The 2024 Virtual Concept Home by Livabl is full of innovations to help homebuyers live their best lives — in a home designed to be flexible and attainable.
The housing industry has undergone massive shifts in the past few years, and industry leaders were forced to adapt on the fly. Lessons were learned during and after the pandemic. Flex spaces and work-from-home features have become the new reality in our homes.
These changes were taken into consideration by some of the biggest names in design, architecture, and new construction for the 2024 Virtual Concept Home by Livabl.
JELD-WEN® Windows & Doors, the title sponsor for the 2024 Virtual Concept Home, has seen first-hand how the building industry has shifted to meet the needs of homeowners in this new reality.
We spoke to John Marchionda, JELD-WEN’s vice president of marketing & customer experience, about why JELD-WEN wanted to be included in this project, its early involvement with the Virtual Concept Home, and why certain JELD-WEN products were selected for the home.
Why did JELD-WEN want to be involved with the Livabl Virtual Concept Home?
Sustainability and energy efficiency are priority areas for us as we evolve our windows and doors, and we know homeowners and builders are paying attention to these areas when it comes to choosing products.
The Virtual Concept Home by Livabl was a great opportunity to leverage technology to explore sustainable and energy efficient options and flexible solutions in a home without actually having to build the home. Building pros and manufacturers get to present their newest ideas and most innovative products, and homeowners get to explore the options and choose the features and innovations that matter most to them, and understand how that impacts the cost.
We also appreciated that the Virtual Concept Home effort would bring together builders, architects, designers, manufacturers like us, and industry partners such as Zonda — a truly cross-functional group — to ask, “What are the needs (of homeowners) today, and in the foreseeable future? And what does our industry need to provide to get there?” It’s powerful for a group like this to come together and explore these ideas and use them to drive innovation for the building industry.
The key themes that came out of the initial workshop were attainability for any homeowner budget; addressing a wide range of style preferences and geographic influences; and adaptability, including designing for flex spaces and accessibility requirements.
Typically, a “concept” home includes options that are not realistic for the general homeowner. Not yet available, or not affordable. Making this year’s concept home virtual allows builders and manufacturers like us to develop a range of solutions to meet the needs of a broad assortment of homeowners. We get to ideate and, thanks to the technology, try different options while still in development phase. And, at the same time, the homeowner can easily see how the home would look and function with each option.
For example, this home provides an option for a nursery and upstairs bonus room if the homeowners have a young family. Or the nursery easily transitions to a study with fireplace, and we remove the upstairs for homeowners that are empty nesters and looking to age in place. This virtual home can showcase a range of features and finish options with the click of a mouse, so visitors can choose the options that are relevant to them and adjust the options to fit their budget.
Can you tell us a bit about your early involvement with the project?
JELD-WEN was one of the first manufacturers to jump on board with the Virtual Concept Home. We went out to California for the initial kickoff meeting to understand consumer trends, consumer behaviors, what “home” means to today’s buyers, and the fact that a lot of people are working from home now. We broke out into different focus groups to ideate on all the information and come up with key themes and deliverables for the project. Ultimately, to align on the ideal state of the future home. It was a lot of fun and rewarding.
For me, a key theme that came out of this workshop was the functionality and flexibility of the living space. You know, the old thinking is a three-bedroom, two-bath house. Now we say, “It’s a 12-room house with four flex spaces,” as an example.
There were several sessions to review and iterate on the plans to arrive at what we collectively agreed was the ideal plan to build upon. Then our team at JELD-WEN came together to review the best products to include to optimize the functionality and flexibility of the home. What product innovations are we working on that can bring these ideas to life? Like having an open space and bringing the outside in, using a product such as our LaCantina® door system.
Then there’s our Auraline® composite window, and that came to the forefront of the discussions. It’s made in part from reclaimed material, it’s made to last longer, it’s energy efficient, it’s low maintenance.
So, we were able to think through the needs of the homeowner, to place our products where they would have the most impact and deliver the most benefit within the virtual home.
Why do you think ideas like the Virtual Concept Home are important for companies like JELD-WEN?
It’s extremely important for manufacturers to look around the corner. This can be to understand and predict trends, listen to the voice of the customer, embrace technology, participate in thought leadership. We are a vital part of the industry ecosystem, and we all have to keep pace and provide innovative solutions for the future. I use the adage that we do not want anyone waiting on us; we need to be in the lead.
At the end of the day, if you don’t have manufacturers actively involved in and embracing this concept, it’s going to be nearly impossible to bring a house like this to life. And, more importantly, build it.
What are some of the other products that JELD-WEN will be contributing to the Virtual Concept Home?
Once we understood the needs of our potential homeowners, we were able to create a variety of window and door packages. Understanding that it’s a balance of meeting needs and also being attainable.
We will be providing the interior doors, entry doors, patio doors, and all the windows throughout the home. So, any opening that you see on the Virtual Concept Home is a JELD-WEN product.
The windows are our Auraline True Composite windows, which we recently launched. The composite material is made from recycled wood fiber. It’s more durable than vinyl. And the finished windows look like contemporary wood windows. They’re also energy efficient. Auraline’s a fantastic product for us.
We chose black-on-black (black exterior/black interior) windows and patio doors because that’s trending right now.
We included three of our LaCantina multi slide patio door systems. They literally bring indoor and outdoor living spaces together into one completely open space.
Then, on the interior, we have a few designs from our MODA® Collection of interior doors. The MODA PMT1044 door is showcased at the entrance to the primary bathroom as a barn door, with our soft-close DesignGlide™ barn door hardware.
At the entry of the home, we selected a unique design from our IWP® Aurora® fiberglass door line finished with our black metallic Foundry™ finish to look like a steel door. So, it looks like metal, but it won’t absorb temperature changes the way metal does. We included coordinating designs from our Smooth-Pro™ fiberglass exterior door line for the garage entry door and side courtyard.
How has the importance of lighting in a home via windows and doors changed over the years?
I think it’s always been important. But what’s become more important is how windows have evolved. Today, it’s about sight lines and the amount of visible glass in that window.
So, instead of really thick framing, sight lines or frames are getting narrower because you want to let that light come in. You want to be able to see out and bring the outdoors in. So, there’s been a lot of streamlining and slimming of the frame, to maximize the visible glass, which maximizes the light and the view.
It’s been great working with the architects for the Livabl Virtual Concept Home because JELD-WEN can provide such a broad assortment of windows and configurations. For architects and builders and homeowners, it’s really about knowing that there are solutions out there for every construction challenge or home design idea. You can design and build around huge windows. In the case of our LaCantina® multi slide doors in the Livabl home, you can open up an entire wall of a home completely. No framing between you and the outdoors. So, that’s an incredible way to bring more light into the home.
Where is JELD-WEN headed in the future?
We will continue to be an active participant and an innovator in the building products industry, providing windows and doors that are anchored in energy efficiency and sustainability.
For more information about JELD-WEN, visit jeld-wen.com. For more information on the 2024 Livabl Virtual Concept Home, visit Livabl.com.
