October 21, 2015
Wikihouse is here
The term meanwhile use has been around for a while now. Converting vacant and disused spaces into something useful while awaiting development has produced all sorts of enterprising outcomes – pop-up cafes, shops, exhibition spaces and so on. A new take on this idea has just been piloted in a gap site in Edinburgh’s Fountainbridge area. Some community groups, with the help of an enterprising architect, have just built a temporary community meeting space using open source design – enter the Wikihouse.
To view a short film of the Wikihouse construction, click here
An Edinburgh community group has built a temporary community meeting space in Fountainbridge on the site of EDI’s planned India Quay development, helping to foster a sense of community work ahead of construction work getting underway.
Built by Fountainbridge Canalside Initiatiive over the course of a single weekend by a team led by architect Akiko Kobayashi the open source design was assembled from prefabricated components using mallets and pegs.
Kobayashi commented: “The main thing I like about the WikiHouse system is many people can be included in building it, people can be fully hands on. Being part of the building process means that people can really understand that the finished building belongs to everyone.”