In a striking response to London’s notorious rental prices, 31-year-old artist and architect Harrison Marshall has taken up residence in a converted rubbish skip.
What began in 2023 as an artistic statement has evolved into a practical, if unconventional, way to reduce housing costs in one of the world’s most expensive cities.
Marshall’s skip home is located on a small plot of land in Bermondsey, and he pays just £250 per month to live there.
This is a fraction of typical local rents; a one-bedroom flat in Bermondsey averages nearly £3,000, with prices climbing around 8% annually, meaning Marshall is saving roughly £2,750 per month.
However, the skip is not immune to rent hikes. When he first moved in two years ago, his rent was just £50 per month, but his landlord has since raised it fivefold.
Measuring roughly one metre wide by two and a half metres long, Marshall, through his design practice Caukin Studio, has renovated the skip thoughtfully.
The structure features a sleek black exterior, a roof and upper deck equipped with a roll-out mattress, and an interior basin.
Marshall previously told Metro that he came up with the idea after returning from a work trip.
‘When I came back to London I started the hunt for a room, and, obviously, within that timeframe, the prices had gone kind of crazy,’ he said.
‘People were getting hundreds of messages for a single room… it was at the point where if you weren’t willing to put your deposit down the same day as viewing it, you didn’t really stand a chance.
‘And so that’s when I started picking up the idea again, about is it actually possible to live in a skip?’
The project received partial funding — around £4,000 — for build costs via a grant from Antepavilion, an arts charity that owns the land and supports public art addressing social issues such as housing affordability.
Despite its size, the ‘Skip House’ has attracted international attention, both as a public art installation and a social commentary on London’s entrenched housing crisis, highlighting the challenges many face in securing affordable accommodation.
And life in the skip is deliberately minimalistic.
Marshall lacks running water and formal council tax registration, so water is supplied courtesy of a neighbour’s garden hose, a connection he pays £100 annually to maintain.
Electricity is drawn from a communal generator sufficient for essentials such as a mini-fridge, hob, heater and fan, and sanitation is managed using a portaloo placed outside the skip’s window.
Meanwhile, internet access relies on his phone’s hotspot, while security remains an occasional issue, with some vulnerable people seeking shelter in the skip. Though Marshall says incidents are generally peaceful.
The absence of a proper kitchen and drainage, alongside persistent traffic noise from nearby roads, are the key challenges of skip life, while challenging winter conditions are alleviated with a heater, and low energy consumption keeps bills to a minimum.
Marshall emphasises that these compromises are acceptable given the alternative: paying exorbitant rents that prevent saving for homeownership.
He says the thought of going back to paying £1,000 a month or more for a room in a shared house is ‘unappealing’.
Although initially intended as a one-year art and housing awareness project, Marshall has chosen to remain in the skip longer, adapting his lifestyle alongside family and friends.
His mother has even visited the skip, and his girlfriend has stayed on a few occasions, underscoring the unusual nature of this living arrangement.
Looking ahead, Marshall aspires to save enough funds to construct a permanent home tailored to his needs—a considerable leap from his current tiny dwelling.
For the time being, he remains steadfast in staying close to London’s dynamic core, accepting the discomforts this brings as part of a necessary strategy to cope with the capital’s extreme housing pressures.
This article was originally published on February 13, 2023.
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