8th Residential Building Design & Construction Conference
The Pennsylvania Housing Research Center is hosting the 8th Residential Building Design & Construction Conference (RBDCC) in person on March 18-19, 2026 at The Penn Stater Hotel & Conference Center in State College, Pennsylvania. It provides a forum for researchers, design professionals, product manufacturers, builders, developers, and more to discuss opportunities and challenges to advance the quality of and to introduce innovations in residential construction.
The paper submission-based event focuses on dissemination of recent research & development results and findings; state-of-the-art technologies; materials, methods, and code developments; emerging materials, components, and systems for residential construction; and new approaches in the field. This technical, research-focused conference will include various types of residential buildings such as single-family dwellings; multi-family, multi-story apartment buildings; mid-rise and high-rise residential building towers; factory-built and modular housing; dormitories; and hotels/motels.
The RBDCC will be held concurrently with the 2026 PHRC Housing Conference, an industry-focused conference.
Keynote Speakers
Sarah Billington
UPS Foundation Professor
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
Stanford University
"From Concept to Community: Design Strategies for Sustainable Affordable Housing"
Georg Reichard
Professor and Head, Department of Building Construction
Associate Director of Operations, Myers-Lawson School of Construction
Preston and Catharine White Fellow
The Myers-Lawson School of Construction
College of Engineering, Virginia Tech University
"The 7 Habits of Successful Builders of High-Performance Homes"
Call for Abstracts
Abstract submission is open until April 25, 2025. View the Call for Papers for a complete overview of the conference. Submit your abstract at bit.ly/2026RBDCC.
Experts from academia, A/E design firms, builders, developers, manufacturers, and government and code officials are cordially invited to submit 200-300 word abstracts to the conference Easychair site.
