Vroom with a view: Disused garages to be turned into £11-a-week pop-up homes in bid to solve London's housing crisis

Architect's plan for tiny flats on East London housing estate

But critics say squeezing residents into bedsits won't help homes shortage



Forward-thinking architects have come up with a new way to solve the UK's chronic housing shortage - converting garages into tiny homes.



A row of out-of-use lock-ups on a council estate are due to be turned into cosy bedsits for young professionals and people unable to find a home.



Tenants will have to pay just £11 a week for the mini houses, which are set to cost around £13,000 to convert.



Community: An architecture firm plans to convert disused garages into a row of miniature homes

The designs were inspired by a row of garages which have been standing unused on the Lockner Estate in Dalston, East London.



Architecture firm Levitt Bernstein has proposed to set up its 'pop-up' homes in spaces like the garages which are awaiting permanent redevelopment.

Each home will measure 11.5 square metres, and contain a bed, kitchen and bathroom, with room for a small table and two chairs.



Every fifth garage is set to be turned into a communal area, with a laundry, extra kitchen equipment and a dining space.



Innovative: Levitt Bernstein hopes the unusual move will help alleviate the UK's housing crisis

Plans: These artist's impressions show how the 11.5 square metre homes will look

The homes will be built off-site and assembled by apprentices - and if the site is redeveloped, existing units can be dismantled and used elsewhere.



The project is known as Pop-up HAWSE - standing for Homes through Apprenticeships With Skills for Employment.



It was the winner of a housing design competition organised by the Building Trust, a charity which aims to encourage sustainable architecture in deprived areas.



If it is successful, the scheme will be expanded to other parts of London and throughout the UK, concentrating on areas where there are lots of homeless people or a shortage of housing for the young.



The architects are already in talks with a number of local authorities in hope of launching similar schemes.



Blueprint: Detailed instructions show how the homes can be assembles without much difficulty

Georgie Revell, one of the architects who designed the project, said: 'The proposal targets under-used spaces in high density areas where land value is high and rising.



'We believe it offers a creative and practical interim solution between other development opportunities and we're really excited about the potential to develop the scheme with Building Trust and our partners.'



'The proposals not only offer a home but education opportunities in construction techniques,' said Jo McCafferty from Levitt Bernstein.



'It is a way of regenerating street frontage and a practical interim solution between other development possibilities.'



Now: The garages are currently standing unused on the Lockner Estate in Dalston, East London

However, some experts have criticised the proposal for seeking to pack residents into the smallest spaces possible.



Architect David Roberts said: 'Personally, I think "pop-up" housing is morally bankrupt.



'Any architect who is serious about homelessness should be addressing the causes of the problem, rather than using developer-speak consistent with the commercial forces making housing unaffordable for so many.

