Attention, ready, house! Startblock (NL) and Impact Housing (US)
Space is scarce, building land is expensive. This is a growing challenge for many urban centres as the population continues to grow. Two prefabricated building projects from US and Europe are providing a remedy.
Impact Housing, Los Angeles (US)
The USA is in a deep housing crisis. Too little living space leads to overcrowding in existing homes, painfully high rents and even homelessness. The state of California is particularly affected by the housing shortage.
Impact Housing wants to counteract this problem. In its production facility, the Los Angeles-based company builds stackable housing modules that can be assembled into a functional residential building.
This type of housing is also affordable for people on low incomes.
Space-saving systems are crucial in order to maximise the use of space in the residential units. In the bathroom, the company therefore uses Geberit Duofix elements with concealed cisterns as standard.
Sharon Clair, Geberit's regional sales manager, convinced the company of the solution. “I explained to them that the system makes the wall up to 23 cm narrower and blends seamlessly into the wall panels.“
Chief Development Officer at Impact Housing, Andrew Ranallo, says: “This make a big difference because we can create more space in the living areas.“ This means that a longer sofa or a wider bed can suddenly fit into the neighbouring room.
StartBlock, Emmeloord (NL)
According to estimates, there is a shortage of 300,000 flats in the Netherlands. The company StartBlock wants to counter this shortage with modular buildings.
StartBlock builds prefabricated three-storey houses for one and two-person households. The houses are manufactured entirely in the factory and loaded onto a lorry ready to go. The lorry then transports the house to the desired location, where the prefabricated house is simply anchored to a suitable foundation.
The lifting eyes remain attached to the house so that it can be moved at any time if necessary, but it can also remain standing for decades.
“The ingenious thing about these houses is that they work according to the plug and play principle,“ says Armand Gademan, Account Manager for Prefabrication at Geberit in the Netherlands. Geberit products such as iCon washbasins, Renova toilets and Duofix installation elements with Sigma concealed cisterns contribute to the longevity of the houses. “The life cycle of the products is particularly important,“ says Armand Gademan.
Facts
Impact Housing
Geberit products used in the project
- Concealed cisterns
