How Green Are You? from Channel4.com

Paul West - Ourhouse

Name: Paul West

Project: Ourhouse holiday homes

Green Dream: Where efficiency and sustainability are no longer a feature

5 Years Time: To have at least 3 Ourhouse spin offs in the UK

Top Quote: With momentum, I can achieve anything!

Ourhouse is a communal retreat for both work and play. It’s a flexible, shared space for creative teamwork, collaboration and networking whilst also being a place for friends and events. It consists of a series of customisable, high design eco-houses, operated by an online members network and communal reservation system.

Ourhouse will provide a creative and quirky alternative to traditional forms of accommodation, aiming to revamp UK tourism whilst acting as a catalyst for regeneration by making great use of redundant development sites on a temporary basis. Ourhouse will provide a quirky, progressive way to escape our everyday environments, effectively uniting like-minded people with a unique proposition consisting of innovative, coherent and clever architecture, design, branding and service.

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Why the green passion?

I can’t say I have a passion for being green. I just see it as something we all should be involved in, whether it’s making a difference to climate change or not. Why be wasteful, lazy and ignorant with our resources, mobility and attitudes?

Inspirational Moment

Working from home one day, whilst at university. I invented the Ourhouse idea out of an interest in developing efficient, flexible spaces for lots of different types and sizes of communities.

Making it Happen

I gained a place and award through the Nesta Creative Pioneer Programme. I had developed the concept, I just needed to turn it into a business. Almost sounds straightforward.

Champagne Green Moment

Speaking with one of my mentors, Alan Jeffers, I started to say ‘when’ instead of ‘if’ Ourhouse is developed. It was unintended but made me realise that gut feeling is probably the most important signal anyone can trust.

Ourhouse

Pay Off

Environments can be smarter, more flexible and efficient with well-considered and coherent branding, architecture and service design.

My Inspirations

Everyone at Nesta, people in past employment at Foster & Partners architects and Engine service design. Most importantly for Ourhouse – my mentors: Alan Jeffers (Pegasus Solutions) Duncan Berntsen (Greenwich University) Alex Ely (Mae Architects) and Robert Bau.

Against All Odds

Be persistent and be a good problem solver. If one avenue isn’t getting you where you want to be, try another, there are usually several. If something hinders you, you don’t want it enough!

Regrets

I have spent some time and energy looking at development opportunities in the public sector. It’s often been a slow and un-rewarding process. Although, it has delivered meaningful connections and support but I think I could have got there much faster in hindsight.

Up & Downside

Being green isn’t the defining factor of my business and my attitude. I don’t really see it as a Unique Selling Point as it’s something that should be standard practice.

Key to Success

Success is defined as ‘the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.’ If you know exactly what you want and why you want it, you can have it. It may take time but it’s yours if you truly want it. This is something that I realised when I was at Nesta.