WikiHouse
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Wikihouse_The_Hub_Westminster.jpg/220px-Wikihouse_The_Hub_Westminster.jpg)
WikiHouse is an open-source project for designing and building houses.[1][2] It endeavours to democratise and simplify the construction of sustainable, resource-light dwellings.[1][2][3][4] The project was initiated in the summer of 2011 by Alastair Parvin and Nick Ierodiaconou of 00, a London based strategy and design practice, in collaboration with Tav of Espians, James Arthur now with 00 and Steve Fisher of Momentum Engineering.[5][6] It was launched at the Gwangju Design Biennale in Gwangju, South Korea.[5][7][8] The project has since grown to include many chapters around the world.[9]
Concept
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Scale_model_of_WikiHouse_system_1.0_and_2.0.jpg/220px-Scale_model_of_WikiHouse_system_1.0_and_2.0.jpg)
WikiHouse enables users to download Creative Commons-licensed building plans from its website, customize them using SketchUp, and then use them to create jigsaw puzzle-like pieces out of plywood with a CNC router.[1][6] Construction of WikiHouse structures requires no special parts because the cut pieces of wood snap together with wedge and peg connections inspired by classical Korean architecture.[10][11] The frame of a WikiHouse can be assembled in less than a day by people with no formal training in construction.[10] The frame must then be finished with cladding, insulation, wiring, and plumbing before it can be inhabited.[2][11]
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Ouisharefest_-_Wikihouse_%288710423939%29.jpg/220px-Ouisharefest_-_Wikihouse_%288710423939%29.jpg)
After winning a cash prize at TEDGlobal in June 2012, the project invested the prize money into a partnership with the Brazilian youth mobilization project Dharma and the analysis agency BrazilIntel to build WikiHouses in the poorest favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[4] The goal of the partnership, dubbed WikiHouseRio, is to provide a single "maker lab" where one CNC router can be shared by the community while also allowing and encouraging community members to develop their own designing and building skills.[4][5] The WikiHouse team plans to eventually create similar maker labs in other underdeveloped communities around the world.[4] There are also plans to use WikiHouses as disaster-relief housing in earthquake-prone countries such as Haiti, Japan, and New Zealand.[3]
By December 2013, while there were no inhabited WikiHouses, there were a few completed prototypes in addition to a usable walkers' shelter in Fridaythorpe, England.[11] These WikiHouses are single-story, square-shaped structures with sloped roofs and small foundations that measure about 175 square feet (16.3 m2).[2] By 2015, several additional WikiHouses had been built, including the following buildings and at the following events:
- Maker Faire 2013 in Queens[12]
- London WikiHouse Version 4.0[13]
- 150-square-foot (14 m2) FOUNDhouse microhouse[14][15]
- WikiHouse at MAKlab in Glasgow[16]
- Chop Shop in western Scotland[17]
- Space Craft Systems project in New Zealand[18]
- WikiSHED fork[19][20]
- WikiHouse at the 2015 Vienna Open[21]
Impact
Media reaction to WikiHouse has focused largely on the experimental nature of the project,[1][2] comparisons with IKEA furniture,[2][11] and the potential difficulty in finding and costs of using CNC routers.[1][4] American science fiction author Bruce Sterling also gave a review of the WikiHouse design, describing it favorably as a dwelling "I could quite likely build and inhabit, personally".[22]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e LaBarre, Suzanne (25 August 2011). "WikiHouse, An Online Building Kit, Shows How To Make A House In 24 Hours". Co.Design. Fast Company, Inc. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Kingsley, Jeremy (22 February 2012). "The WikiHouse Revolution". Slate. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- ^ a b Borgobello, Bridget (15 May 2012). "WikiHouse: Get ready to design, "print" and construct your own home!". Gizmag. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Isaacson, Betsy (1 March 2013). "WikiHouse Democratizes Design For Inexpensive, Easily Built Homes". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- ^ a b c Parvin, Alastair; Nick Ierodiaconou (22 June 2012). "A House and Home for the 99%". CITY2.0. TED Conferences, LLC. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- ^ a b Firth, Peter; Thomas Rees (5 August 2011). "Grand Designs: Open-source platform comes to housing". LifeStyle:News:Global. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- ^ Hicks, Jesse (17 August 2011). "WikiHouse promises printable homes, work for the world's idle CNC routers". Engadget. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- ^ "00:/ at TED2013". 00:/Blog. 00:/. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
- ^ "WikiHouse Community". WikiHouse. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
- ^ a b McNicoll, Arion (5 August 2013). "How to build your home from scratch for $35,000". CNN.com. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- ^ a b c d Goodwins, Rupert (16 December 2013). "Meet The People Who Want To Print A Home In A Day". Popular Science. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- ^ "WikiHouse Gives Architecture to the People". Global Lighting. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ^ "The new house that definitely needs Windows! Company launches two-bedroom home that you DOWNLOAD from the internet and build yourself". Daily Mail. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ^ "FOUNDhouse". FOUNDhouse. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ^ "WikihouseUS/Vermont-Microhouse". GitHub. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ^ Bain, Duncan (15 July 2013). "MAKLab's Wikihouse: Day One". Open Source Architecture blog. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ^ "Wikihouse". Chop Shop. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ^ "Space Craft: developing WikiHouse in New Zealand". Space Craft Systems. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ^ "Wikihouse Project". SketchThis. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ^ "WikihouseUS/Alex-Wikished". GitHub. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ^ "Vienna Open". Vienna Open, Verlag Neue Arbeit. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
- ^ Sterling, Bruce (2 August 2011). "Architecture Fiction: WikiHouse". Wired. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
External links
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