Modular Housing
Together with our colleagues Blue Arc Australia, we’re developing a modular housing system.
At the moment we’re aiming to meet the demand for contemporary mid-range homes in Australia, but we’re getting really interested in the potential of modular systems like this here in the UK. There is an acute shortfall of decent quality affordable housing in this country. Many homes that are described as ‘affordable’ offer a very poor quality of space. We need to change the way in which we think about building, both in terms of planning and construction, to create purpose-built lifetime homes.
One solution lies in modular housing that can be largely assembled off-site. This minimises the amount of time spent building on-site: it is simply clipped together to create a durable, flexible, high-quality home. Homes can be delivered with the kitchens and bathrooms already fitted, the electrical circuits wired, the insulation fitted and the plumbing nearly ready to go. They will be just as efficient to run as they are to build.
Of course, there isn’t enough space in the UK to build Australian-sized houses like this one, but we have begun exploring how we could improve the standard of affordable housing in the UK.