From the sidewalk on Willow Green Place, Bill Fredrickson and Michael Russo’s new house looks like a concrete replica of the wooden frame houses on the block destroyed by the Tubbs fire two years ago.

Wood is, by far, the most common material used in the U.S. for single-family home construction. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest sci-tech news updates. But wood construction isn't engineered ...

The challenge is to build homes that can remain intact in any severe weather event, be more energy efficient, be reasonably priced, and be reoccupied shortly after a disaster so that life can go on ...