Building Houses Like LEGOs

By Karen Pinkston

Housing costs keep climbing and builders are running out of ways to bring costs down. A Florida company says the answer is an entirely new way to build. RENCO, a complete composite structural building system that’s faster to assemble, rated to withstand Category 5 hurricanes, and produces almost no waste, has been named to Time magazine’s list of the Best Inventions of 2026.

RENCO earned its spot as builders nationwide search for stronger, greener and more affordable ways to put a roof over people’s heads. The company has opened its fully automated stateside manufacturing facility in Jupiter, Florida. Compression molding machines with robotic arms and pultrusion lines manufacture every component of the RENCO system, producing enough components to build the equivalent of 6,000 apartment units a year.

“This is one of the biggest changes in the construction industry in a century,” says RENCO President Ken Smuts. “As a cost and time saving alternative to conventional wood, steel and concrete structures, RENCO manufactures a complete line of fully composite structural building components which are assembled in the field creating hurricane resistant structures. Being recognized by Time shows us the world is ready for our innovation.”

“This is one of the biggest changes in the construction industry in a century,”

How the RENCO system works:

• Precision-molded structural components interlock and bond with adhesives into one solid, monolithic structure.

• Everything is made from RENCO’s proprietary mix, short for “renewable composite,” which combines glass fibers, resin and naturally occurring minerals.

• Pound for pound, the system is more durable than concrete systems at one-fifth the weight.

• It’s rated to withstand Category 5 hurricanes and resists fire, water, mold and pests.

• Color-coded plans guide on-site assembly, with no cutting, no scraps and very little waste.

The speed is what turns heads. At RENCO’s first U.S. development, a 96-unit apartment complex in Palm Springs, Florida, a crew of 11 unskilled workers built each of four three-story structural shells in about eight weeks.

“We are simplifying construction with a complete system that arrives on site ready to assemble,” says RENCO managing director Patrick Murphy. “You won’t need big dumpsters seen on a typical construction site. With robotic manufacturing and a system any crew can learn quickly, we can build stronger homes faster and for less, exactly what America needs in a housing crisis.”