02.18.2025 | Ivory Innovations
RENCO USA Named Top Innovator in Affordable Housing Crisis
Real-Life LEGO blocks Cut Housing Costs, Speed Up Construction
Miami-based RENCO USA has been recognized as a top innovator in construction, offering a breakthrough solution to the housing affordability crisis.
Ivory Innovations, a nonprofit at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business focused on housing affordability, has named RENCO to its prestigious Top 25 Innovations List in the annual Ivory Prize competition. The award highlights ambitious yet practical solutions to make housing more affordable.
“We are honored to be recognized as a top innovation in construction,” said RENCO USA President Kenneth Smuts. “For over a century, construction has relied on three materials—wood, steel, and concrete. RENCO introduces a fourth: composite blocks that reduce building costs by 20%, while accelerating construction.”
RENCO’s patented composite blocks, made from repurposed glass fibers, resin, and naturally occurring calcite, stack like LEGO bricks, enabling faster, more cost-effective building. The material is certified to withstand Category 5 hurricane winds. Following 12 years of research and 400+ safety tests, RENCO is launching a manufacturing facility in South Florida this spring, expanding U.S. production.
In April, Ivory Innovations will select three winners from its Top 25 list to share a $300,000 grand prize. Since 2018, the Ivory Prize has awarded $1.3 million to groundbreaking housing solutions.
This honor marks RENCO USA’s fifth major award in a year, including recognition by Fast Company, the A’Design Award in Como, Italy, First Place at the 2024 JEC Composites Innovation Awards in Paris, and Best Construction Product Design of 2023 at the BLT Built Design Awards in Lucerne, Switzerland.
