A modular building system

Abstract

A hub building for a modular building system comprising at least one external utility connection point (13, 14, 15, Fig 3), at least one hub access point 21 for a user to enter and exit the hub, and at least one modular building removable attachment means on an exterior of the hub for removably attaching at least one modular building to the hub such that the hub access point is for access between the modular building and the hub building. Further disclosed is a modular building for the system for removably attaching to the hub building, a modular building system comprising the hub building and at least one modular building, and a method of assembling the system.

Description

Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a Modular Building system. More specifically, this disclosure relates to a Modular Building system formed of a hub building and at least one modular building. Background Many different housing systems are known. Generally, housing systems are formed of fixed, built-in dwellings to which utilities are supplied. However, there is an increased demand on housing which supply is failing to satisfy. In addition, built-in housing systems are by their nature not versatile or able to adapt to changing situations, such as decreasing and increasing demand in different locations. This is particularly important when there is a sudden increase in a need for housing such as due to an influx of refugees, or in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Therefore, there are improvements to be made in relation to the current housing systems. Summary An object of the present disclosure is to provide an improved housing system in the form of a modular building system. The modular building system is intended to improve the versatility and adaptability over current housing systems. In addition, the present building system is intended to improve the efficiency of use of external utilities connected to the building system. The present disclosure is therefore generally directed towards a modular building system including a hub building and at least one modular building is to be attached to the hub building. The modular building contains attachment points to external utilities, such as electricity and water. The modular buildings are designed to be attachable to the hub buildings, such that residents of the modular buildings are able to use the utilities in the hub buildings. This allows the residents of several modular buildings to share use of the utilities of the hub building, thus reducing the complexity of the modular buildings, as they do not need to be in themselves connected to the external utilities. In addition, by the nature of the detachable modular buildings and hub buildings, this system can allow for easily transportable buildings which can be manufactured off-site and transported to a necessary location in accordance with demand. The present disclosure provides a hub building for a modular building system. The hub building comprises at least one external utility connection point, for connecting external utilities to the hub building; at least one hub access point for a user to enter and exit the hub; and at least one modular building removable attachment means on an exterior of the hub building for removably attaching at least one modular building to the hub building such that the hub access point is for access between the modular building and the hub building. The at least one external utility connection point may be configured such that a user of the hub can use the external utilities. Removable attachment means may be defined as means for an attachment which can be detached without damaging or breaking the attachment means, the hub building or the at least one modular building. The at least one external utility connection point may comprise at least one connection point for one or more of: electricity; gas; water; wastewater; internet; and telecommunications. The at least one modular building removable attachment means may comprise an arrangement formed of one or more of: vacuum cups or a sealing surface for receiving vacuum cups; magnets; recesses; and / or protrusions. The hub building may further comprise at least one modular building utility connection point for connecting utilities from the hub building to the at least one modular building, when the at least one modular building is attached. The at least one modular building utility connection point may be in proximity to the at least one modular building removable attachment means. The at least one modular building removable attachment means may comprise at least two, preferably at least four and even more preferably at least six modular building removable attachment means and hub access points for removably attaching at least two, preferably at least four, and even more preferably at least six modular building to the hub building such that each hub access point is for access between one of the modular buildings and the hub building. The hub building may be separable from the ground. Separable may mean that the hub building can be separated from the ground non-destructively and / or without damaging the hub building. This may allow the hub building to be transportable and the modular system to be more versatile and easily deployable. Alternatively, the hub building may be fixed to the ground and the at least one external utility connection point connected to at least one external utility. The hub building may be permanently fixed to the ground. Fixation to the ground means that destructive removal is required to remove the hub building from the ground, like with a brick dwelling. The present