London Is Building Stackable Prefab Housing for the Homeless

A London architecture outfit has devised a smart, affordable housing option to help aid the city's homeless population. Occupying a previously vacant lot in the south London suburb of Mitcham, George William Court consists of 36 brightly coloured, prefabricated units stacked one on top of the other via crane. Throw down some wooden decking and hey presto: instant apartment block.

The 26-square-meter, single-person residences were designed by Richard Rogers' award-winning architecture firm Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, who were commissioned by the YMCA. Construction took place in a factory in Derbyshire at a cost of between £30,000 and £35,000 per unit. Each apartment features a combined living and kitchen area, a bedroom and an en suite bathroom, and can be relocated to another site should the need arise. Hopefully that won't be necessary, however, since the tenants – mostly young people from YMCA hostels and the local authority housing list – have already begun moving in.

According to Dezeen Magazine, Rogers believes there is space for as many as half a million prefabricated houses in unused spaces around London. " We've been failing to build enough housing," he said at the opening of George William Court. "The supply lags behind demand and buying becomes ever more unaffordable... We need to unleash similar building innovation across the capital or the same old business model will cause us to stay in the same old housing crisis."

Rent will be set at 65 per cent of the local market value, which comes out to around £150 per week. It's still not what you'd call cheap, but by London standards it could be a lot worse. Speaking with Dezeen, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners' Ivan Harbour said that "the principle here is to minimise people's outlay for their rent so that they can afford to save and eventually get on the more conventional housing ladder."

Images: Grant Smith via Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.

Via Dezeen.