Alternative Living

Alternative Living is our proposal for flexible, cost effective, community based modular housing, developed to provide affordable, well designed living spaces through innovative, non-traditional means. At its core, the aim is straightforward, to reduce homelessness and raise the standard of social and affordable housing, while giving residents a genuinely different outlook on life.

The system is built around using shipping containers as basic building blocks, over clad externally and lined internally to create thermally and acoustically well-built homes. Individual units can be joined horizontally to form larger spaces, and vertically to create duplexes or double height rooms, with windows and doors positioned to give every home ample daylight and outlook. Balconies, terraces and private gardens provide amenity space for each unit, typically overlooking shared landscaped courtyards with integrated playgrounds designed using local plants and recycled materials such as tyres and tree trunks.

The scheme is intended to sit on council owned sites and can be scaled up or down to suit different plots. Its modular nature means it can be delivered quickly without compromising quality, and because layouts are semi-permanent, they can be reconfigured or relocated to another site as needs change, giving councils real flexibility over time. Beyond reducing housing waiting lists, the system offers a genuine route out of temporary accommodation for those currently renting privately or living in hostels, provides housing for key workers, and does so at a cost effective rate for both large and small families, all while meeting or exceeding current building regulations. Community involvement runs through the whole process, from design through to delivery.