Unity Blog

Unity’s head architect Bill Holtz and lead designer Curtis Fanti.

Unity’s Design Expertise

Through the experience of designing over 100 Unity homes, Unity has developed and refined the design system to optimize its flexibility and efficiency. […]

Local Builders on Unity Projects

When a project is too distant for Unity to general contract, we and our clients team up with a local builder who preps the site for Unity’s arrival, and finishes the high performance shell that Unity assembles on site. This scenario allows Unity and the local builder each to do what we do best. […]

Going Electric

No, we’re not referring to Bob Dylan’s iconic “electric” concert at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, when he first performed live with an electric guitar. That performance was reportedly greeted with boos from folk music fans in the audience. When Unity (or other home builders, for that matter) “go electric,” we think the move is worthy of cheers. […]

New Homes for 250-Year-Old Schools

During the past several years, Unity has worked with two educational institutions to build faculty housing: The Governor’s Academy in Byfield, MA, and Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. The schools chose to work with Unity for similar reasons, and both have been pleased with the process and the homes. […]

A Semi-Custom Design for a Unity Shell Package

How can Unity provide an efficient, streamlined design-build process for our clients, when every site is unique and every client has different needs? Some building […]

Indoor Air Quality: Breathing Easy in a Unity Home

A Whole-house Approach We rarely hear anyone these days arguing for drafty construction because “buildings have to breathe.” Building scientists have known for decades that […]

Looking to the Future at NESEA’s “Building Energy” Conference

Tedd Benson’s presentation at NESEA’s Building Energy Conference . “Yes, we are failing, but there is still time to turn everything around—we can still fix […]

Are Robots Eliminating Jobs?

In the recent Ask This Old House segment that featured Unity and Bensonwood’s new production facility, show host Ross Trethewey asked Tedd Benson whether the robotic equipment in the facility was taking jobs away from workers. The question is understandable, given that much of the manufacturing in our new facility is done by computer-controlled machines. […]

A Cost Comparison of Three Xylas

Unity recently estimated costs for three different projects that have two factors in common: they are based on the Xyla platform, and they are located […]

The “Cost” Question

“How much do your homes cost?” is one of the more common questions we are asked. Because so many factors affect the cost of a […]

Year-End Reflections from Unity

Unity and Bensonwood recently celebrated the winding down of 2018 with a company party that included speeches, toasts and roasts. This annual event is an […]

Born From Everywhere

When Unity founder Tedd Benson gives presentations about the company, he often includes a slide with the title “Born from Everywhere.” The slide provides an […]

A Tale of Three Nanos

What do a cluster of three workforce cottages on Cape Cod, a home for simple living in Greenfield, MA, and a poolside guest cabana in […]

Where Unity Builds

“Could you build a home for me in California?” is one of the more common questions that our sales team hears. In fact, California and […]

Tours of New Production Facility

“Thanks for a great tour.  Mind-blowing impressive is the only way to describe your facility.  Definitely the future.” – A builder from Massachusetts who attended […]

Built-in Comfort

We love this house because it’s so comfortable. – Sandy and Mark, Unity homeowners in Guilford, VT Why is it that for many Unity homeowners, […]

Project Download: A Xyla in Vermont

Like many Unity clients, Sandy and Mark came to us looking for a retirement home that would be high performance and net zero. They had […]

Solar Powered Production for High Performance Homes

Next week at our production facility in Keene, we plan to pull a lever on a large switch and power will begin to flow into […]