Building Homes for All

  • Illustrated By: Catherine Chan
  • Pages:96
  • Publisher:Orca Book Publishers
  • Series: Orca Think
  • Themes:Green housing, Sustainable housing, dwellings, ecological housing, Climate change
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  • Available:03/17/2026
  • Lexile:970L
Hardcover
9781459839564
$26.95
Ebook
9781459839588
$21.99

The world is facing both a housing crisis and a climate crisis.

People everywhere are struggling to find and pay for homes. When we do build new housing, the construction unleashes tons of greenhouse gases. We need more affordable houses built faster without polluting the Earth. What if you could 3D print eco-friendly houses in months, weeks, or even days? What if you could quickly manufacture modular, mass timber buildings that actually slow climate change? And what if learning to 3D print human settlements on the Moon and Mars helps us tackle housing challenges here on Earth?

All of these things are possible. Technology offers hope and solutions, but it takes teamwork to challenge old ideas and change traditional ways of doing things. Discover why homes are essential for our health and well-being and meet trailblazers who are proving that we can create affordable green housing and healthy communities at the same time.

“A vital, inspiring look into how innovation and empathy can reshape one of our most basic human needs: housing. As an investor in 14Trees, I’ve witnessed firsthand how technologies like 3D printing, robotics automation, and sustainable materials can accelerate homebuilding and dramatically reduce carbon footprints. And through my work with Eco-Explorer, a nonprofit program that empowers young minds to understand sustainability, I’ve seen the power of education in sparking real-world impact. This book is a brilliant introduction for middle school-grade readers to the future of housing—one that is faster, greener, fairer, and more inclusive. It challenges young readers to see not just what is, but what could be. I hope it inspires a new generation of builders, dreamers, and changemakers, just like it inspired me.”
– Phoebe Wang, investment partner, Amazon Corporate Development, sustainability advocate, and founder of the Eco-Explorer program
“Provides an engaging and thorough look at how technology and automation will help us confront our twenty-first-century challenges with twenty-first-century solutions. The book is replete with factual and up-to-date information that educates kids about housing issues in our world: how we got there, how we’re fixing it, and how we move forward. With plenty of photographs, infographics, and visuals, the book clearly explains a complex issue for younger readers and is an excellent primer for all ages on the intersection of technology and society uniting together to address our housing future.”
– Erol Ahmed, vice president of Communications, Built Robotics