‘It’s Insane’: Building Tech CEO Slams L.A.’s Return to Wood Framing After Deadly Wildfires

The country—maybe even the world—is at a crossroads in building construction due to climate change, and one CEO is disappointed about where things are going."Ninety-five percent of this community is rebuilding with wood," Ken Calligar says of Los Angeles County, which still trying to rebuild after the devastating 2025 Palisades and Alatadena wildfires. "It's insane.""Unfortunately, that means they have designed in the next disaster," the founder and CEO of building technology company RSG-3D tells Realtor.com. "Builders say 'If we have to design in resiliency into a house, then no one can afford the house.' That's just baloney."A former Wall Street investment banker who acquired disaster-resilient technology manufacturer Insteel Panelmex in 2018, Calligar has spent the past decade trying to get people to build differently. (The difference between "resilient" and "resistant" is complex, but Calligar prefers the term "resilient.")Renamed RSG 3-D, his company manufactures framing panels made of steel wire and expanded polystyrene wrapped in concrete skins that can be molded into any shape and are practically indestructible—impervious to hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires. Loading...Hom...