Vivahouse, a prefabricated modular housing system designed to turn vacant commercial properties into co-living environments, has been unveiled at a disused shopping centre in London.
Branded as the "urban house of the future", Vivahouse has been installed as a short-term pop-up in London's empty Whiteleys Shopping Centre in Bayswater.
The brand aims to install the units across London, taking advantage of the UK's struggling high street where in 2018, almost 1,000 retailers went into administration. It said it plans to repurpose unused commercial units, including vacant hospitality and office spaces to create much-needed homes.

The concept is the brainchild of Rajdeep Gahir, who was an early employee of WeWork and launched the company in Europe. Dara Huang, who is the founder of Design Haus Liberty and a Dezeen Awards judge, has led the product and design side of Vivahouse as a partner. The system of small, identical units can be built on site in under 24 hours inside existing buildings to create private rooms with shared facilities.
The company said that the prefabricated system takes 70 per cent less time and costs 70 per cent less than traditional construction.

Designed with young freelancers and the self-employed in mind, each Vivahouse location will have a different minimum duration of stay, which could be anything from one week up to one year.
The company said rent will be location dependent but starts from £600 per month in city locations for a longe...