david adjaye among architects designing modular homes for cube haus

a new start-up has tasked some of britain’s top architects and designers with creating a series of customizable modular homes. to help resolve london’s housing crisis, property pioneer cube haus commissioned adjaye associates, skene catling de la peña, carl turner architects, and faye toogood to ‘disrupt the existing housing market’. the initiative seeks to deliver high quality architecture at a reasonable price point.

skene catling de la peña (also main image) | all images by edit.rs, courtesy of cube haus

established in 2017 by entrepreneurs philip bueno de mesquita and paul tully, cube haus will make full use of new materials and technologies to enable home buyers to visualize and explore their home during the design phase. the houses — designed by adjaye associates, skene catling de la peña, carl turner architects, and faye toogood — will either be commissioned and installed by cube haus on sites that the company acquires, or will be available to buy as an ‘off-the-peg’ solution for self builders.

adjaye associates

modular construction will cut down on both waste and build time. meanwhile, another benefit is that houses can be quickly and economically configured to fit any shape or size of land plot — back land sites, gap sites, and rooftops. components will be manufactured off-site in UK factories, while the frames of the buildings will be made from cross-laminated timber and clad with sustainable materials.

adjaye associates

‘our background is in running unorthodox, creative companies but we have always loved great architecture,’ says paul tully, one of cube haus’ directors. ‘we looked around and realized that there was an opportunity to marry some of the awkward urban spaces we often come across unexpectedly in the city with great new buildings. we are able to work at lower margins than the big house builders, due to our nimble approach. importantly, we work with architects we respect so that we can focus on the craft of making and building great looking, sustainable homes with an approach that is at once ethical and ground breaking.’

faye toogood

‘we want to give londoners the best of modern british design and manufacturing,’ adds cube haus co-director philip bueno de mesquita. ‘we’ve seen how some of our most creative designers have put their brainpower into trying to solve london’s housing issues. they’ve got great ideas but have been stymied when it comes to building more than one or two properties because of the way land has been made available and developed in the past.’

faye toogood

‘that’s what we want to challenge – the housing development model in london,’ bueno de mesquita continues. ‘the aim is to build up a portfolio of building types that ultimately can be scaled up for sites that can accommodate a bigger number of units. that’s when it starts to get really interesting: affordable housing designed by some of the most exciting names working in architecture today.’

faye toogood