BASF Corp. joined Habitat for Humanity, Mayor Michael A. Nutter and community organizers in Philadelphia, on Oct. 23, for an unveiling of the city’s first three green and affordable homes built with ARXX Polysteel insulating concrete forms made with BASF Styropor expandable polystyrene insulation.

Habitat designed the buildings to achieve LEED Silver certification, one of the U.S. Green Building Council’s most stringent measures of a home’s environmental compatibility. The Habitat homes are the first of many sustainable building projects envisioned by local residents and Mayor Nutter, who has vowed to make Philadelphia America’s greenest city.

Habitat’s architect, Bill Richie, selected the ICFs to make the homes more energy-efficient. According to ARXX, the homeowners will enjoy significant annual savings on their heating and cooling bills. In addition, due to the unique fabrication, the homes will also be highly resistant to rot and termites. Once filled with concrete, the ICFs act as a sleeve of BASF’s Styropor EPS insulation around a concrete core. The forms were used to construct both the exterior walls and firewalls between the attached units.