From an Address to a Decision: Making Housing Policy Buildable
In this Deep Dive Jingyuan Huang, Founder and Product Lead at Ylumia, will walk us through the Award-winning product „Xbuild”.
Jingyuan Huang is an AI product designer trained as an architect, working at the intersection of design, AI and the built environment. She believes good design can make complexity legible and actionable. At Ylumia, she applies this to housing through XBuild, an AI-assisted platform that turns fragmented zoning and building rules into traceable decisions for homeowners.
About the Project: Xbuild: From Backyard to Home
Winner of the UX Design Award | Concept 2026
XBuild is an AI-assisted platform for early-stage residential feasibility. It helps property owners explore what may be possible on a site by combining visual site analysis, zoning logic, and guided planning workflows. The product turns complex regulatory and spatial constraints into a clearer decision-making experience before owners commit to design, permitting, or construction.
Jury Statement, UX Design Awards – Autumn 2026:
"Xbuild transforms the complex and often inaccessible process of residential development into a transparent, understandable, and actionable experience. It addresses a clear need: many homeowners have both the means and the interest to build an accessory housing unit but are discouraged by regulatory uncertainty and delivery risks. The jury was particularly impressed by the credibility of the approach. Instant eligibility assessments – including a “Not Buildable Yet” outcome – build trust through transparency. By guiding homeowners from initial evaluation through planning, financing, construction, and operation in one integrated system, Xbuild makes technical, legal, and financial complexities accessible at every stage."
About the Format:
Deep Dive: Award Winners presents outstanding projects from the professional Award categories Product and Concept. The format, interactive live presentations followed by a Q&A session, offers behind-the-scenes insights into award-winning projects and facilitates a dialogue with successful experience design teams.
Presented by Ake Rudolf, Award Director & Head of Strategy, International Design Center Berlin (IDZ).
