Bau Homes

9 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 11 and acoustic insulation, making the homes more environmentally sustainable and quieter. “Our houses are also monolithic, so in an earthquake or hurricane scenario, the whole structure stays as one instead of ripping apart. If it does fall, they are much lighter, so getting people out alive would be much easier,” Hurst relays. Bau Homes currently has one development underway called Lightfoot West. The development is priced slightly above affordable housing rates, which Hurst explains ensures the houses provide all the amenities while offering a better aesthetic experience. However, despite this focus, it’s not been easy, stimulating demand for houses, especially given the wait-and-see culture on the island. “We’ve so far done seventy houses in the Lightfoot West project and are on course to build 191 houses by the end of the project,” Hurst says. “These have given us some proof since most people want to see how durable the houses are. There was an initial challenge of selling people houses they cannot see, but with this first batch of houses done, our business model has exploded because we now have people who can say they have lived in one of our houses for eight to nine years,” he elaborates. The company has a second project in the works called Lyons, which it hopes it can undertake once it sets up its own EPS factory on the island. “Importing EPS to the island isn’t cost-effective, especially when competing with other building products,” Hurst explains. “This second project, plus our expansion plans to the rest of the