Nia BowersWildfires across California have placed consistent pressure on an already constrained housing system. In 2025 alone, nearly 13,000 homes were destroyed due to the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire. Across affected areas, rebuilding timelines can extend for months, sometimes years, while construction costs and closed-out insurance claims halt rebuilding for many. Those homeowners without financial flexibility may inevitably walk on a path rife with delays and escalating budgets.
Albert Sawano, founder of Synchronis, has been examining these structural challenges long before recent disasters brought them into sharper focus, starting Inhabio as a design and branding venture. His approach centers on rethinking how housing is delivered, with an emphasis on cost control, production efficiency, and architectural integrity. “Things are expensive. What do you do about it?” he asks. “You can either accept it, or you can redesign the process behind it. Our work is rooted in the latter.
Sawano believes the recovery process in communities such as Altadena has highlighted a clear disconnect between the urgency to rebuild and the systems currently in place to support it. Following the fires, 56% of Altadena’s destroyed homes have rebuild applications, yet permit timelines stretch across months. With only seven permits completed out of 867, Sawano points to the realities of construction, labor shortages, permitting delays, and high material and labor costs for creating friction at every stage.
“Architecture is fundamentally about systems,” he explains. “I’ve always approached it by preparing frameworks ahead of specific projects.” That perspective has led to what he frames as construction arbitrage, a concept adapted from finance and applied to housing production.
“Arbitrage is about leveraging cost differences. We’ve translated that into how buildings are made,” he says. That begins with relocating labor-intensive components to regions with lower production costs. In doing so, Synchronis aims to reduce overall expenses while maintaining control over quality. According to Sawano, unlike Katerra, production is sourced to a pre-established OEM fabricator to Synchronis’ specifications; therefore, the problems of intensive investment in factories and personnel are completely avoided.
He notes that much of the interior construction, walls, cabinetry, and finishes are completed in Turkey, then shipped to California as standardized modules. “The system is designed around transportation and labor efficiency,” he explains. “Every dimension, every decision supports that objective.”
“Modularity should expand possibilities, not restrict them,” Sawano says. His framework avoids the rigidity often associated with prefabrication. From his perspective, each module, typically an 8-foot by 30-foot structural unit, serves as a building block for ideas and visions, instead of a fixed template. He explains how, regardless of the circumstances, homes are designed through a conventional architectural process, with layouts shaped by client input and site conditions.
“You don’t need to sacrifice design to manage cost. We’ve created our system keeping strategy as well as understanding at its core, supporting customization while keeping production efficient,” he posits.
Exterior elements, Sawano highlights, are completed locally, allowing each home to reflect its environment and the preferences of its owner. Rooflines, finishes, and spatial character remain adaptable, so that the final result aligns with context and identity.
“Many attempts in this space have leaned too heavily in one direction,” Sawano explains. “Technology-led models often overlook how buildings are actually experienced. Construction-led approaches can deprioritize design.”
He suggests that architectural thinking brings these considerations into alignment, and in that process, balances performance, cost, and livability within a single framework. This balance, he insists, carries particular weight in post-disaster scenarios. He underscores the sentiment behind rebuilding, noting how it largely lies in restoring stability and dignity for individuals and communities. “We keep the client experience consistent with traditional architecture,” he adds.
Within that process, early concepts are developed through direct collaboration by using sketches and iterative discussions. The system operates behind the scenes, adapting those ideas into a format that can be produced and assembled efficiently. “From the client’s perspective, the process feels familiar,” Sawano adds. “What changes is how the project is executed.”
While wildfire recovery remains Sawano’s primary focus, he also suggests climate-related disruptions are increasing in frequency, placing the ongoing strain on housing supply and infrastructure. “Disaster recovery is no longer an isolated condition,” he observes. “It’s something we need to plan for as part of everyday practice. Approaches that prioritize speed, cost control, and adaptability are becoming essential.”
Ultimately, Sawano insists that construction arbitrage offers a framework for addressing these challenges with greater precision. In his view, design intent, when aligned with production strategy, can facilitate housing solutions that deliver efficient results, synchronizing with individual needs.
“There’s a clear opportunity to improve how we build,” Sawano says. “If the system is structured correctly, rebuilding can move faster, remain accessible, and still deliver spaces people genuinely want to live in.”