Hackney studio Levitt Bernstein has won a housing design competition with a proposal to turn disused parking garages into tiny pop-up homes.

Organised by architecture charity the Building Trust, the competition asked entrants to come up with proposals for any urban area of a developed country, to offer a solution to the shortages of affordable single-occupancy housing.

Levitt Bernstein suggests inserting prefabricated structures into redundant garages on housing estates in the London borough of Hackney. "The proposal targets under-used spaces in high density areas where land value is high and rising," said architect Georgie Revell.

The structures would use parts that are both quick to assemble and easy to dismantle, so the architects are also recommending an accompanying apprenticeship initiative to teach the construction techniques to homeless people.

"This is a great opportunity to begin to deal with homelessness in an innovative and holistic manner," said architect Sarah Jenkinson. "We are excited about developing our proposals into real solutions especially in our local borough where housing is an asset that can be so difficult to obtain."

The architects are now working with the Building Trust to work up detailed plans to take the project forward.

Hackney is also Dezeen's home borough and this year we launched our own initiative to showcase world-class design and architecture in the area.

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Here's some more information from Levitt Bernstein:

Levitt Bernstein have recently been announced as winners from over 400 entries of the open international HOME competition run by Building Trust International.

The winning proposal uses temporary ‘pop-up’ structures to occupy redundant garages on existing housing estates in east London. HAWSE (Homes through Apprenticeships With Skills for Employment) was designed by Georgie Revell and Sarah Jenkinson in collaboration with a homeless charity and training academy. The intention is for the project to be delivered through an apprenticeship scheme with components manufactured off-site as a kit-of parts. The structures are quick to assemble and can be inhabited immediately with the components being demountable and reusable. The proposals not only offer a home but education opportunities in construction techniques, a way of regenerating street frontage and a practical interim solution between other development possibilities.

The competition brief asked for proposals to focus on low cost, single occupancy housing solutions in urban areas to respond to the deficit of affordable housing options. The competition had over 400 entries for both the professional and student categories and the judging panel was chaired by Building Trust, YMCA, Habitat for Humanity and Crash. Building Trust International launch their next humanitarian design competition on the 15th Oct focusing flood resistant housing in Cambodia.