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When it comes to local efforts to create the next generation of housing for the homeless, computer-aided saws and plywood will be as instrumental as hammers and nails.

鈥淲e thought there was some technology that could lead to some really interesting options,鈥� said Todd Ferry, Portland State University research associate for the Center for Public Interest Design.

The results of the computer-aided process of building, part of the next stage of the center’s POD Initiative to create housing for the homeless, will be presented Sunday at the Portland Art Museum as part of an exhibit of pod design that will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Members of SERA Architecture and PSU students will build a plywood pod home in front of the museum from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The larger exhibit will feature 15 other pod designs created by Portland-area architects

鈥淲e did something called the plywood pod initiative,鈥� Ferry said. 鈥淭he museum wanted to partner with us.鈥�

The plywood pod effort is an extension of an earlier project that used traditional wood-frame construction to build pods that now make up Kenton Women’s Village in north Portland.

The plywood pod, which measures 8 feet by 16 feet, is built using a Maslow Computer Numerical Control (CNC) cutting machine. Sheets of plywood are hung vertically by chains, and perfectly measured individual pieces are cut by a computer-controlled saw. The pieces then fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.

鈥淚t’s a way to quickly and perfectly create something,鈥� Ferry said.

The new approach also allows for easier assembly. The pods that were built for the Kenton Women’s Village required heavy machinery to move them from the where they were built to the final site. The new pods can be disassembled and moved easily, and then reassembled quickly.

鈥淭hese are built in four sections that can be put up separately,鈥� Ferry said. 鈥淭his could completely change how big they could be. That is an exciting development in this whole process.鈥�

鈥淚t was a little more of challenge,鈥� said Tim Bestor, SERA’s senior job captain, designer and product manager. 鈥淭he only downside is the innovation process. Conventional wood construction has been done for so long, it’s down pretty well.鈥�

The learning curve aside, the technology has the potential to open up new horizons in the world of pod design and construction, Bestor said. He can imagine using the process to make warehouses full of pieces for pods. Those pieces could be shipped and put together in a fraction of the three to four weeks it took to make the first pods.

鈥淚t’s a great system,鈥� Bestor said. 鈥淲ith further refinements, the possibilities are endless.鈥�

Once the exhibit ends, the plywood pod that SERA and the PSU students build, with assistance from employees with Maslow, will be added to those already in place at Kenton Women’s Village.

Eventually other plywood pod homes will be built that will become part of a pod village planned for an industrial site in Clackamas County. Some of the pods in that village also will be built using trusses that PSU students built for the stage they designed for the annual Pickathon music festival last month.

Ferry said the exhibition will offer a chance to see some ways the issue of homelessness is being dealt with in the Portland-metro area. Attendees will be able to get information on how they can help solve the problem in their own communities.

鈥淭he exhibits will be about pods and houselessness,鈥� Ferry said. 鈥淚t’s this rich architectural problem of creating a dignified structure for the issue.鈥�

The exhibition is part of the larger exhibit, Quest for Beauty: The Architecture, Landscapes, and Collections of John Yeon. Stephanie Parrish, the art museum’s associate director of education and public programs, said the pod presentation was a natural extension the larger exhibit.

鈥淲hen we worked on the Yeon exhibition, we were thinking how to contextualize Yeon and how to contextualize it in Portland,鈥� Parrish said. 鈥淗e used plywood and we thought this would be a good exhibition showing how architects are solving problems today.鈥�

If you go:

What: Miller Family Free Day — Exploring Architecture, Building Community

When: Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where: Portland Art Museum, 1219 S.W. Park Ave., Portland

Cost: Free