Plans have been submitted for what would be the first development of Yo! Home apartments, with a block of 24 units to be built in the New Islington area of Manchester, UK. The Yo! Home is aimed at providing urban apartments that are both high-quality and affordable as a result of their compact size.
We first covered the Yo! Home a year ago after the concept was unveiled by Yo! Company, which is also behind Yo! Sushi and YOTEL. Indeed, even then Manchester was expected to be the first location in which the concept was brought to fruition, but the Yo! Company is aiming to continue rolling it out across the globe.
Since the first prototype home was launched, the design has been continuously developed in order to make it commercially viable. Among the changes that have been made is the reduction in size of the apartment from 80 sq m (861 sq ft) to around 41 sq m (441 sq ft), which Yo! Company says is more like size of a "normal" studio apartment.
Yo! Company founder Simon Woodroffe explains: "Moving parts draw on the wealth of engineering technology taken from fields as diverse as yacht and automotive design, and the mechanics of stage production, allowing the transformation of a 40 square meter space into what feels like a much bigger home."
Among the elements featured in the prototype that contributed towards this efficient use of space were a bed that can be raised up to the ceiling to reveal a sunken seating area, and a kitchen table that folds away into the floor.
The building in New Islington has been designed by Glenn Howells Architects and will be constructed by SIG Building Systems. SIG will build modular components off site so as to eliminate factors such as the weather affecting build time. It is hoped that this will keep costs to a minimum.
There's no word yet on when construction is expected to begin and to be completed, but the plans are expected to go before the planning committee at the end of August.
Sources: Yo! Company, Glenn Howells Architects
