Four WSU students have taken their senior project from novel idea to working prototype.

The team, called Mobile Foam, is developing insulated concrete forms (ICF) that mold foam blocks. Once filled with concrete, these blocks serve as viable construction materials.

Mobile Foam member Chris Routen said ICF homes can be built in a day and are more durable and cost-effective than homes made from wood or brick. The blocks are made of a material similar to surfboard foam.

Mobile Foam recently won first place out of 31 student teams in the Inland Northwest Business Competition at Whitworth University, said Dane Baird, a Mobile Foam team member. The team won $5,000.

The team won second place in the WSU Business competition and was awarded $10,000 as well as funds for legal consultation, Baird said.

Mobile Foam members are consulting with Lee & Hayes, an intellectual property law firm, to patent their molds, he said.

They plan to ship two molds to a construction company called Homes for Hope in June for construction workers to build homes in Haiti, Baird said. Homes of Hope has built 5,000 homes worldwide in 20 years.

Mobile Foam competed in the University of Washington Buerk Center 2014 Business Plan Competition and advanced to the second round on Tuesday. The team will compete in the final round on May 22.

Although the Mobile Foam members are graduating, they are staying a few weeks in Pullman after the semester to finish prototyping.

“I’m down with it. It’s a company, right?” Baird said. “We made some money, so we’ll hang around and finish up some stuff and then send it on the way to our customers. That’s our end goal.”