An interview with The Holding Project

Published: October 2, 2017

The Holding Project seeks to build 20 compact, eco-friendly micro-homes in Belfast for young people. As the millennial generation become trapped in private rented accommodation for the long term, the project hopes to offer an alternative form of housing as a mechanism towards enabling social mobility. It also provides high quality, affordable and sustainable housing – which is currently under supplied in the city – and can utilise vital sites across the city which are currently vacant. The meanwhile use will provide new life to spaces previously neglected due to the historical troubles of the city.

Individuals apply to be part of the project, paying a monthly rent for a unit. The rent covers the running and maintenance of the project – including the units and site. But, an agreed percentage of each months rent is held by THP for the duration an individual remains a resident. Once an agreed savings target has been reached, the individual leaves and is replaced by another applicant. This process allows the impact to reach as many people as possible.

The money saved through the process is intended to allow residents to either formally enter the housing market, start a business, undertake education/training and to add value back into the city of Belfast.

How did you come up with the idea of The Holding Project?

There were a few factors that came together at the same time. Firstly, I was hugely frustrated with my personal experience of renting. I had been living and working in different cities including London and Dublin for the last 10 years and I had never had a positive experience with housing. I was a responsible tenant, yet had still managed to get charged unreasonably for things that were out of my control and I spent most of my wages on my rent. I thought there had to be another way to live and work towards savings and felt that housing had become a profit making activity for those who were better off than me. I had one experience of living in a log cabin in Dublin which demonstrated how easy and comfortable it was to live in a small, unique space within an urban setting so that led me to look at other examples of this such as shipping container conversions. I also realised that lots of other people felt the same and so decided to focus on idea of building a group of houses which would create a community. Lastly I realised that it may not be necessary to create permanent housing for people like me, all we needed was a transition period during which we could live affordably and comfortably whilst saving towards our future. I knew I couldn’t do justice to such a large project on my own so it was amazing to meet Sean and Chris, who provided their time, knowledge and creativity to make The Holding Project what it is today.

What does each of your team members do?

Initially we naturally found roles that suited our interests and talents – I was interested in spreading the word and finding new networks so took on an outreach role and also applied for funding. Chris is really design-led and was interested in the physical spaces – how they could be built efficiently and affordably, so he took on a design and operations role. This looks at every aspect of the micro house, from concept drawings to fabrication and interior design. Sean has an amazing capacity to absorb complex information so he looked at the larger systems surrounding the concept such as land ownership, urban planning and the current social and financial mechanisms within housing. As time as gone on we have dipped in and out of other roles as we’ve needed to, for example Sean has written our funding proposals and I have taken on more administrative tasks such as accounting.

Who are you creating housing for and why?

Our housing is primarily for young people in Belfast who are struggling in the private rented sector. Those who do not have the option of mum and dad’s housing or bank balance to fall back on. We would like to give those people an opportunity to live in micro housing within Belfast where they can begin saving towards a life goal that is currently unattainable. This might be starting a business, getting out of debt, going into education or training or formally entering the housing market.

However, we are aware that The Holding Project concept could be applied to any number of other communities such as social housing tenants, the homeless, the elderly, refugees and ex-offenders. We’ve chosen to begin with those who just require housing support so that we can learn how to adapt our model to those who may need additional support alongside housing.

What is the biggest challenge you have overcome and highlight of your journey so far?

For me, the biggest challenge lies in convincing the larger housing and governmental organisations that this is a viable solution to the current housing crisis for young people and others. We are a small fish in a very big pond and it’s quite a large project to commit funding to. However, with support from others such as Unltd and Bank Of Invention we have persevered with our proposals and we have had a very positive reception so far. We have been open minded, have adapted our approach and have learned a lot from the feedback that we have received. As a result, the initial concept has developed into a more rounded and considered idea that has financial, social and environmental credibility.

Personally, I have two highlights of the journey so far, the formation of our team has been one – without the three of us working together The Holding Project would never have come this far. Secondly, receiving a Winston Churchill Fellowship to explore approaches to affordable housing in other countries such as Finland, Sweden and the USA this year has given me more than words can even express! I have gained so much insight, inspiration and knowledge from the projects that I have seen and it has further convinced me that this can (and will) work here too.

The Holding Project are:

Dearbhaile Heaney – Designer and Co-Founder, currently working as an Enterprise Executive at The Princes Trust Northern Ireland
Chris Miller – Designer and Co-Founder, currently undertaking MArch at Queens University Belfast
Sean Cullen – Researcher and Co-Founder, currently undertaking a PhD at Queens University Belfast

theholdingproject.co.uk

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