Author: davepickering

A SPECIALIST housing and care provider has adopted an ingenious method of transporting its ‘home of the future’ to Europe’s largest housing festival – by building it across three shipping containers.

A working replica of the ‘Blackwood House’ was on display at the Chartered Institute of Housing’s (CIH) annual conference in Manchester from the 25^th– 27^th of June.

In order to showcase the innovative home in all its glory, the Blackwood team are building the house in shipping containers so it can be transported south of the border.

The pioneering home transforms the day-to-day lives of people who want to live independently with cutting edge technology and design that reimagines living space, redesigning it physically and technologically to make it more accessible.

The adapted shipping containers will allow conference attendees and potential partners to see the technology in action and find out first-hand why it can revolutionise independent living.

Simon Fitzpatrick, Development and Commercial Director at Blackwood, said: “It obviously represents a logistical challenge to get a Blackwood House replica down to Manchester so we came up with the innovative use of shipping containers to help.

“We’re passionate about the way our Blackwood Houses allow people to live as independently as possible and it’s exciting that we’re going to be able to display it at Europe’s largest housing conference.

“We believe in creating neighbourhoods with the Blackwood House at the very heart of them which is something partners at the conference can really get behind the movement for independent living – #ImIn.

“The Blackwood House provides a solution to the national housing crisis and we’re making it our mission to enable people who want to live independently really gain from technological advances.”

Blackwood has an ambitious development programme over the next five years and every aspect of the house has been carefully considered to remove any obstacles or issues that can disrupt daily life. It features electric doors that slide open and shut at the touch of a tablet and taking away the hassle of manoeuvring around it.

Other special features include high and low-level kitchen units that rise and fall, and contemporary moveable bathroom components that provide high levels of accessibility.

The property is ‘smart’, too, with technology playing a key role: lights, blinds, doors, entry systems and heating can all be controlled via Blackwood’s bespoke digital care system, CleverCogs™. Much of this technology will be able to be controlled by voice.

1,400 providers attend the CIH Conference with 98% of the largest housing associations in attendance.

There are over 12,000 visitors over the three days with around 33,000 meetings taking place on the show floor.

Headquartered in state of the art, wheelchair friendly offices in Edinburgh, Blackwood works in 29 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities, and embraces the challenge of innovating housing and care at a time when funding is increasingly limited.