Cabin could give homeless people ‘comfort and dignity’
Is this one of the answers to the housing crisis? The creator of the Bungolet tells William Telford that the easy-to-build shelter could be just what’s needed
IT’S cheap, easy to build, mobile and surprisingly bijou, and its Plymouth creator says the Bungolet could provide temporary shelter for homeless people and refugees.
Geoff Bersey has fashioned a prototype of the timber and tin cabin and now wants someone to “road test” it – by living in it and saying what they think of the experience.
Mr Bersey, a director of Plymouth property development firm Compton Estates Ltd, came up with the idea for an emergency shelter that provides warmth and comfort when he was thinking of ways to help people in dire straits. He also says it could provide a solution for temporary workers in areas of the UK where there is a housing shortage.
“It is ideal for someone with nowhere to go. This can give them a temporary home,” he said. “And with the world experiencing ever more frequent natural disasters due to climate change, together with international unrest, we are seeing an increasing demand for emergency support. The most pressing need is for simple, inexpensive, emergency housing, This is why we have developed the Bungolet. I’m thinking of Ukraine, places like that. But this is a prototype – we want someone to try it out and come back to me, to road test it.”
The Bungolet has one room and an eclectic shower and toilet unit. There are spaces and power points for a TV and microwave oven, it has LED lighting and the bed folds up to the wall to give extra space, if needed, or an extra bunk can be installed so two people can live in it. The window is high and small to ensure security.
“I tried to give people some comfort and dignity; people need comfort and warmth,” Mr Bersey said. “This has sanitation and is safe. It could also give people an address. You can’t have a bank account without an address, for instance. It breathes, it’s amazingly warm and is better than housing people in shipping containers.
“I’ve had this idea for years. I used to work in the Middle East and saw the need to insulate from heat and cold. In the desert at night it is freezing.”
Mr Bersey designed and built the Bungolet on spec at a yard his business owns in Plymouth. It is constructed on a galvanised steel base and clad with grey metal sheeting.
Compton Estates worked with other firms on the project, including Plymouth’s Andrews Building & Carpentry Ltd, Devon’s Chris Hodgson Engineering Ltd, and the metal flooring was made by Andy Martin, in Cornwall. The bathroom module was factory-made by a firm in Yorkshire and is the only part of the prototype not assembled in Plymouth.
Together they have fashioned a building that can be hoisted by a forklift truck or crane and transported on a lorry. It is then positioned on four concrete blocks and simply plugged into the electricity and water mains.
If the Bungolet was to go into mass production, Mr Bersey would expect to sell each unit at about £15,000, which he says makes it a cheaper alternative to what is currently available. He is hopeful local authorities, housing associations or charities may consider it. Two Bungolets could even be joined to create a unit for three to six people. They would cost about £27,000 to £30,000 each, however.
“I could make them for export. They could be manufactured here in Plymouth,” Mr Bersey said. “We could make 10 to 20 a week. This one was built in two days, but it would be quicker once we have the model.”
Late last year, the Government brought in a minimum space standard – of 37 sq m of floor space – for a one-bed flat with a shower room. The Bungolet is much smaller, at 8 sq m, but Mr Bersey said it counted as a caravan and was therefore treated differently under building regulations.
It is 2.5m by 3.2m and is 2.3m high. It is constructed from treated timber bands and wooden OSB (oriented standard boards) with 100mm of rockwool insulation, so the structure doesn’t need heating and is cool in warm temperatures. It weighs about a tonne, but Mr Bersey won’t know the exact weight until it is lifted by crane and can be measured.
It would be moved flat-packed for export, and Mr Bersey expects eight could be carried in one shipping container.
Compton Estates Ltd is a Plymouth-based land and property development business. It has worked on the conversion of the former pubs the Stopford Arms, in Stoke, and the Compton Arms, into housing. It has also built and converted housing in Lamerton and has obtained planning permission for a house and studio on a former stables and coal merchant’s property near Devonport Park. If you have somewhere where the Bungolet can be situated and plugged into services, and you would like to test it, contact Mr Bersey at g_t_b@msn.com.