disclosure further provides a modular building for a modular building system. The modular building comprises a hub building removable attachment means on an exterior of the modular building for removably attaching the modular building to a hub building; and a modular building access point for a user to enter and exit the modular building, wherein the modular building access point is used to enter and exit the modular building from the hub when the modular building is attached to the hub. The modular building may further comprise at least one hub building utility connection point for connecting at least one utility from the hub building to the modular building. The hub building utility connection point may be in proximity to the hub building removable attachment means. The modular building may be telescopically extendable for allowing the modular building to be increased or decreased in size. The modular building comprises a plurality of building sections of increasing size slidably mounted to each other such that the plurality of building sections can be nested within each other. At least one of the building sections may comprise walls formed of a mesh for allowing natural airflow. The modular building or each building section of the plurality of building sections may comprise: two side walls; a sloping roof extending between the two side walls; and curved sections blending the two side walls into the sloping roof. The two side walls may diverge as they extend towards the sloping roof. The present disclosure further provides a modular building system comprising: a hub building as described above; and at least one modular building, where the modular building is the modular building described above. The at least one modular building removable attachment means and the hub building removable attachment means are complementary to one another. The at least one hub access point and the modular building access point are aligned when the at least one modular building and the hub building are attached to one another. The at least one modular building may comprise at least two, preferably at least four, and even more preferably at least six modular buildings. The hub building may be connected to an external utility via an external utility connection point and the modular building may be connected to the external utility via the hub building utility connection point. The external utility may be electricity, and the hub building may comprise a further external utility connection point for connection to a different external utility. In one example, only electricity may be connected to the modular building and not the different external utility. The present disclosure further provides a method of assembling a modular building system. The method comprises providing the modular building system described above; and attaching the at least one modular building to the hub building by the at least one modular building removable attachment means and the at least one hub building removable attachment means, such that the at least one hub access point and the modular building access point are aligned. The method may further comprise telescopically extending or contracting the at least one modular building to increase or decrease of the at least one modular building in size. By way of example only, embodiments according to the present disclosure are now described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings. Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 shows an illustration of a modular building system in accordance with the present disclosure; Figure 2 shows an illustration of a hub building of the modular building system of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a plan view schematic of the hub building of Figure 2; Figure 4 shows a plan view schematic of the modular building system of Figure 1; Figure 5 shows a partial view of an additional embodiment of the modular building system of Figure 1; Figure 6 shows a side view schematic of a modular building of the modular building system of Figure 1; Figure 7 shows a first end view of the modular building of Figure 6; Figure 8 shows a second end view of the modular building of Figure 6; Figure 9 shows an illustration of an interior of the modular building of Figure 6; Figure 10 shows an illustration of an additional embodiment of the modular building of Figure 6; Figure 11 shows a plan view of another additional embodiment of the modular building system of Figure 1; Figure 12 shows an illustration of the modular building system of Figure 1 in an alternative configuration; and Figure 13 shows a side view of another additional embodiment of the modular building system of Figure 1. Detailed Description Figure 1 shows an illustration of a modular building system 1. The modular building system 1 comprises a hub building 10 and at least one modular building 20. In Figure 1, six modular buildings 20 are shown to be attached to the hub building 10. However, there may be two, four, or another number of modular buildings 20 attachable and / or attached to the hub building 10. If more or fewer than six modular buildings 20 are to be attached to the hub building 10, the hub building may be easily redesigned to accommodate the intended number of modular buildings 20. As illustrated, the hub building 10 may take a hexagonal shape. This allows the modular buildings 20 to be spaced from each other by a sufficient angle such that a window of each modular building 20 does not directly face into a window of the neighbouring modular building 20, which improves privacy for residents of the modular buildings 20. Although a hexagonal shape is depicted, the hub building 10 can