Humans Invent reports that architect David Morton, of the UK, took his inspiration for building modular housing from his love of the Mini Cooper automobile, which was originally built in response to the Suez Oil Crisis of 1956, and the subsequent oil shortage. His BoKlok UK modular houses respond to a similar need for simplicity and efficiency in two distinct ways. Observing the firewall under the hood of the Mini with all the wires in one place, he made a service wall headquarters at one end of the modular house for all the gas, electricity, and plumbing connections and fittings from each room, allowing for ease of repair. Secondly, the structure is held together with a series of latches that does not allow for error, much like the way a car’s hood closes. Says Morton, “It’s like closing a bonnet, you can’t close a bonnet wrong. When you sit the wall down now, you can’t put it in wrong.” The king of flatpack, IKEA, has partnered with BoKlok’s owner Skanska and has sold 5,000 of the houses across Europe. The houses will also be part of the Olympic housing in London. Now a senior lecturer at Northumbria University, Morton says, “Working with your hands, building things – architecture is a bigger version of it.”

(photo credit: Humans Invent)