Design firm Kraaijvanger's 'The Hub' is a cube that turns empty spaces into homes

Rotterdam architecture firm Kraaijvanger has unveiled a design for a cube that can turn uninhabitable spaces into homes overnight.  

Meet “The Hub”: a red and white 15-square-metre cube designed, as architect David Hess puts it, for people who “aren’t purchasing a home, just the comforts of one”.

The cubes have been installed in Rotterdam’s Zomerhofkwartier district as part of a entry into a competition titled “How will we live in the future?” The competition was put on by housing association Havensteder.

The idea being the concept is to streamline the process of turning an empty space such as a warehouse, hall or office into affordable housing for refugees, students, or anyone else who needs it.   

The Hub has an inbuilt kitchen and bathroom plumbing, requiring only one connection through the floor where it can also be hooked up to the mains electricity.

The cube is made from a mixture of solid timber boards and high-pressure-laminated blockboard, and comes with heating and an internet connection.

As a bonus, it’s is easy to dismantle – and as it’s intended to be leased out, there’s no need to demolish it. You can simply pull it apart and pop it in somewhere else.

And for those who aren’t keen on the idea of open-plan sleeping, Kraaijvanger has also made a matching bedroom unit.