take a variety of other shapes, such as square, rectangular, octagonal, and other shapes which allow the modular buildings 20 to be attached thereon. In general, the hub building 10 may be an N-sided polygon, optionally a regular polygon. This hub building 10 can then have N modular buildings 20 attached thereto. The at least one modular building 20 is removably attachable to the hub building via removable attachment means. The hub building 10 comprises at least one modular building removable attachment means on an exterior surface of the hub building 10. The hub building 10 generally comprises the same number of modular building removable attachment means as the number of modular buildings 20 intended to be attached. In addition, the at least one modular building 20 comprises a hub building removable attachment means on an exterior surface of the modular building 20. There may be removable attachment means on each side of an N-sided hub building 10. The removable attachment means on the hub building 10 and on the at least one modular building 20 allow the at least one modular building 20 to be easily attached and detached from the hub building 10. In other words, the at least one modular building removable attachment means of the hub building 10 and the hub building removable attachment means of the modular buildings 20 correspond to one another. This allows the hub building 10 and the at least one modular building 20 to be independently transported, to increase the transportability of the modular building system 1 and allow it to be assembled on site. In other words, since the modular building system 1 is comprised of separatable and smaller components, transportability is improved. The removable attachment means on the hub building 10 and at least one modular building 20 respectively comprise one or more of: vacuum cups, magnets, recesses, and / or protrusions. If the removable attachment means comprises vacuum cups, then the hub building 10 may comprise vacuum cups on its exterior and the at least one modular building 20 will comprise a complementary sealing surface for receiving the vacuum cups on an exterior wall proximal to the hub building 10. When the at least one modular building 20 is engaged with the hub building 10, the vacuum cups will engage the complementary sealing surface to form a vacuum within the vacuum cups and therefore provide a force for keeping the at least one modular building 20 and the hub building 10 in contact. The removable attachment means may also include a mechanism for drawing a part of the vacuum cups away from the complementary sealing surface after engagement to increase the strength of the vacuum therein. When the at least one modular building 20 is to be disengaged from the hub building 10, the mechanism can push the vacuum cups back towards the complementary sealing surface so that the strength of the vacuum is reduced, and the vacuum cups can be more easily disengaged from the sealing surface. The vacuum cups and complementary sealing surface arrangement can be reversed such that the at least one modular building 20 comprises the vacuum cups and the hub building 10 comprises the complementary sealing surface. If the removable attachment means comprises magnets, the hub building 10 may comprise magnets on its exterior and the at least one modular building 20 will comprise complementary magnets or magnetic materials on an exterior wall proximal to the hub building 10. The magnets or magnetic materials on the hub building 10 and the at least one modular building 20 attract one another to provide a force for keeping the at least one modular building 20 and the hub building 10 in contact. The magnets may comprise electromagnets so that a magnetic connection can be selectively activated by supplying an electric current therethrough. In addition, and or alternatively, the magnetic connection may be engaged via a mechanical mechanism which extends the magnets from the hub building 10 towards the magnets or magnetic materials on the at least one modular building 20. The mechanical mechanism may then withdraw the magnets towards the hub building 10 to break the magnetic connection. The magnetic arrangement can be reversed such that the at least one modular building 20 comprises the magnets and the hub building 10 comprises the complementary magnets or magnetic materials. If the removable attachment means comprises recesses, and / or protrusions, the hub building 10 may comprise protrusions on its exterior and the at least one modular building 20 will comprise complementary recesses for receiving the protrusions on an exterior wall proximal to the hub building 10. The protrusions may comprise an extension(s) on sides thereof and the complementary recesses comprise aperture(s) extending from a side of the recess. The protrusion may be able to rotate so that the extension(s) engages the aperture(s) and therefore provides a mechanical locking arrangement. The protrusions may be rotated by electric motors or manually. Alternatively, the extension may be biased via springs to engage the apertures. The arrangement can be reversed such that the at least one modular building 20 comprises the protrusions and the hub building 10 comprises the complementary recesses. The removable attachment means on the hub building 10 and at least one modular building 20 may be configured to form a watertight or airtight seal between the hub building 10 and the at least one modular building 20. This can prevent rain, for example, entering the hub building 10 or the at least one modular building 20 via the connection point. Figures 2 and 3 show the hub building 10 in more detail. The hub building 10 