A modern take on traditional prefab housing may be the answer to Britain's housing crisis, with the launch of a two-bedroom home which anyone can put together in just a few days, according to experts.
The first ever prototype of the WikiHouse 4.0 —which can be built for less than £50,000 — will be opened on Friday, outside the Building Centre, London, as part of this year's London Design Festival.
Made from blueprints which can be downloaded from the internet for free, the 68-square-metre wood-framed home has been built without involving teams of builders.
It is the first time a two-storey house has been digitally cut and built using open source technology. And it took a small group of volunteers just eight days to put together the component parts— which were manufactured using a form of 3D printing.
The building has been designed so that would-be home builders can help themselves to plans and designs from the web, get the parts digitally "printed" and put them together themselves.
Alastair Parvin, the co-designer of WikiHouse, said: "What we are trying to do with this installation is to spark people's imagination about how technology can now enable almost anyone to afford their own custom-built house without the need for conventional construction skills."
He added: "We don't believe that WikiHouse is the only solution to the current housing crisis, but we do want to host a disruptive debate and challenge landowners, urban planners and policy makers to think differently about the barriers —such as land or building costs."
The question of who builds homes is important, according to Mr Parvin.
"Since the industrial revolution the dominant idea from industry has been the assumption that if we want to produce homes they have to be provided by really large organisations who build them on our behalf."
He argues that this traditional approach is being challenged by "the power of the web and the power of digital fabrication" and that new technologies "not only have the potential to change the way that we build but also who builds."
And people wanting to build their own WikiHouse 4.0 using the free designs which should go online later this year could save a small fortune in both time and money. A typical two-bedroom house can take around two months to build, costing some £97,500 to construct on average —double the amount of the WikiHouse.
@WikiHouse time-lapse assembly video by @JOttilieK. https://t.co/g4Pay0c6ai
— Alastair Parvin (@AlastairParvin) May 8, 2013
The prototype home "opens up the potential of digital technology to change how we might design, make and construct buildings," according to Colin Tweedy, chief executive of the Building Centre, one of the partners in the WikiHouse project.
And digital technology and the internet are combining to provide "an alternative collaborative way of working, bringing increased efficiencies", said Nina Tabink, a senior structural engineer at Arup, another partner in the project.
One in seven Britons would like to build their own home, according to the National Custom & Self Build Association, and a spokesperson said: "Anything that serves to open up the existing supply-driven housing model can only be a good thing and the Wikihouse's innovative approach certainly does that. We need people to take control of their own housing solutions - it is the only way to ensure long-term price stability and affordability for all."
Another welcoming the new approach, James Hulme, a strategic policy adviser at the House Builders Association, said: "Given the acute shortfall in new housing being built, offsite manufacture is likely to play an increasing role in the delivery of new homes, sitting alongside rather than replacing conventional construction."
Wow go @WikiHouse team, fantastic build work with @ArupGroup @BuildingCentre in just 3 days! It's really taking shape pic.twitter.com/CHUeg0v7Hc
— John Bonning (@JohnBonningTBC) September 4, 2014
But he added: "While products like this bring welcome innovation to the sector, potential customers need to bear in mind the high price of land must be added to the construction cost."
And Steve Turner, head of communications at the Home Builders Federation, said: "Ultimately what we need is more land to be made available to build the homes the country desperately needs and continued support for home buyers that in turn will enable the house building industry to maintain increases in supply."
Courtsey