As populations around the world age, the cost and structure of care are becoming defining challenges of the coming decade. Unveiled in Davos alongside the World Economic Forum Annual meeting this week, CARE.HUB is a long-term initiative within the ICON platform to explore a more balanced, affordable approach to later-life living.
Developed by Hub Culture in collaboration with BYLD, CARE.HUB focuses on community living environments that combine shared spaces with private living quarters. The goal is to support independence, social connection, and dignity during the extended years between retirement and assisted care.
“CARE.HUB responds to a growing gap between independent living and high-cost assisted care,” said Stan Stalnaker, Founding Director and Chief Strategy Officer of Hub Culture. “By clustering ICON structures into walkable, community-based environments, we can lower the cost of living while improving quality of life—supporting dignity, autonomy, and connection as people age.”
Why CARE.HUB Matters
Over the next 10 years, more than one billion people worldwide will enter the 60–80 age range. Yet existing housing and care systems are not designed to meet this scale of demand, particularly at affordable price points.
CARE.HUB introduces a different approach: village-like environments formed by clusters of ICON structures that share resources and services. This model reduces duplication, lowers overall living costs, and creates spaces that encourage everyday interaction and wellbeing. Designed to adapt across geographies, CARE.HUB can grow incrementally in response to local needs and demographic realities.
Built on the ICON Platform
CARE.HUB is anchored in the ICON, a modular architectural system developed by Hub Culture in partnership with BYLD. Designed to be scalable, mobile, sustainable, and regenerative, the ICON serves as a study in “dwell-time” for the 21st century—how people live, move, and connect across different stages of life.
The ICON sits at the intersection of mobility, electric transport, convenience, and data. Working with Hedera, it also integrates a digital layer that connects fabrication, assembly, and operational data, supporting transparency, lifecycle tracking, and new approaches to governance and financing.
Looking Ahead
CARE.HUB is conceived as a long-term platform rather than a single development. By lowering the cost of care upstream and making more efficient use of space and shared resources, it offers a practical and investable response to demographic change—one that aligns public interest with private capital and sustainability goals.
As cities, investors, and communities seek new ways to address rising healthcare costs, workforce constraints, and longevity risk, CARE.HUB offers a scalable model for rethinking how and where we live as we age.
👉 Learn more: hubicon.co/care
