WikiHouse is an open-source project for designing and building houses.[1][2] It endeavours to democratise and simplify the construction of sustainable, resource-light dwellings.[1][2][3][4][5] The project was initiated in the summer of 2011 by Alastair Parvin and Nick Ierodiaconou of 00, a London-based strategy and design practice, in collaboration with Tav of Espians, James Arthur now with 00 and Steve Fisher of Momentum Engineering.[6][7] It was launched at the Gwangju Design Biennale in Gwangju, South Korea.[6][8][9] The project has since grown to become a worldwide community of contributors.[10]
WikiHouse enables users to download Creative Commons-licensed files from its online library, customize them using SketchUp, and then use them to create jigsaw puzzle-like pieces out of plywood with a CNC router.[1][7] Construction of WikiHouse structures requires no special parts because the cut pieces of wood snap together with wedge and peg connections inspired by classical Korean architecture.[11][12] The frame of a WikiHouse can be assembled in less than a day by people with no formal training in construction.[11] The frame must then be finished with cladding, insulation, wiring, and plumbing before it can be inhabited.[2][12] The WikiHouse project is maintained by Open Systems Lab.[13]
History
A WikiHouse under construction at Ouisharefest in Paris, May 2013
After winning a cash prize at TEDGlobal in June 2012, the project invested the prize money into a partnership with the Brazilian youth mobilization project Dharma and the analysis agency BrazilIntel to build WikiHouses in the poorest favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[4] The goal of the partnership, dubbed WikiHouseRio, is to provide a single "maker lab" where one CNC router can be shared by the community while also allowing and encouraging community members to develop their own designing and building skills.[4][6] The WikiHouse team plans to eventually create similar maker labs in other underdeveloped communities around the world.[4] There are also plans to use WikiHouses as disaster-relief housing in earthquake-prone countries such as Haiti, Japan, and New Zealand.[3]
By December 2013, while there were no inhabited WikiHouses, there were a few completed prototypes in addition to a usable walkers' shelter in Fridaythorpe, England.[12] These WikiHouses are single-story, square-shaped structures with sloped roofs and small foundations that measure about 175 square feet (16.3m2).[2] By 2015, several additional WikiHouses had been built, including the following buildings and at the following events:
In 2022, WikiHouse launched its latest version, Skylark, a digitally manufactured, interlocking timber system that is designed for precision off-site production and ultra-fast assembly on site.
In 2024 a development of 27 WikiHouses was completed in Almere, Netherlands.
Impact
Media reaction to WikiHouse has focused largely on the experimental nature of the project,[1][2] comparisons with IKEA furniture,[2][12] and the potential difficulty in finding and costs of using CNC routers.[1][4] American science fiction author Bruce Sterling also gave a review of the WikiHouse design, describing it favorably as a dwelling "I could quite likely build and inhabit, personally".[24]
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