comprises at least one hub access point 11 for a user to enter and exit the hub building 10. The at least one hub access point 11 may comprise a door, a doorway, an arch, a sliding door, or any other feature used to enter and exit the hub building 10. The at least one hub access point 11 may be in close proximity to the at least one modular building removable attachment means and / or the at least one modular building removable attachment means may surround the at least one hub access point 11. The number of hub access points 11 will generally correspond to the number of modular buildings 20 intended to be attached to the hub building 10. There may be a hub access point 11 on each side of an N-sided hub building 10. The at least one hub access point 11 is used to enter and exit the hub building 10 from the at least one modular building 20 when the at least one modular building 20 is attached to the hub 10. This allows the modular building system 1 to be assembled and disassembled easily, since the at least one modular building 20 can be attached to the hub building 10 via the removable attachment means to take advantage of the existing hub access point 11 to allow entry from the at least one modular building 20 to the hub building 10. In other words, when the modular building system 1 is assembled, the hub building 10 and modular buildings 20 do not need to be modified to allow access to one another, because they are already accessible via the pre-existing hub access point 11. The hub building 10 also comprises at least one external utility connection point (not shown). The at least one external utility connection point is for connecting external utilities to the hub building 10, such that a user of the hub 10 can use the external utilities. The at least one utility connection point may comprise at least one connection point for one or more of the following: electricity; gas; water; wastewater; Internet; and telecommunications. There may be a separate utility connection for each of these utilities. As shown in Figure 3, the hub building 10 may comprise one or more electrical appliances 13 (such as a fridge, dishwasher and washing machine) which require the hub building 10 to be connected to electrical utility services. The hub building may also comprise gas-powered appliances 14 (such as a gas stove) which require the hub building 10 to be connected to gas utility services. In addition, the hub building 10 may comprise plumbed facilities 15 (such as toilets, showers, and baths) which require water and wastewater utilities to be connected to the hub building 10. The hub building 10 can be transportable and therefore provide for an adaptable system that can be transported to different locations as needed, and then attached to local external utilities. In such an embodiment, the hub building 10 is not permanently fixed to the ground. The hub building 10 can be formed of lightweight materials such as aluminium or carbon composites to aid transportability. A prepared area may be arranged for a transportable hub building 10. The prepared area may have pre-installed sewage tank and drainage and the hub building 10 may be configured to easily connect to the prepared area. This enables the hub building 10 to become operational immediately upon attachment to the prepared area. Alternatively, the hub building 10 can be built into the ground and connected to utilities such that it is available for housing as required. In such an embodiment, only the modular buildings 20 need to be transported and assembled to the hub building 10 when housing demand requires. In such an embodiment, the hub building 10 can be formed of readily available materials such as brick. Figure 4 shows more detail of the modular building system 1, wherein the at least one modular building 20 is attached to the hub building 10. As shown, the at least one modular building 20 may comprise living spaces 23 and sleeping spaces 25. Therefore, occupants of the modular buildings 20 are able to comfortably live and sleep within the at least one modular building 20. Since external utilities are connected to the hub building 10 (such as those providing electricity for electrical appliances 13 and water for plumbed features 15) independent external utilities are not needed to be connected to the at least one modular building 20. Therefore, the at least one modular building 20 need not comprise an independent external utility connection point. This improves the simplicity of the at least one modular building 20, in that they can be manufactured without any external utility connection points and thus simplify their construction and reduce their cost. In addition, by providing utilities within the hub building 10, these utilities can be shared by the occupants of any of the at least one modular building 20, to increase the efficiency of use of these utilities. In order to provide more privacy to the occupants of the modular building system 1, the hub building 10 can be sub-divided into a plurality of separate sections 12, as shown in Figure 5, each in proximity to a hub building access point 11 such that the occupants of the at least one modular building 20 can have their own space within the hub building 10, whilst still enabling the efficiency of the single point of connection to external utilities in the hub building 10. The hub building 10 may in itself be modular and able to be dismantled in a plurality of separate sections 12, such as six sections. Each of the of separate sections 12 may be a self-contained utility section and comprise the utilities as described above. If any utilities are required in the at least one modular building 20, utility connection points