Since the January 2025 wildfires, rebuilding has become a hot topic for Angelenos, even for those who did not lose their homes. Aaron Liu, founder of Builtech Construction and a certified wildfire mitigation specialist, is especially concerned. He has seen that many of the new homes look similar to the old ones that burned. Hoping to affect change, Liu is dedicated to helping people rethink fire safety.
His interest in advancing resilient construction solutions was piqued before 2025. It was when he witnessed the devastation of the 2020 wildfires that he set out on his current path: building non-combustible homes in high-risk wildland-urban interface (WUI) zones in Los Angeles and San Jose.
Since 2025, Builtech has been constructing noncombustible homes using insulated concrete form (ICF) technology, including the first known ICF-based residential project in California designed to meet Type I, the highest fire-resistance classification under the International Building Code (IBC) and California Building Code (CBC). . . .
Read the entire article at Pasadena Weekly.
Jessica Koslow 