Clerkenwell Design Week once again splashed the streets with pink as it welcomed thousands of visitors to one of London’s most anticipated design festivals. Held on 21st – 23rd May, Clerkenwell boasted an array of showrooms, exhibitions, pop up stalls and street installations, with one in particular making individuals stop in their tracks – an emergency shelter made from 100% recycled plastic bottles.

BottleHouse is the brainchild of Ricky Sandhu, Founder of innovative architectural and design start-up small. which stands for Six Miles Across London Limited. “Every minute, a million plastic bottles are bought around the world and the number is set to top half a trillion by 2021” explains Sandhu, “far outstripping our recycling efforts and endangering our oceans and coastlines. And the recent discovery of a 50-year-old plastic bottle of washing-up liquid on Brean Beach in Somerset has highlighted just how much of an environmental crisis this has become”.

Sandhu’s keen sense of innovation and sense responsibility for the built environment was formed during his 15-year tenure at one of the world’s most cutting-edge design firms Foster + Partners, where he became one of the youngest shareholding partners. Through small. Sandhu created BottleHouse, unveiled at Clerkenwell Design Week for the first time, with the aim of inspiring others to examine plastic pollution and contribute to a circular economy.

BottleHouse is primarily intended as an emergency shelter for disaster-stricken communities, effective thanks to their easy build, light weight and strong structure. At the end of the design festival, Sandhu donated the grass turf BottleHouse had been displayed on to a local children’s playground and plants were returned to Camden Garden Centre, a charity that can resell the plants for profit. BottleHouse was designed for disassembly as much as for assembly, through an application of Modern Methods of Construction. It is now in the BottleHouse Hub as modular panels ready for the next outing which will be released via small.’s social media very soon.

Ricky Sandhu has ambitious plans for his social enterprise, intending for BottleHouse’s ‘bricks of the future’ to provide jobs, an income, security, education, new skills, shelter, hope and the chance of a better life. The vision doesn’t stop here; small. has already begun developing plans for an autonomous vehicle, urban airport and an electric forecourt.

To get involved with small. and follow its extraordinary journey, head to www.sixmilesacrosslondon.com.