WikiHouse Skylark - New Prefabricated Building System

Farmhouse in Warwickshire, UK (2017). Photo © Architecture 00.

According to the United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, carbon neutrality by 2050 is the world’s most urgent mission.

Buildings generate nearly 40% of annual global CO2 emissions. In response, WikiHouse has developed a mission to “put the knowledge & tools to build beautiful, zero-carbon buildings into the hands of every citizen, community and business.”

How it Works

Designer Alastair Parvin presents a simple but provocative idea: what if, instead of architects creating buildings for those who can afford to commission them, regular citizens could design and build their own houses? The concept is at the heart of WikiHouse, an open source construction kit that means just about anyone can build a house, anywhere. Watch Alastair Parvin’s TED Talk, here.

The big idea behind WikiHouse is the power of 'many small'. WikiHouse isn't made by just one company in one large, centralized factory, but by a distributed network of small, local fabricators and assemblers, collaborating on common, shared design solutions. So it's not just about building homes: it's also about building local economic capacity, everywhere.

WikiHouse is creating the infrastructure to tool-up communities and small businesses to build the homes we need. They are doing this by empowering local CNC fabricators to cut and assemble your ‘kit-of-parts’. While still in Beta, WikiHouse Skylark is quickly tooling-up online resources to make projects feasible, affordable, and transparent.

Watch the video below for WikiHouse's largest project to date being constructed at The Gantry at Here East and the big ideas behind the project by Hawkins\Brown.

Resources

Check out Skylark’s series of ‘Guides’, here.

We also find WikiHouse’s 'Place Design Principles' a fascinating basic checklist for designing high-quality buildings and places. Modeled after the 1977 seminal text, A Pattern Language, it is a great place to begin and consider when putting pen to paper. If budget allows, they take it one step further and provide a 'Generous Homes Checklist' to remind designers about the things that bring delight and comfort in your home.