Modular housing
Following on from my blog a few weeks back about rapid build, low-cost 3D printed homes, I thought I would highlight other providers whose products could be used in small sites locally for fast housing development.
Firstly, Iso Spaces.
ISO Spaces is an award-winning company that designs and manufactures bespoke modular buildings using shipping container conversion expertise. Their expert in-house designers and engineering team provide the complete turnkey solution, from initial concept to on-site delivery, installation and maintenance.
A project example of housing is Hope Gardens in Acton, London which was opened in December 2017, providing emergency accommodation for families.
The 60-apartment shipping container housing solution is an innovative response to the London Borough of Ealing’s housing supply problems, providing comfortable accommodation for over 280 people – some of the 2200 families in Ealing residing in temporary accommodation and potentially facing homelessness.
The shipping container housing development was created using moveable and reusable parts, repurposing shipping containers to offer a sustainable, cost-effective and flexible housing solution for Ealing Council. The shipping container homes were fully constructed, fitted and finished in 24 weeks at their factory in Cornwall, allowing the container homes to be installed quickly at Hope Gardens, with minimal additional works required on site.
With the reusability of the shipping container housing at Hope Gardens at the core of its design, this innovative model is crucial to addressing the long-term affordability and sustainability of the built environment for Ealing Council, previously placing families in housing earmarked for being knocked down, and even paying for families to stay in bed and breakfast accommodation.
Once a brownfield site, identified for long-term redevelopment in just under seven years, Hope Gardens now consists of 60 fully furnished one, two and three bedroomed container homes, a communal space, an onsite management office, laundry services and refuse storage, providing a sense of community for its new residents.
Iso Spaces is now expanding to a factory site in Kent due to demand.
Secondly, Legal & General Modular Homes
Using precision engineering techniques inspired by industries like automotive and construction, they make modular homes that they hope will be at the centre of happy, sustainable communities. They use modern house-building techniques based on the premise of exacting quality, repeatability and continuous improvement in the design and manufacturing process.
They design and create individual modules that come together swiftly and easily to ensure all their modular properties are identical in their fit and finish. Everything's inspected for quality before it leaves the factory, which means things run smoothly when they're building, spending less time on site and completing projects faster.
Watch their 1 min factory tour video:
There are other manufacturers as well - this is not meant to be a complete guide but just helping to lift the lid on an option for rapid housing development in a community.
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Geoff Knott, 05/12/2018