Demountable style in architecture

Hardly trailer trash
architect and exhibition
designer Tim Pyne is
recently famed for the
development of M-House
 the caravan impersonator

– or rather impostor!

This requisite design propelled the much mocked profile of the humble caravan up to luxury home status with a mix of mobility and style.
In a twist of good fortune the wheels of the M-Home cunningly swerve strict Town planning regulations and afford the homes great flexibility in location. These days, prefab-pioneer Tim has unhitched his concept trailer and transferred to the city.

In a slightly more permanent vein (though not much), his latest idea, the demountable ‘M–Hotel’ takes advantage of short lease city fringe land plots, bringing them back from extinction and saving us from the optical peril of hideous parking lots - the more routine solution for desolate inner-city spaces.
Prefabrication is a hot topic among architects at the moment and this concept is one of the more intelligent, it is also by definition demountable! Construction involves mass delivery on a series of low loaders, the erection of a basic steel frame followed by frantic panel slotting; and then presumably the reverse when the plot lease runs lean.
 A kind of sumptuous ‘Big Yellow’ self storage unit for travelling high flyers!

M-Hotel is a contemporary apart-hotel aimed at transient corporate execs who can rent spaces here for periods of up to 3 months.

The idea is to supply bags of temporary home-fromhome comforts allowing them to entertain, relax and work in the centre of one of London’s coolest quarters, Hoxton in this the first case, with its abundant cultural attractions and proximity to high rise corporate institutions.
Each unit within the hotel has around
50 meters of floor space, incorporating wooden homey floors, a fitted kitchen and a screened off section allowing an optional second bedroom for visiting family and friends.
The fittings will be sumptuous and stylish in a curious ‘Timeless modernism’ theme, quite a statement for a
building with a life cycle of around 8-years! The exterior is an economic inspiration, the designers have researched methods of covering both the walls and windows in digitally printed film, allowing big brands to take up residence and flash their message back at the world in beefy proportions.
The advertising can be changed seasonally and the interior match-themed to this gigantic residential bill board.

As is so often the case in architectural impermanence, we find ourselves getting attached to our favourites and never really letting go – could this happen to the M brand?
A slightly, and understandably euphoric Hoxton site owner sums up this phenomenon in a simple and perhaps hopeful statement:
“I wouldn’t be surprised if M-hotel ends up being as temporary as the Eiffel Tower”.
Let’s hope the M-hotel has as much success as its famous wheeled predecessor, unfortunately however, something here smacks of rooms for rent by the hour; a totally different corporate away fixture that could ruin the reputation of this ingenious idea and some of those delicately styled interiors!