Messe Berlin built tiny houses for the homeless

Under the guidance of the Cologne-based Little Home association around 100 Messe Berlin employees lent a hand to build five living boxes for the homeless made from recycled wood and material used at trade shows.

The boxes will be delivered to their destinations in the districts of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and Pankow in the next few days. There, the Little Home association will make the Tiny Houses available to homeless people, giving them their own place of retreat.What's special about the small shelters "made by" Messe Berlin: during construction, care was taken to upcycle as many sustainable materials from stand construction as possible and put them to a new use. The houses consist of around 80 percent recycled wood and insulation materials. In contrast, virgin materials were used for wear materials such as roofing felt and working materials such as screws and nails.

In addition to a mattress and a shelf, each house also contains a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher and a camping toilet. Since its founding in 2016, the Little Home association has built 250 houses across Germany. Experience shows: The 3.2-square-meter houses can make a difference. They offer homeless people shelter from the cold and wet and are a place that they can lock up and where they can find peace.

www.messe-berlin.de/en