British firm ZEDPods addresses Bristol’s housing needs via modular built homes that are fast to construct, high-quality, sustainable, and affordable.
At the beginning of this month, large cranes were utilized to install eleven factory-made apartments on stilts above a parking lot near St George’s park, in southwest England. These structures include a range of sustainable features, including triple glazed windows, solar-assisted heat pumps, and roof-mounted solar panels. Additionally, the firm claims that providing charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in the parking lot space under the development is also an option if desired.
This project collaborates between the YMCA, Bristol & Bath Regional Capital, the Bristol Housing Festival, and Bristol City Council. YMCA’s Ben Silvey said the project would deliver “much needed affordable housing in St George for young people.”
Currently, YMCA Bristol and City authorities are working together to find tenants for the apartments, which are due to be inhabited by the end of this year. Marvin Rees, the Mayor of Bristol, said the development is “an exciting and yet practical approach to addressing some of the housing challenges we have in the city.”
Rees added:
We have to be thinking creatively about how we best use the space we have in the city and not keep pushing people further and further out because they can’t afford city house prices.
Modular, pre-made buildings that can be manufactured “off-site” and quickly installed aren’t a new concept, and neither are houses on stilts. The use of stilts – to raise a structure off the ground– is a design feature that has been used worldwide, particularly in areas near water, for thousands of years. Houses on stilts are vital in areas with rising water levels to prevent the house from getting flooded with water.
