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Y:Cube: Is this London's £30,000 house of the future?

laelfy [Edit] [Delete] 47 replies 11:36, 14 May '14

Interesting article on the BBC about affordable pre-fab housing in London. £30,000 sounds like a bargain. Would you live in one?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27381656

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  • yeah, the problem with the housing industry not providing affordable housing

    is definitely to make people live in glorified lego houses. excellent response, everyone ever.

    guntrip | 14 May '14, 11:39 | X
    Epimer this'd this
    • also, fucking lol @ paying £140pw to live in that

      LOLdon to THE MAX

      guntrip @guntrip | 14 May '14, 11:40 | X
      • Yeah I thought that the weekly rental was really disproportionate

        to the sale value.

        But when you look at some of the 'studio' flats you see advertised at £6-800 per month that are no more than a cupboard, maybe its not too bad?

        laelfy @guntrip | 14 May '14, 11:44 | X
        • It's because 30 grand is the build cost...

          ...not the sale price, plus it doesn't factor in any land value.

          Don't mind the concept/design. Not so sure about living in Merton - would depend which area.

          Pentago @laelfy | 14 May '14, 11:51 | X
      • it's £140pw

        in merton.
        imagine how much it'll cost in good part of loldon. :(

        shadyadie @guntrip | 14 May '14, 14:37 | X
  • it looks like a Monopoly house

    needs a matching green building'd hotel chain

    ma0sm | 14 May '14, 11:41 | X
    • IDIOT DICKHEAD

      wrong way round with the colours you m0ron!

      ElthamsmateOwen @ma0sm | 14 May '14, 12:04 | X
      dont_fart this'd this
      • oh shit

        hope no-one started that chain

        ma0sm @ElthamsmateOwen | 14 May '14, 12:19 | X
  • How about they make real houses affordable.

    Realistically though I think in 15 years everyone who earns under £100k Wi be living in y:cubes.

    eltham | 14 May '14, 11:42 | X
  • just skimmed the video

    it looks alright - where is it going to go tho? £30,000 for the house, great - but the land? that's where the real costs are no?

    chris-budget | 14 May '14, 11:42 | X
    • Good point

      Maybe you'd lease land? Since their aim is to be affordable - hopefully it would be reasonable.

      laelfy @chris-budget | 14 May '14, 11:45 | X
      • land prices in London are so high because the potential use of them,

        ie high end housing and commercial uses, is so profitable.

        restrict the amount of those usages and you could bring down the prices. the problem with London isn't just a lack of affordable housing, it's an oversupply of upper end market housing aimed at a tiny niche.

        guntrip @laelfy | 14 May '14, 11:48 | X
    • they can just knock down all the council estates

      and stack these all over them

      guntrip @chris-budget | 14 May '14, 11:46 | X
  • yes personally

    I can't wait for the day when we're living like the human equivalent of battery chickens.

    wewerewerewolvesonce | 14 May '14, 11:50 | X
    moker this'd this
    • Most already are.

      Farcy @wewerewerewolvesonce | 14 May '14, 11:54 | X
    • yeah

      she couldn't stand up, turn around, clean herself or leave.

      ElthamsmateOwen @wewerewerewolvesonce | 14 May '14, 11:54 | X
      • I was being slightly hyperbolic

        but my overall point was regarding the trend of cities forcing people to live in smaller spaces. When as suggested upthread there are other solutions, at least in London.

        http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/f4db8d68-e52b-11e0-bdb8-00144feabdc0.html#axzz31gd3oe9q

        wewerewerewolvesonce @ElthamsmateOwen | 14 May '14, 12:00 | X
        • I really am not pro y:cube, btw

          although if I could afford it and had LAND then I'd probably get a couple, sure.

          I was aware of the hyperbole, I was trying to point it out in a tongue in cheek manner, I wasn't being serious.

          ElthamsmateOwen @wewerewerewolvesonce | 14 May '14, 12:04 | X
        • I actually don't have a problem with the size of them per se

          That's a pretty sufficient amount of space for one person, and it seems to be well organised - which is really important. If you want to live in a city, you need to make some sacrifices.

          My problem with them is that they ingrain status and wealth into the built environment. They're housing that is noticeably and obviously for poor people.

          guntrip @wewerewerewolvesonce | 14 May '14, 12:14 | X
          • *Poor people with £30k lying around.

            ElthamsmateOwen @guntrip | 14 May '14, 12:18 | X
            • /homeless people probably already stigmatised a lot by society

              http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2014/feb/14/richard-rogers-and-ymca-unveil-30k-flatpack-homes-for-homeless-people

              guntrip @ElthamsmateOwen | 14 May '14, 12:21 | X
        • Interesting article...

          ...particularly about using the space in converted Victorian dwellings efficiently - I've seen so many 19th century houses split into flats that make stupidly poor use of the available space.

          That said, a nice lo-fi solution to small space living I've seen numerous times in Japanese studio apartments is to have a futon mattress as your bed in the main apartment space and then just roll it up and put it in a cupboard when you aren't using it. A bed is probably the biggest single item in most dwellings so if you can remove it then you've got a lot more room all of a sudden.

