Architect blasts plans to turn disused Dalston garages into 'bijou' homes

 
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A row has broken out over “morally bankrupt” plans to turn disused garages on an East London estate into tiny flatpack homes.

The designers behind the scheme say that empty lock-ups are exactly the sort of space that should be used to help solve London’s housing crisis.

They have created computer generated images to show how their design could work if applied to garages on an estate in Dalston

It would involve each tiny garage being turned into a “bijou” bedsit with a tiny living space with a kitchen and room for a small table and two chairs, a shower and toilet room and a bed.

Each fifth garage would contain a communal laundry, further kitchen equipment and dining area. Tenants will be charged just £11 a week rent.

But critics says the temporary homes on the Loockner Estate are little more than “caravans” that pack people into cramped spaces.

One architect, David Roberts said: “Personally I think ‘pop up’ housing is morally bankrupt. Any architect who is serious about homelessness should be addressing the causes of the problem, rather than using developer-speak consistent with the commercial forces making housing unaffordable for so many.

“There is political capital in presenting this as temporary solution to underused land, as much as to homelessness but the houses are pretty much caravans.”

But if successful the scheme will be rolled out across London and then the rest of the UK where there are housing shortages for young people who cannot get on the property ladder and the homeless.

The project, known as Pop-up HAWSE (Homes through Apprenticeships With Skills for Employment), has been designed be Levitt Bernstein Architects as part of the Building Trust’s Home competition.

The architects are already in talks with a number of local authorities in London to work on similar schemes. The homes will be built off site and then assembled by future tenants through an apprenticeship scheme.

Jo McCafferty from Levitt Bernstein said: “The proposals not only offer a home but education opportunities in construction techniques.

“It is a way of regenerating street frontage and a practical interim solution between other development possibilities.

“We see it as part of the wider regeneration of existing estates.. It could provide temporary housing, workshops, and training opportunities for maybe one to two years, before moving to another estate after demolition begins.”

Architect Georgie Revell said: “The proposal targets under-used spaces in high density areas where land value is high and rising. We believe it offers a creative and practical interim solution between other development opportunities and we’re really excited about the potential to develop the scheme with Building Trust and our partners.”

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