WikiHouse is an open source information system that enables people to design and build their own house.
First, the user must choose their design and download the free online plan. They then send the plans to a saw mill where the various shaped components are cut from sheet material, such as plywood, by a computer numerical control (CNC) machine. The pieces are delivered to the chosen site and where the user needs to gather a team of builders or friends, to put the house together. Similar to a piece of Ikea flat-pack furniture, the kit contains everything needed to build the house including make-your-own tools such as a mallet and ladder.
WikiHouse 4.0 is the latest prototype house of a project that began three years ago. It is on display as part of the London Design Festival 2014 until Friday 26 September and is a result of a partnership between WikiHouse co-designer Alastair Parvin of Zero Zero Architects, Arup engineers and The Building Centre.
WikiHouse 4.0 brings the concept much closer to a desirable home than previous versions. It is made of orientated strand board (OSB) and is two storeys high with double-glazed windows. The electrics, lighting and ventilation systems work off sensors that are controlled by a mobile phone and can be voice activated. The controls use freely available OpenHAB smart home technology that runs on a £40 Linux computer.
Sustainability credentials
One of the aims of WikiHouse is to make sustainable, energy efficient homes more accessible and this version includes a number of innovations that bring this goal closer. The digital plans can be downloaded anywhere and the building made from local materials appropriate to local resources and conditions, eliminating the need to transport supplies over long distances. As Parvin points out: “Only the design files need to be shipped.”
The parts slot together like a jigsaw puzzle, without the need for glue and use only a few bolts and screws. The structure is lightweight and can be disassembled and reused. The shape of the walls means there is a natural cavity that can be filled with insulation. The fabric could be designed to achieve Passivhaus standards with precise detailing and sealing.
WikiHouse 4.0 runs on extra low voltage DC power on standard ethernet cables, which is ideal for running laptops and phones and eliminates the need for wasteful adaptors. The DC also runs low energy LED lights. The house even has a ventilation unit that recovers heat with plates made from flattened out aluminium beer cans, which was specially designed and 3D printed by David Polson, a mechanical engineer at Arup.
Adrian Campbell, an associate director atArup, says: “The whole model is substantially different in giving individuals the chance to design and build houses by themselves or in communities. It enables people to overcome barriers to a more energy efficient home. It’s down to people’s innovation what they make of this now. It’s being put out there and you have a global population who can adapt it.”
Parvin adds: “The person who is most interested in energy efficiency is the homeowner. This project puts sustainable technologies into the hands of the end user. Open source makes it much easier to share ideas so people can build houses cheaper, more sustainably, more responsibly.
Serving a broad market
As an open source project the WikiHouse idea has spread around the world. There is a WikiHouse community in the Netherlands. WikiHouses have been built in Christchurch, New Zealand as a response to 2011 earthquakes. It is being tried in favelas in Brazil and in poor regions in China. Aid agencies are looking at using WikiHouse for disaster relief.
The UK team is planning to launch a version of WikiHouse commercially, which will be a garden structure that can be used as a shed, summerhouse or artists studio. They would like to see WikiHouse rolled out nationally to help with London’s housing crisis although there are still barriers to be overcome.
Thinking beyond just energy efficiency
The main challenge is the unavailability and very high cost of land. Planning restrictions and building regulations also need to be addressed. The lightweight structure makes the system unsuitable for buildings more than two floors high and going higher could be dangerous if done by amateurs. This could limit the project’s value in a city like London where housing is high density.
But there are ways around this, says Campbell: “As land is so scarce the space on top of buildings interests me. A WikiHouse could be assembled on roof space, adding an extra two storeys on the tops of existing buildings.”
John Stapleton, head of external affairs at Sustainable Homes, a not-for-profit consultancy that advises the housing industry on sustainability, is cautiously enthusiastic about the project: “Innovation is key to the sector and it’s always good to mix things up. Sustainability is about much more than energy efficiency, and the self-build element in itself could be a sustainability aspect.
“It’s very challenging to make flat-pack houses that are energy efficient, as anyone who lives in a post-war pre-fab can testify. The performance gap between the design and the finished product is something the industry itself is currently grappling with – so this will be even more challenging if it’s being built by non-professionals.”
The UK housing industry is under pressure to deliver ‘zero carbon homes’ from 2016 and it will be useful to monitor the performance of the WikiHouse against this standard. With the growing need for affordable sustainable homes it seems there is a lot that both self-builders and the housing industry can learn from the WikiHouse example.
Alice Grahame is an ex-BBC newsroom journalist, now a freelance feature writer. She has a special interest in self-build housing and sustainability. Follow her @alicesangle.
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