Four examples of architectural innovation are moving across the country this week to make way for the next generation of affordable sustainable housing. The timer framed houses are being dismantled, loaded onto a lorry, and re-assembled at their new home at the University of the West of England in Bristol. Inspired by the father of self-build, Walter Segal, the houses were amongst the first of their kind in providing cheap and flexible accommodation. In their place, North London construction company, Sandwood Design & Build, are constructing brand new low cost housing for their client, Origin Housing Group.

The houses were designed by architect Jon Broome and were based on Segal's unique approach to construction. Simplifying the building process so that anyone who needed a home could build one themselves, Segal's timber frames were based on modular dimensions and thus avoided waste and facilitated alterations and enlargements. Segal sought to eliminate or reduce the ‘wet' trades of concreting, bricklaying and plastering by reducing the sheer weight of the building and by using cladding, insulating and lining materials in standard sizes.

Instead of demolishing the houses, it seemed fitting to offer the houses a new lease of life, in this, the centenary of Walter Segal's birth. Not only will these examples of affordable post war housing be preserved, the site is to be reused to construct social housing for this generation. The buildings themselves are being reassembled at the School of Architecture and Planning in Bristol and their sustainability performance will be monitored over time.