can be provided to connect utilities from the hub building to the at least one modular building 20. For example, if electricity is required in the at least one modular building 20 (for example, for lighting), modular building utility connection points can be provided on the hub building 10, optionally in proximity to the at least one modular building removable attachment means. The utility connection points on the modular building 20 may be configured to connect automatically to the modular building utility connection points on the hub building 10 when the at least one modular building 20 is assembled to the hub building 10. In certain examples the hub building 10 may be connected to a number of utilities such as electricity, gas, plumbing, etc., while only some of these utilities are connected to the modular building 20. For example, this may only be electricity. In examples where this is electricity, the amperage, voltage and / or wattage of electricity supplied to the modular building 20 may be less than in the hub building 10. The electricity in the modular building 20 may be required to power low power devices such as lighting, while high power devices are in the hub building 10. Corresponding hub building utility connection points can be provided on the modular building 20. When the modular building system 1 is assembled, the hub building utility connection points and the modular building utility connection points can be connected such that utilities can be suppled from the hub building 10 to the modular building 20. This allows utilities to be connected to the at least one modular building 20 without requiring an external connection to utilities for each of the at least one modular building 20. This simplifies deployment of the at least one modular building 20, in that they do not need to be connected to external utilities when they are assembled, and rather a pre-manufactured interface between the hub building 10 and the at least one modular building 20 can be used to connect utilities. The modular building 20 comprises a modular building access point 21 for a user to enter and exit the modular building 20. When the modular building system 1 is assembled, the modular building access point 21 is used to enter and exit the modular building 20 from the hub building 10. This is enabled because the hub access point 11 and the modular building access point 21 are aligned when the modular building 20 and hub building 10 are attached to one another. In other words, the modular building access point 21 corresponds to the hub access point 11. The modular building access point 21 may comprise a door, a doorway, an arch, a sliding door, an aperture, a hole, a missing wall, or any other feature used to enter and exit the modular building 20. The at least one modular building 20 may further comprise a second access point 22 for entering and exiting the modular building 20 from outside. The second access point 22 may be located on a wall of the modular building distal from the hub building 10. The at least one modular building 20 may comprise four access points, modular building access point 21, second access point 22 and two additional access points on sides of the modular building 20. This allows a user to enter and exit their private modular building 20 without accessing the public, shared, hub building 10. The second access point 22 may be the main entrance to the modular building 20. Figures 6 to 9 show the modular building 20 in more detail. The modular building 20 extends from a first end 20a to a second end 20b, wherein the first end 20a is configured to engage the hub building 10 and the second end 20b is distal to the first end 20a. Figure 6 illustrates the first end 20a of the modular building 20, and Figure 7 shown an embodiment of the second end 20b. As shown in Figure 6, the modular building 20 is telescopically extendable. This can allow the modular building 20 to be increased or decreased in size as necessary. For example, if the modular building 20 is needed to house a larger number of inhabitants, it can be extended in size (for example see Figure 4 which shows different modular buildings 20 extended to various sizes). If a smaller number of inhabitants are to be housed, then the modular building 20 can be reduced in size. In order to achieve this, the modular building 20 may be formed of a plurality of building sections 27. The plurality of building sections 27 are of increasing size and slidably mounted to each other such that they can be nested within each other. This allows the at least one modular building 20 to be telescopically extendable and thereby increased or decreased in size. The modular building 20 may be extended using an external electric motor or manually. The telescopically extendable feature of the modular building 20 also improves their transportability. For transportation, the modular building 20 can be retracted to its smallest size so that it can more easily fit on a transportation vehicle. When the modular building 20 is deployed, it be extended to the desired size to house more inhabitants. The telescopic nature of the modular building 20 results in a flexibility and lightweight solution, since it can be contracted to a small size for transport and expanded to increase room for inhabitants when deployed. The building sections 27 may comprise watertight seal arrangements at each of the interfaces between adjacent building sections 27. This can prevent rain, for example, entering the modular building 20 via the interface. In addition, the at least one modular building 20 may comprise side windows, emergency doors on the sides, and skylight windows (shown in Figure 5) on