House Block: Building industry partnerships in east London using housing with automation

A Bartlett team has created a new framework for architectural production, where communities can participate in designing and building the homes they need.

image showing interior of modular building with cello

15 June 2023

The shortage of housing in the UK is an ongoing crisis, felt particularly keenly in London. To address this issue and harness the benefits of automation, The Bartlett School of Architecture’s Automated Architecture (AUAR) Labs created House Block: a temporary housing prototype in east London.

House Block harnesses AUAR Labs’ discrete framework for housing production, where communities can access automation and modular production to design and build their own homes.

Houses can be built using a kit of ‘Lego-like’ parts, known as Block Type A. Each block is made from a single sheet of plywood, assembled by hand and then post-tensioned on site.

As part of a pilot project, a two-storey, 52 square metre structure was built on the site of a former playground in Clapton, in partnership with Hackney Council.

quote: Architecture has to change. We need to approach it in a different way to protect the planet and respond to the global housing crisis – and House Block demonstrates a way of doing that; it is a prototype for democratising construction

House Block was constructed from 270 identical blocks, with no predefined geometric types or hierarchy between parts. As an open-ended, adaptive system, each block could be used as a column, floor slab, wall or stair – allowing for simple reconfiguration of different rooms and spaces.

Collaborating with New City College’s Hackney campus, a work experience programme invited students who might normally not engage with automation to explore how it could benefit their practice.

A series of ‘takeovers’ allowed local residents to participate in the project, gaining new skills and agency. And 200 members of the public also attended a programme of talks and events to explore the potential of automation, including how it might support new housing policies.

Co-lead researcher on the project, Dr Claire McAndrew from The Bartlett School of Architecture, explained: “Architecture has to change. We need to approach it in a different way to protect the planet and respond to the global housing crisis – and House Block demonstrates a way of doing that; it is a prototype for democratising construction."

Further resources

Contact

Dr Claire McAndrew
Senior Research Associate, The Bartlett School of Architecture
Email: c.mcandrew@ucl.ac.uk

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