apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I think this is great if they are simple and easy to assemble within just one day! Imagine providing / donating them to countries/ regions where people were affected by any natural disasters like tsunami, earthquakes, mudslides or hurricanes etc. so they don't have sleep in tents.They could have many other uses...

Yeah, but you get it almost all assembled and you realize you are missing the kitchen and have to go back to the store.

Plus, the allen wrench weighs like a thousand pounds!

I love the bench on the porch on the lower right. Does anyone know where it is from?

I love the bench on the porch on the lower right. Does anyone know where it is from?

I hope that was a joke. If so kudos. Very funny.

I'm with Tyson, just think what could have happened in New Orleans after the hurricane if these would have been available-no Fema trailers, or housing vouchers for motel 6. And for the poor in countries all over the globe I would think this would be a lifesaver-clean, new, safe and secure housing. I think, if I were to consider living in an apt or condo setting again, I would seriously consider this.

Considering the infamous lack of quality of Ikea products, I'm surprised anyone would consider buying a prefab Ikea home. It's one thing to have a flimsy chair break on you, but what if the wind blows?

I love these. They look very cool.

Hopefully they will not disintegrate in the rain, like many of Ikeas shelving units!

I would hope they come in colors other than black, which would be quite impractical in warm or temperate climates...

Really, MEP, you're that surprised? Does it surprise you that many (most) people can't afford well-built homes? I don't know enough about the British economy or the exchange rate to be able to glean from the Guardian article how much these go for in US terms, but I'm assuming very cheap. Of course they'll be flimsy, but it's very possible they'll be better quality than a lot of the homes in their price range.

there are MANY other prefab options for emergency shelters, they just have not gotten much attention or press. I think most AT readers will really love www.fabprefab.com. Check it out!

Well, they do look better than mobile home parks. As long as the quality is good then all the more power to 'em! I think they are cute.

Neat.

Inevitabally the parking lots will be jam packed and one will most certainly have to walk 500 yards to their car...

What's with all the Ikea-hating? They make some very nice stuff. Just because their products often ends up being ubiquitous due to affordability does not make them crappy. Just try adjusting the legs on a fancy Atlantico desk to accomodate an uneven floor - good luck. It's easy as pie to do this on many Ikea desks.

The BoKlok's been around for several years. I first read about it in Forbes or some magazine like it, they retail for about 40,000 euros and I tried for about a week to buy one in Sweden, but I couldn't for the life of me even find someone to phone about it. Aparently they are sold almost exclusively to people on welfare, so they probably wouldn't give one to some American who thinks it would be really cool to own a pre-fab house on the outskirts of some Swedish town... but if they did I would so be in.

I studied these in grad school and wrote a paper on them. I also believe Metropolis Magazine did an article a few years ago. They have been around for a while now (over a decade) and were developed as a response to lack of affordable housing opportunties for both buyers and renters in Europe where land and construction costs make home buying extremly prohibitive for the majority of the population. They are actually a partnership between IKEA and at least one well experienced private housing developer, so they are not built by IKEA, and they conform to some very strict European safety, energy efficient, and green building standards. Consensus is that they are well made and designed, and comfortable to live in.

As most housing in Europe is publically subsidized in one form or another and often there are waiting lists, especially in Sweden, it is no surprise they you just can't go on line or call a real estate agent and buy one.

Public response to these has been mixed, especially in the UK where the design is often criticized for being too cookie cutter. This however is the delimma of affordable housing in general - the nicer, more individualized, and more detailed it looks, the more expensive it becomes in material and construction costs. Sigh.

I personally would love to see some happen here in the US, especially in cities such as the one I live in (Portland, Oregon) where housing prices continue to outpace median family incomes and families have to keep moving further and further out to the suburbs and farm areas in order to purchase or rent a decent home, thus contributing to urban sprawl.

Also, keep in mind these IKEA homes are for affordable housing, and in many ways they are a response against the large housing blocks and ghetto "council flats" that were built in Europe post WWII, and are a way to help lower and middle class families to buy a place of their own in expensive markets.

I have to give IKEA props for helping address an economic and societal need outside of just selling cheap cute furniture...

Hope this helps put things into perspective.

Does the house come w/ one piece missing, necessary to put the roof on? Then it's backordered? Then it rains?

(PS I love IKEA but I couldn't help it)

Thank you, Lizzy C.

http://www.cusatocottages.com/index_content.html

This is a link to the Katrina Cottage. After the storm, a woman designed these prefab homes as a "dignified alternative to a FEMA trailer". They are well designed and come in a few different sizes. They're sold already complete. You just drive up to Lowe's with your flatbed trailer, load it up, bring it to your property and tie it down like any other trailer. They are sturdy, warm and dry.

Additionally, the cottages are styled so they are in keeping with the local architecture. Most of the ones in Mississippi have the shotgun Creole Cottage architecture that dominates our hometowns--pitched roofs, gingerbread trim and spindled front porches. Many of the cottages for Louisiana are built in the Acadian style.

The plan is, you buy the cottage for about $50,000, put it on your washed out property and live in it while you wait for your insurance company to finally pay you. Then, you continue to live in it, on your lot, while you rebuild your new house on the front of your land. When your big house is finished, you now have a workshop/hideaway/guest cottage.

The lady that designed these offered a great service to those in need of comfortable, secure housing, and she also ensured that the structures would blend in with the character of the communities.

Great in theory, just like putting the IKEA houses in New Orleans, but I'm not sure how well it's working. (I am originally from Biloxi and haven't really seen anyone living in these).

Seems to me that anyone with the cash to buy one of these had the means to go ahead and start rebuilding before their insurance settled (IF it ever did). Thus, the folks with money don't have a huge need for temporary housing.

The people that do need it were those with lower incomes, those screwed by their insurance and--especially in New Orleans--lifelong renters with no coverage on the structure of their homes. I'm pretty comfortable saying these people can't afford a cottage. So, they either move away, move into a hotel on a subsidy, wait for a FEMA trailer or move into a pop up camper.

So, while prefab is great for people who need an alternative to get into the ownership market, I think it misses the mark as adequate housing for those desperately in need--unless the government or the free market decide they actually want to provide for these people and either donate or heavily subsidize this type of housing.

Sorry for the rant. This subject is near to me personally. I do think prefab is wonderful; it's just not being used to help those in need like it could be.

Amendment to my previous post: you actually build these on a cement foundation. You do not just drive off from Lowe's with them. But you can have them mostly assembled and then delivered to your site.

Sorry for the mistake.

Nicole R, well said.