London is one of the ‘it’ places to live with many young people heading to the capital for both work and pleasure. But with so many renters living in the city, it now has the most unaffordable housing in the UK
One man has found an ingenious way to keep his rent prices down. Posting under Instagram SKIP House, Harrison Marshall is featured with an old skip he has turned into a home, which he will be spending the next year living in.
The home is surprisingly well renovated, there's a small door with a ladder that leads into the ‘house’. As you go in, you head straight into the living and kitchen area, which as you would expect is quite small. Harrison has a mini fridge and hob but admitted that he has some very friendly neighbours who sometimes bring him hot meals.
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Upstairs is his bedroom which just consists of a bed with a window - it’s definitely small but it’s very well made.
On his Instagram dedicated to this project, theskiphouse, Harrison explained that this project was “a statement about rent prices going through the roof,” which is pushing people out of the capital.
He wrote: "This winter, I'll be packing my bags and moving into a skip. That's right, the same skips you see full of waste on the side of the road. With the cost of living at an all-time high, and no end in sight, this project is above living for less, in one of the most expensive cities in the world, London."
The project sits between 'installation art' and 'performance art'.
Dozens of people have commented on his project. One person said: “Where is the toilet and the shower?” Harrison answered this question on his Instagram by saying: “My toilet is in a portaloo located at the corner of the site. I shower at work and at the gym.”
Another said: “Lowkey a way the government should think about housing homeless people,” to which another person added: “That or shipping containers.”
Some people did raise concerns about what he was doing. One person wrote: "I’m concerned that you must be freezing as I’m freezing in my flat. Also, safety??? London is so scary dangerous. Super curious about how you power your mini fridge and other appliances too." Another said: "How warm & safe will this be especially with cooking??"
While Bristol doesn't currently have anyone living in skips, our city did launch a project which moved in young people to specially-adapted containers on stilts above a car park.
The housing is described as ‘innovative’ and ‘pioneering’ and has been inspired by housing chiefs from Bristol visiting the Startblok Riekerhaven development in Amsterdam, which sees young Amsterdammers and refugees housed in a special development of modular housing.
The Bristol development, called LaunchPad, is in Fishponds and is the first of its kind in the country.
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