          Pentago @wewerewerewolvesonce | 14 May '14, 12:17 | X
    • In Hong Kong many are

      http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2275206/Hong-Kongs-metal-cage-homes-How-tens-thousands-live-6ft-2ft-rabbit-hutches.html

      This won't happen here (I hope...) but you can see how it happens.

      steinbolt @wewerewerewolvesonce | 15 May '14, 10:00 | X
  • Just buy three or four of these for a fraction of the price

    http://www.diy.com/nav/garden/sheds-storage/workshops/home_delivered/10x10-Mammoth-Wooden-Shed-Workshop-Home-Delivered-10807674?ecamp=SEAPLA11298385&ef_id=PiVP2xH1lEoAAF6x:20140514105345:s&noCookies=false

    Smee | 14 May '14, 11:55 | X
    • I debate the use of the word mammoth there

      3m x 3m isn't exactly mammother B and fucking Q.

      moker @Smee | 14 May '14, 11:56 | X
      • Dunno mokes...

        ...mammoths were about 3m x 3m tbh tbf.

        Pentago @moker | 14 May '14, 13:03 | X
        Smee this'd this
  • Can we just hurry up and get to the dystopian future already please?

    NickDS | 14 May '14, 11:56 | X
  • or just move up north where its actually good?

    inside-outside | 14 May '14, 12:21 | X
  • As an experimental prototype for prefabricated, off-site construction,

    it's about as good as the dozens of other ones that have been trialled - i.e. useful and necessary in popularising and optimising what should become the dominant method of providing housing in this country.

    As a long-term solution to the housing crisis, especially that in London, it's just window dressing - until we have land and tenant rights reform, and move away from neo-liberalism, it's not going to happen.

    And re. people talking about the costs. £30K build cost for a one-bed flat is actually quite high, given that a traditional brick/block house is typically £80-90K. The big variable and prohibitive cost is the land and infrastructure. A rental of £140pw for a flat that size isn't unreasonable, if it was in a desireable area. It's quite expensive for Merton though.

    marckee | 14 May '14, 12:56 | X
  • Having to move to London pretty soon for work and this would be ideal for me

    Need somewhere near Northumberland Park tube station, do you know if they are building these there?

    Farcy | 14 May '14, 13:04 | X
  • Is that supposed to be clever?

    Have pre-fabricated houses only just been thought of?
    What the fuck?

    Not sure if this is London's fault this time but : Shut up London.

    zxcvbnm- | 14 May '14, 15:39 | X
    Royter-Hatfood this'd this
    • basically a year one term one architecture student project.

      oooooh, modular.

      TheWza @zxcvbnm- | 15 May '14, 09:10 | X
  • If you don't like them,

    don't buy one/live in one.

    Yay, capitalism!

    GayGuevara | 15 May '14, 09:16 | X
    • you're a day late

      guntrip @GayGuevara | 15 May '14, 09:16 | X
      • a buck short,

        i'm writing, the report...

        GayGuevara @guntrip | 15 May '14, 09:20 | X
        • :)

          ElthamsmateOwen @GayGuevara | 15 May '14, 09:24 | X
  • what about container conversions?

    Anyway, having been homeless (a while ago admittedly) I would not mind a place like that were I single.

    The great opportunity that it does afford is for people to upgrade the living accomodation on their 'own property'

    Part of the changing demographic is may adults staying longer at their parents.....this (in the back or front garden) gives an instant detached annex and independance and more privacy.

    Of course the overwhelming elephant in the room is Land rights and use.

    Are there any initiatives to bring existing perma built buildings to be brought into use for those without homes? There are plenty enough covered building space to house everyone, a lot of it might need converting for a new use of course. (commercial use properties)

    creakyknees | 15 May '14, 09:25 | X
    • hmm

      http://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2013/oct/24/brighton-housing-homeless-shipping-containers

      creakyknees @creakyknees | 15 May '14, 09:52 | X
      • A rural friend of mine bought a shipping container...

        ...a couple of years back - £800 delivered which I thought was pretty good. He uses it to store his masses of garden stuff and his motorbikes in as he is concerned about the local piki...err, traveller community.

        Unsurprisingly his two young kids love playing in it - his wife referred to them as 'playing immigrant' which genuinely made me lol out loud.

        Pentago @creakyknees | 15 May '14, 10:06 | X
      • there are

        foreign students paying £300 per week to live in shipping containers in camden... http://www.thestayclub.com/

        shadyadie @creakyknees | 15 May '14, 11:18 | X
        • wow, they offer "double studios"

          as if living in a twin room as an adult isn't a grim enough prospect, now you can do it in a space where you have the smell of everything the other person cooks hanging over you stuff and I guess watch them dress because the shower looks like a cubicle and nothing more.

          guntrip @shadyadie | 15 May '14, 12:04 | X
  • My mum works in a portocabin

    marilyninthesky | 15 May '14, 09:34 | X
  • Yeah, but then I've thought I'd happily live in one of the nicer sheds you see in garden centres

    ThingsThatFly | 15 May '14, 09:38 | X
  • It's a shame the past seems so much better at the future than the present:

    Dymaxion house anyone?

    http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lop6lnH2Yf1qzfye6o1_1280.jpg

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx5VJ1yd3HQ

    umlaut_ampersand | 15 May '14, 09:45 | X
    • don't laugh

      one day we'll all be living in metal pumpkins

      Lucien @umlaut_ampersand | 15 May '14, 10:03 | X
      • Now, to click on those links you posted...

        Lucien @Lucien | 15 May '14, 10:04 | X
      • Metal pumpkins or Monopoly houses - them's your only choices Lucien...

        Choose wisely.

        umlaut_ampersand @Lucien | 15 May '14, 10:08 | X
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