3D Printing and a Modular Building Design

 A few months ago I attended a trade show to illustrate the modular designs which I have developed. I wanted to show how the designs could be flexible using similar modular components. Here is what I came up with:

The first image shows the massing of the structure if the entire building were built. This is a model which I called "The 1050"

The second image shows the smallest house which I am suggesting be built. This model is called "The 450"

The Assault on Manufactured Home Communities

 I live in British Columbia, Canada, for about 5 years now. About 4 years ago I bought a fairly new manufactured home in Nanaimo. There are many communities, or Manufactured Home Parks (MHP) in the City of Nanaimo. Approximately 1,700 units of this type exist in the city. While not a large percentage of Nanaimo's housing stock, it is an affordable alternative for owning a home. Typically, a potential resident buys a unit on a parcel of land, and leases land from the owner of the land. Depending on the condition of the home a small unit (Approx 700 to 900 sq. ft.) can sell from 150,000 to 300,000 CAD. Condos in the area go for 300K and up, and Townhouses 450K and up. Houses are difficult to afford, especially for the first time buyer. 

So what's wrong? Instead of promoting more of this type of housing, MHP owners are making things more difficult for this to be affordable. What would you think if a service went from 500 CAD per month to 800? Floored right.? This is what is happening when a new lease is signed between the land owner and a new home owner. The affordability of a Manufactured Home is directly affected by an increase in the fee to lease the land where the home is located.

Sometimes people just do not know any better, but there are methods to control these cost increases. The Rental Tenancy Branch (RTB) can help people in BC. Most provinces in Canada have organizations of their own. 

Small Houses

I believe that our idea of how much space we require to live in has exploded over the years. People feel that a 2000ft2 home is not only something they require, but something that they deserve. In the meantime we hear people complaining that they cannot afford to enter the housing market. ie. young families, and we also hear about seniors having difficulty holding onto the homes they already have. That their homes are too big and expensive to maintain.

Enter the idea of small homes. Homes in the 450ft2 - 1000ft2 sizes. Designed to be modular and factory manufactured. To be quickly assembled on sites in order to avoid the problems of building in outdoor weather conditions. 

One of my modular designs that I have been working on, is in this category. I've called it the 450,  designed as 3 modular elements. 

The Bedroom Module 

The Storage / WC Module

The Kitchen / Living Module

Place it all together and you get a small home which is affordable.