HB Capsule living Cost-effective and spacesaving, capsule living was pioneered in Tokyo in the 1970s by architects such as Kisho Kurokawa. Now its coming to London, a city whose average inhabitant, making £28,000 a year, is being pushed ever further from the centre of the action. Made of the same high-grade lightweight composites used in shipbuilding, the stackable Spaceboxes have already been installed on one university campus. HB Semi-permanent buildings These Lego-like units are designed by Dutchman Mart de Jong for De Vijf, and are equipped to function as compact studio residences, complete with kitchen, shower and toilet.
"They stay warm through bodyheat and cooking," says architect David Gale, " and hot water can be managed through solar panels, where affordable." Not officially on the market yet, the Ecokit team is quietly seeking " guinea pig" clients. Those living in the terraced rows of 35 prototypes in South Molton in north Devon claim to have used their central heating only four times in the past year. The Ecokit is made of breathable timber and designed for the lowest possible environmental impact, and developed for self-build or complete prefabrication. The New Zealand outfit Bachkit sells its modernist-inspired modular units for between £28,000 and £100,000. The chilled-out designers talk of "an indescribable quality of simplicity with a flow from indoors to outdoors".
Of the US companies proffering prefabs, Rocio Romero makes two types, one of which is the Fish Camp kit house, "designed so the nature lover can enjoy the serenity of being outdoors". For those who want to stay a little closer to home, Metroshed offers chic, cedar wood units for the bottom of the garden, and at only $86 (£48) a square metre Granddad is going to love them. Contacts: Huf Haus, ; Buckley Gray Yeoman, yeoman ; Bachkit, ; Rocio Romero, LIVING ON THE CUTTING-EDGE Eco-living Extend the ethos of your AAA-rated fridge and you'll be at home in Gale & Snowden's "environmental modular housing". The tradition caravan park is not somewhere I think the Retreat would sit terribly comfortably." The rebirth of the prefab isn't just happening in the UK. As for where to install it, Buckley says, "People are developing areas just for Retreats, in Norfolk, Devon Ireland and even Spain. "So many people desire to have somewhere they can escape to, by the coast or in the country, but affordability and availability were not there for most people," says Richard Buckley. "These arrive on the back of a lorry, take a day to set up and there it is: a home with lighting, heating, kitchen, bathroom." They start at £37,500, for two bedrooms, and run up to £60,000 for a Retreat with three double bedrooms and two bathrooms.