From Lock-up To Pop-up: Levitt Bernstein Designs Tiny Garage Houses

Architizer News

From Lock-up To Pop-up: Levitt Bernstein Designs Tiny Garage Houses

November 12, 2012

People keep all sorts of crazy things in storage garages, but what about an entire, fully functioning home? British design firm Levitt Bernstein has won the Building Trust International competition for repurposing a number of lock-up garages in London’s Hackney neighborhood into tiny houses for low-income or homeless individuals.

The competition challenged designers to create urban, single-occupancy homes for less than $30,000. Each of Levitt Bernstein’s lock-up homes, complete with a sleeping area, kitchen, bathroom, and even laundry, costs only a tad over $20,000. The design is so popular, the city is even considering transforming the garages into pop-up offices, studios, workshops, and cafes. Sounds like a perfect contender for an A+ award in the Living Small category! Read more.

Instead of building new ground, Levitt Bernstein focused on underused spaces within the densely packed city for this project. Each garage is 248 square feet with optional amenities. The interior pieces of the homes, including walls and furniture are modular, so they can be taken down, moved, and reassembled for re-use.

While the design has already nabbed its award, Levitt Bernstein must now collaborate with social housing providers and local authorities to see if a prototype group of houses can be funded.

Images: courtesy of Levitt Bernstein

[via bd online]