Are HUF HAUS The Future Of Homes?
By Abbie
The future of how we construct and live in our homes aim to benefit not only us but our environment. There are many ideas on what direction housing may go in - from mobile homes to homes made entirely to encourage use to live more sustainably, we are everchanging our perspectives on how we build our homes in order to fit the everchanging lives we live.
HUF HAUS is a family run company in Germany but has show homes all around the world, they specialise in manufactured and prefabricated homes. The idea is that you design your own house that suits your own style - you just buy the land. A normal conventional build is £200 per sq. ft, but with HUF HAUS you pay £300 per sq. ft but that includes everything you need, so all the materials, architects, planners, structural engineers are all included in that price. It isn't the cheapest alternative, but HUF HAUS seem to attract a lot of customers due to their signature style housing: Sleek, modern and huge windows that many people seem to gravitate towards nowadays. Some of the designs can be watertight in as little as a week, and the interior finished in 12 - 14 weeks, this is quite impressive as most houses take a year at the very least to construct.
Reducing the environmental impact we have on the world is something the company is promoting, to me is quite interesting as they show on their website that "Since 2009, no HUF Homes have used fossil fuel, instead we offer residents the opportunity to live carbon neutral lifestyles."(Find out more here) They promote the people who are living sustainably on their website and constantly put energy efficient ways of heating and supplying energy their homes - for example the DGNB Platinum Award-winning HUF home is on their website showing off their signature symmetrical structure and glorious glass windows and how they have helped reduce carbon emissions. They have "triple glazing that is more energy efficient than most walls, electricity generated through solar voltaic panels on the roof, and heat derived through ground or air source pumps, owners can wave goodbye to gas and electricity bills." (Find out more here). They seem to show with a lot of pride: there are many companies out there that strive to have be as sustainable as possible however not a lot of them quite have the same striking brand as HUF HAUS seems to have created.
Many people say this type of housing could be the future as it is what is defined as 'prefab' - this type of housing means its costs are lower as everything is manufactured in an assembly line. I think this is a good direction to go in when it comes to housing, to encourage others to live in a way that is helping the environment while getting exactly what you want from a home. The company, in my opinion, seems to be heading in the right direction with how they create and simplify building not just a house but a home for a whole range of people.