Housing Education & Research Initiative

The Housing Education and Research Initiative (HERI) is part of the Construction Management Program in the MSU School of Planning, Design and Construction. The HERI provides research, education and training support to homebuilders associations at the local, state and national level; individual builders; associate members; utility companies, government agencies and nonprofit organizations.

Mission

The MSU Housing Education and Research Initiative strives to serve the Michigan Housing Industry by promoting and conducting housing research and technology transfer activities, and to maintain its status as the recognized resource for housing education and research in Michigan.

National Affiliation

From January 1996, HERI was a member of the National Consortium of Housing Research Centers until the discontinuation of the consortium in 2017. During those years, the consortium members shared annual reports at the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) annual convention - International Builders Show.

Focus Areas

The MSU Housing Education & Research Initiative can provide expertise in the following focus areas:

Estimating and Scheduling;
Safety;
Sustainable Design and Construction;
Energy Efficiency;
Construction Materials and Technology;
Planning and Building Codes;
Site Planning and Land Development;
Remodeling Technology;
Computer Applications; and
Emerging Issues.

In addition to the CM Program, faculty members from a number of other programs participate in HERI activities. Some of these programs/departments are:

Current/Recent Projects

2018-2023: Housing Education and Leadership Program (HELP), National Housing Endowment, National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), Washington DC.

2013-16: Housing Education and Leadership Program (HELP), National Housing Endowment, National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), Washington DC.

2012-14: Change Orders in Construction Industry, ELECTRI International, National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), Bethesda, MD.

2013-14: An Underutilized Approach to Team Integration: Partnering - Barriers, Benefits, and Opportunities. International Partnering Institute, Livermore, CA.

Recent Reports/Theses

Bakliwal, H., Kostiz, C., Syal, M. and Daniels, M. (2020). “Overview of Prefabrication in Residential Construction with an Addendum on MEP Prefabrication,” Applied Research Project Report, HELP 2018 Grant, Michigan State University.

Chakraborty, S., Syal, M. and Mollaoglu, S. (2019). “Role of Infrastructure in the Success of Urban Housing Developments,” Applied Research Project Report, HELP 2018 Grant, Michigan State University.

Hardekar, A., Chakraborty, S., Syal, M. and Mollaoglu, S. (2018). “Role of Infrastructure in the Success of a Residential Development,” Applied Research Project Report, HELP 2018 Grant, Michigan State University.

Goerke, M., Mollaoglu, S., and Syal, M. (2018). “Growing Trend in Single-Family Housing Subdivisions for Rent,” Applied Research Project Report, HELP2018 Grant, Michigan State University

Garcia, A. J., Mollaoglu-Korkmaz, S., and Syal, M. (2016). “Adoption of Building Information Modeling in Small Size Home-Building-Businesses,” Applied Research Project Report, HELP Grant, Michigan State University

Garcia, A. J., Mollaoglu-Korkmaz, S., and Syal, M. (2015). “Costs and Benefits of NGBS Certified Single-Family Green Homes,” Applied Research Project Report, HELP Grant, Michigan State University

Jackson, Jawanda (2014). "An Exploratory Study of Three Paths to Green Homes: Energy Star Homes, LEED for Homes, and the National Green Building Standard (abridged version)," MS-CM Research Report, Michigan State University

2013 Progress Report (Full Version) (2013). Homebuilding Education Leadership Program Grant Progress Report: National Association of Homebuilders. "Improving Residential Focus of the Construction Management Program at Michigan State University."

Mo, Yunjeong Leah (2012) “The Integration of Quantitative Information with an Intelligent Decision Support System for Residential Energy Retrofits” (Part 1, Part 2), MS-CM Thesis, Michigan State University

Stanley, Samuel (2011). “Information Framework for Residential Energy Retrofit,” MS-CM Research Report, Michigan State University