design, acclaimed for its architecture program, and learned from Landscape Architecture Professor Elizabeth Dean Hermann, who was deeply involved with creating resilience amongst women in communities in Sri Lanka.
Kirsten has worked in the real estate industry for six years. After graduating with a BS in Finance from Penn State University, she worked for a global non-profit where she managed their portfolio of multi-class properties across 97 countries. Their initiative was to reduce real estate related operating and managing expenses to maximize community benefit and generate effective community and sanitation centers in developing communities. While doing this work, she earned her certificate in Real Estate Investment Analysis from UCLA Extension and then continued her graduate studies at Georgetown University where she earned an MBA in 2021. During her time at Georgetown, she became licensed as a real estate agent and began working in property management and transactions. She has since founded an investment analysis company and has been working with investors and developers in the DMV area to source projects and analyze the financial returns of these projects.
Troy Frantz is a certified EHS professional, with 7 years of experience in construction and building safety in the Washington DC area with prominent groups such as Clark Construction and Valcourt Building Services. He holds a degree from top EHS school Indiana University.
Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
Reduce emissions from multifamily housing during construction, operation, and end-of-life while addressing barriers to local adoption.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Washington DC
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
What is your solution’s stage of development?
Prototype: A venture or organization building and testing its product, service, or business model, but which is not yet serving anyone
How many people does your solution currently serve?
We served 7 people in our beta project but are currently serving none. Over the past two years, we have been prototyping our growth model and pursuing projects to implement our pilot.
Why are you applying to Solve?
Solve is an exciting opportunity for our team as we are interested in connecting this idea and team to the network that MIT and its prestigious architecture program provides. We are proposing a development model that can be transformative to communities that are at-risk for climate changes' worst effects, and have real estate Venture Capital investors including 2150 and Fifth Wall interested in a Series A round if we find our footing with a successful first few prototypes and use cases. If successful, we could transform the way people view these communities, creating opportunities for investment back into these communities. We would be able to challenge the architecture community to use our process and optimized supply chain model to create disaster resilient housing for the toughest of areas. To achieve this, we need help and connectivity. Solve can not only provide us with seed capital that can accelerate us to our next round of fundraising and scale, it can also provide us with legal support to navigate opportunities such as opportunity zones, and to leverage top advisors in the space of disaster resilience.
In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?
Who is the Team Lead for your solution?
Tara Gupta
What makes your solution innovative?
Current Models of Real Estate Development are not Sustainable, LEED and
other models of measuring impact on buildings are insufficient and do not
account for circular economy.
Sustainable real estate development lacks integration with materials
innovation.
Our solution takes these shortcomings into account by unifying the development and building materials processes to wholistically improve environmental impact throughout the entirety of process.
What are your impact goals for the next year and the next five years, and how will you achieve them?
Over the next two years, our goal is to raise for and initiate a development project in each of the three classes: residential, wellness retreat, hospitality. through these projects, we will not only create a holistic circular system of construction which minimizes carbon impact but also enhance the local communities through regenerative development of existing sites with uses which cater to the local population through inclusivity, sustainability and economic resilience.
Which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals does your solution address?
How are you measuring your progress toward your impact goals?
1. Enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management through holistic urban regeneration
2. Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage through site restoration and mindful repurposing efforts
3. Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning
4. Substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, and resilience to disasters
What is your theory of change?
Our focus on innovative economic advancement through mindful materials sourcing and development integration will improve standard practices for materials sourcing, supply chain management, and structural development. While it will directly benefit real estate related carbon output, the long-term effects are further reaching and include things like regenerative urban development practices, improved supply chain functionality and more sustainable materials generation.
Describe the core technology that powers your solution.
Our tech-approach to VC funding and REIT management will provide quantitative incentive to environmentally aware real estate development while our software and systems for analyzing carbon emissions will provide a quantitative results-driven framework for continued justification of environmental investment.
Which of the following categories best describes your solution?
A new business model or process that relies on technology to be successful
Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:
If your solution has a website or an app, provide the links here:
www.anamakos.com
In which countries do you currently operate?
In which countries will you be operating within the next year?
What type of organization is your solution team?
For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models
How many people work on your solution team?
full time: 2, part time: 2
How long have you been working on your solution?
2 years
What is your approach to incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusivity into your work?
Our CEO & Founder is Indian-American, both our founders are female
As a diverse leadership team, we prioritize diversity and inclusion and have a strong network of diverse advisors and mentors. By ocntinuing to surround ourself with people of various races, genders and upbringings, we continue to strengthen our perspective and framework for inclusive and innovative solutions which take into account various viewpoints. We will continue to intentionally surround ourselves with high-value individuals who can present unique solutions based on their unique perspectives.
Solution Team
-
TG
Tara Gupta Anamakos
to Top
Our Organization
Anamakos LLC