Birmingham's 'Retrofit House' Could Be UK's Answer to Housing Crisis
A quiet row of Victorian terraces in Edgbaston has become a hotspot for innovative housing solutions. No 33 Link Road, known as Retrofit House, is being showcased by community group Civic Square to offer an alternative to the UK's crumbling housing stock.
At the heart of this project are environmentally sound materials like lime, clay, and straw. The house itself serves as a living lab where visitors can learn about retrofit ideas, energy-efficient technologies, and sustainable practices.
Immy Kaur, co-founder and director of Civic Square, believes that conventional government schemes for improving housing have failed to deliver due to their prescriptive nature. Instead, Retrofit House is designed to be a workshop where builders from the West Midlands can gain hands-on experience with natural materials.
"This project is not just about building performance; it's about quality of life, social value, environmental impact, and what matters most to households," Kaur explains. "We're turning everything into a learning opportunity, creating apprenticeships, and running workshops. That's the kind of social change we want to see."
Retrofit House has been partially funded by philanthropic organisations like the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The project aims to show that communities can thrive when working together and making their homes more sustainable.
Kaur advises those with innovative ideas to seek out charities with large endowments, as they may be more receptive to supporting grassroots projects.
The goal of Retrofit House is not only to provide a model for successful community-led initiatives but also to inspire policymakers to adopt more progressive approaches. Civic Square's mantra, "we may not have deep pockets but we have many hands," reflects the importance of community collaboration in driving positive change.
As Kaur notes, local government often lacks the capacity to tackle complex issues like housing. Therefore, Retrofit House serves as a valuable resource for providing advice and expertise on managing everyday challenges like bin collection.
A quiet row of Victorian terraces in Edgbaston has become a hotspot for innovative housing solutions. No 33 Link Road, known as Retrofit House, is being showcased by community group Civic Square to offer an alternative to the UK's crumbling housing stock.
At the heart of this project are environmentally sound materials like lime, clay, and straw. The house itself serves as a living lab where visitors can learn about retrofit ideas, energy-efficient technologies, and sustainable practices.
Immy Kaur, co-founder and director of Civic Square, believes that conventional government schemes for improving housing have failed to deliver due to their prescriptive nature. Instead, Retrofit House is designed to be a workshop where builders from the West Midlands can gain hands-on experience with natural materials.
"This project is not just about building performance; it's about quality of life, social value, environmental impact, and what matters most to households," Kaur explains. "We're turning everything into a learning opportunity, creating apprenticeships, and running workshops. That's the kind of social change we want to see."
Retrofit House has been partially funded by philanthropic organisations like the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The project aims to show that communities can thrive when working together and making their homes more sustainable.
Kaur advises those with innovative ideas to seek out charities with large endowments, as they may be more receptive to supporting grassroots projects.
The goal of Retrofit House is not only to provide a model for successful community-led initiatives but also to inspire policymakers to adopt more progressive approaches. Civic Square's mantra, "we may not have deep pockets but we have many hands," reflects the importance of community collaboration in driving positive change.
As Kaur notes, local government often lacks the capacity to tackle complex issues like housing. Therefore, Retrofit House serves as a valuable resource for providing advice and expertise on managing everyday challenges like bin collection.
It's like, exactly what we need - sustainable housing solutions that don't break the bank 
. The fact that it's community-led and uses eco-friendly materials is just amazing 
. I mean, who needs government schemes when you have passionate people like Immy Kaur leading the charge? 
Civic Square is doing a great job of creating a living lab where builders can learn and experiment with new ideas #SustainableHousing #CommunityLed #RetrofitHouse.
. It's so true that local governments often struggle to tackle complex issues like housing. But when communities come together, amazing things can happen 
. Let's support this project and inspire more community-led initiatives! 
#CommunityPower #GrassrootsRevolution.
It's not just about building something new, it's about passing on knowledge and skills to the next gen #ApprenticeshipsMatter #SustainableFuture. Let's get behind Retrofit House and make a difference in our communities! 
it's like they just expect us to make do with what we've got. retrofit house is defo a breath of fresh air, who knew community-led initiatives could be so effective? 
i mean, using natural materials and getting builders hands-on experience sounds like a total game-changer. and yeah, the gov isn't doing enough imo 
but at least projects like this are showing that we can make a difference when we work together 
... sounds like civic square is trying to get around the fact that gov't schemes aren't working out 
... they're using philanthropic orgs to fund it but also got ppl from west midlands doing hands-on training 
... wanna see how it goes down tho, hoping its not just a one-off thing 
But seriously, Retrofit House is a pretty cool idea. I think it's awesome that they're gettin' builders from the West Midlands involved in this project – gotta love community spirit! 
And yeah, it's interesting that they're lookin' to inspire policymakers to change their ways... maybe we'll see more innovative approaches to housing come out of this? 
Wouldn't that be somethin'? 
. And Immy Kaur's advice about looking for charities with deep pockets is super practical 
. We need more of this kind of grassroots innovation if we're going to tackle the housing crisis 
But I think we can do even more. What if we started supporting each other in our own communities? Instead of waiting for someone else to save the day, we'd be out there making it happen ourselves 
. Let's hope it inspires more communities to take action and create positive change!