In this comprehensive research project, MAX aimed to exploit a simple kit of parts to assemble a range of homes aimed at stretching the housing ladder. This kit uses elements of off-site construction. We identified six customer groups representing the different stages of domestic requirements. We aimed this collection of homes at middle income ranges, outside London (or any other critical supply area), targeting brownfield, edge of city, suburbia, or satellite town sites in desirable property locations where demand and land price is high but not exorbitant.
In addition to optimising the next generation of existing volume house types, this innovative approach aims to create new typologies both to extend the availability of housing to a wider market at the lower end, but also to ensure that at the other end of the ladder, seniors are able to return needed family home space back into circulation by providing a more intelligent approach to downsizing, while also enabling seniors to live independently of institutional care for longer. We call this the Housing Wheel.