The Naked House

Designed to be adaptable and ultimately built-out by its inhabitants, the Naked House is another concept in a long line of housing proposals that apply the ideas of adaptability and flexibility in attempt to make the housing more affordable.  With a goal of reducing initial upfront costs, each unit is delivered in its naked state, beginning with a bare 50 square meters that houses a wet core of bathroom and kitchen, but no additional walls, floors or finishes.  After that, the inhabitants can expand and adapt the space into an 87 square meter, three bedroom home:

"Clever design moves include a double-height space with a mezzanine and built-in ledge around the perimeter at first floor height, making it easy to add joists and create an extra floor, while a sturdy garden wall with a party wall agreement already in place makes building a rear extension a question of simply adding a roof. Services will sim- ply be housed in a sunken perimeter channel cast into the floor slabs and covered with a plywood plate, so they can be easily maintained – and re- configured if rooms move around."   [ https://nakedhouse.org/projects/Enfield/old-garage-sites ]

https://nakedhouse.org/projects/Enfield/old-garage-sites

While its concept is still yet to be proven in the open market, I love that they are a not-for-profit development team that is focused on the financial and regulatory considerations as much as the design.  A few of the highlights are:

1. Will not cost more than 1/3 of an inhabitant's income.
2. Homes are building code compliant in their naked state.
3. They have partnered with financial institutions to ensure mortgages would be available for this unique approach.  (I would like to learn more about how these are setup to support future additions, improvements, etc.)
4. Some of the houses will be on city-owned land where the inhabitants would pay a monthly"land rent", thus reducing significant up-front costs related to the expense of land.  (This is very similar to how mobile homes are financially structured in the United States).
5. Long-term affordability is locked in through resale covenants that (in theory) allow some profit to be made if the home is sold, although it seems to be at the mercy of market forces.

https://nakedhouse.org/projects/Enfield/old-garage-sites

On paper, all of this sounds very promising, although the imagery certainly leaves something to be desired on the inside.  The holistic approach may ensure that this model actually has some legs and is not relegated to the "one-off" graveyard that seem to haunt so many of these concepts.  Time will tell.