Watch Pittsburgh construction startup Module’s feature on PBS show ‘Start Up’

ICYMI: The founders of Pittsburgh startup Module ended 2022 by gracing your TV screen.

The construction company that builds customizable, sustainable homes on vacant lots was featured on an episode of the PBS show “Start Up,” which is now in its 10th season profiling business owners around the country.

Module cofounders Brian Gaudio and Drew Brisley were interviewed by the show’s host, Gary Bredow, about their company, sharing why they started the company and how they’ve been faring.

Gaudio said their model for building homes is an attempt to help solve the housing shortage in the United States. These homes are built in a factory to shorten the amount of time needed to build and lessen building costs. These homes are also designed to be energy efficient and low cost to operate.

The cofounder also shared his background in architecture and why that interest made him want to tackle better housing, specifically in Pittsburgh.

Watch the episode

The episode shows off the company’s first module house and features an interview with the owner about why he wanted to buy it. The team also visits the construction site of some new homes and talks to the general contracting company about the process of building modular homes compared to other homes.

“Our job at Module is to show that modular construction as opposed to manufactured housing can actually be higher quality, better performing house, lower utility bills and beautiful,” Gaudio said.

Module is growing in ways beyond this exposure: Last month, Module was one of five organizations to receive contracts for the Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge, which focuses on racial equity in housing. And in the fall of 2022, Module was accepted into the 2022 Housing Lab Cohort, an accelerator that provides $75,000 in funding and six months of technical support and coaching to accepted startups.

Here’s the teaser for the “Start Up” episode:

Sarah Huffman is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.