Off grid micro homes on a repurposed Thames pier at Royal Wharf, cross laminated timber units stepped above the tidal mudflats

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ThamesHaus

Floating Micro Home Concept on the River Thames, London

Services

Residential

Royal Wharf, London E16

2025

Credits

Buildner Microhome Competition Entry

Collaboration Project by Alan Cheng and Nive Balandra

Inspired by London’s Brutalist heritage, ThamesHaus explores the possibilities of off-grid micro living by repurposing abandoned piers along River Thames.

The semi-detached floating house rises with the tide, anchored by concrete plinths and foundations. Each house holds two one-bedroom flats, each under 25 square metres.

The floorplans of the two flats are mirrored, making prefabrication much simpler. A vertical hierarchy separates the active spaces, kitchen and bathroom, from the quiet bedroom, making micro living more enjoyable, while the CLT structure gives interior and exterior alike a warm, exposed finish.

ThamesHaus was designed as an entry to the Buildner Microhome competition, a collaboration between Alan Cheng and Nive Balandra. It is a proposal about London's housing question as much as its river: sustainable micro home design that treats the Thames not as a view but as a site.

Floating micro homes at low tide, the steel pontoon and concrete plinth structure exposed above the Thames foreshore
The same micro homes at high tide, the pontoon risen so the timber units sit level with the water, London skyline beyond
Massing diagram for a micro home, splitting the volume into quiet space above and active space below before the stepped final form
Ground floor plan of two mirrored micro flats, each under 25 square metres, with kitchen, dining, bathroom and terrace
First floor plan of a floating micro home, showing mirrored bedrooms and a balcony overlooking the River Thames
Technical board for a floating micro home with a 1:20 section, rainwater harvesting, passive ventilation and an exploded structural diagram
Sections through a micro home showing split level living, a mezzanine bedroom and the mirrored pair either side of the party wall
Long section through three floating micro homes on their steel pontoons and concrete plinth, with the deck level walkway between
Deck level view between floating micro homes at Royal Wharf, residents walking with the Thames and the city skyline on both sides
Cross laminated timber interior with an exposed CLT finish, a ladder to the mezzanine and a compact bathroom beyond
Mezzanine bedroom in a micro home lined in cross laminated timber, with a low bed and full height glazing onto a river balcony

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Company Number: 16737120
VAT ID: 509 8057 73

Company Number: 16737120
VAT ID: 509 8057 73


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©2026 Meridian 88 Ltd