From the Series
Millions of people around the world are just one paycheck away from homelessness. With this danger in mind, the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) has advocated that modular homes be used as emergency housing for the region’s homeless population and those at risk of ending up on the streets.
According to the regulatory body, there were 637 families housed in emergency accommodation (commercial hotels) as of September 2015. This includes 1 343 children.
To kick off the project, a modular housing demonstration project took place in East Wall with six modular housing suppliers. Providers such as Skyclad, Modular Homes Ireland, Spacebox, Roankabin, Portakabin and MOM Services Limited constructed unique modular homes.
The size of the exhibition homes ranges from 46 square meters to 81 square meters. Each home is equipped with two bedrooms, a kitchen, living area, storage space, and a bathroom.
The current demonstration serves to encourage debate around the sustainability of modular housing as sustainable accommodation. The executive’s argument is that the structures are 90 per cent completed off-site and take mere days to put together, meaning faster, safer construction.
The first 20 modular housing units are expected to be completed by December 2015.
