Commonweal Pods Displayed to Sector Experts

Last Friday Commonweal Housing hosted an event to display the Commonweal Pods. Presenting a practical, short term accommodation option the event sought to gather  feedback from leading representatives from the homelessness sector.

The pods, designed by architects Reed Watts, are the result of Commonweal’s Starter for 10 competition that took place last year. Applicants were asked to find a deliverable model for reusable, short term accommodation  that can be easily adapted for multiple scenarios and deployed across underused spaces. Chosen out of over 20 designs, the pods provide privacy as well as a place to store belongings, allowing users to feel safe and secure

Taking place at Thames Reach’s Employment Academy in Camberwell, the event was attended by Jeremy Swain, CEO of Thames Reach, as well as representatives from Housing Justice, who hosted the pods in a winter night shelter in Hillingdon, and from several homeless shelters including the 999 Club in Deptford. The event welcomed feedback from those in attendance, seeking to learn more about how sector experts think the pods could be best put to use.

The pods will next be shown at the Homeless Link conference in July, where they have been nominated for an award. Feedback from the event was positive, with attendees showing interest in how to take the idea further.

Commonweal is eager to hear any feedback or ideas for how the pods could be utilised and if you would like to provide any comments, please contact us at info@commonweal.org.uk.