their roofs to maximize natural light. The at least one modular building 20 may also comprise solar panels to produce electricity when the modular building 20 are disconnected from the hub building 10. The at least one modular building 20 comprises a smallest building section 27a and a largest building section 27b. When the modular building system 1 is assembled, the smallest building section 27a is connected to the hub building 10, as shown in Figure 4. In other words, the smallest building section 27a forms the first end 20a of the modular building 20 and the largest building section 27b forms the second end 20b of the modular building 20 This results in a more efficient use of space, since the size of the modular building 20 increases with distance from the hub building 10, where there is more room for the modular building 20. As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the modular building 20 and / or the building section 27 comprises two side walls 31 and a sloping roof 32 extending between the two side walls 31. The sloping roof 32 slopes upwardly to an apex as it extends away from the side walls 31. Curved sections 33 are present which blend the side walls 31 into the sloping roof 32. Each building section 27 may comprise a prism of constant cross section. The described shape provides strength to the modular building 20, which in turn allows the use of lightweight materials to aid transportability. The two side walls 31 diverge as they extend towards the sloping roof 32. The diverging side walls 31 result in rain from the roof 32 falling straight to the ground rather than down the side walls 31, which would be the case with vertical walls. This eliminates the need for external guttering. When the at least one modular building 20 is attached to the hub building 10, the sloping roof 32 of the modular building 20 is aligned with a sloping roof of the hub building 10. This allows rain on the hub building 10 to flow to the roof 32 of the at least one modular building 20 and subsequently fall to the ground (due to the diverging side walls 31 as described above). This eliminates the need for external guttering on the hub building 10. The largest building section 27b may have a different shape from the smallest building section 27a in that the curved sections 33 are larger. The building section 27 between the largest building section 27b and the smallest building section 27a may gradually change in shape between the two shapes shown. The gradual change in shape allows the building sections 27 to nest within one another (when not deployed) as each can be designed to fit within the next larger building section 27. However, all the building sections 27 comprise the side walls 31, sloping roof 32 and curved sections 33. In a less preferred embodiment when the modular building 20 is not telescopically extendable, the entire modular building 20 may have the cross section of the smallest building section 27a, shown in Figure 7. Also shown in Figure 7 is a possible arrangement of the hub building removable attachment means on an exterior of the modular building 20. In this arrangement, the removable attachment means comprises a plurality (such as five) attachment points 35 arranged near the side walls 31 and sloping roof 32 of the modular building 20. The attachment points 35 may comprise the vacuum cups, magnets, recesses, and / or protrusions as described above. The hub building 10 has corresponding attachment points which align with the attachment points 35 on the modular building 20. The modular building 20 is also shown to comprise the hub building utility connection point 37 next to the modular building access point 21. As shown in Figure 6, which shows the interior of the modular building 20, each of the building sections 27 may comprise two guide rails 29 at their base, in addition to the side walls 31 and sloping roof 32. The side walls 31 and sloping roof 32 extends between two guide rails 29. The side walls 31 and sloping roof 32defines the interior of the modular building 20 where residents can use. As illustrated, the two guide rails 29 may be located internally to the side walls 31 and sloping roof 32, i.e., within the interior of the modular building 20. This prevents the guide rails 29 from being exposed to the elements and extends their service life. Each building section 27 is mounted to the guide rails 29 of the next building section 27 which is one size larger. Alternatively, each building section 27 may be mounted to the guide rail 29 of the building section 27 which is one size smaller, but this would require the guide rails 29 to be external to the building section 27, so that a larger building section 27 can be mounted thereon. This mounted arrangement allows the building section 27 to be slidably mounted to one another. The building sections 27 may comprise a floor section, forming the lower surface of the building sections 27. Alternatively, separate flooring panels not part of the building sections 27 can be assembled within the at least one modular building 20 after it has been extended to its desired length. The flooring panels may be assembled to rest on the guide rails 29 of the building sections 27. This may allow the modular building 20 to be elevated, optionally on stilt-like structures, which is useful in flood-prone areas. In a further embodiment, the at least one modular building 20 may be placed on premade foundations, such as a flat concrete floor. This will enable quick deployment of the modular building 20 without the need to assemble additional flooring. In a further embodiment, shown in Figure 10, at least one of the building sections 27 of the modular building 20 is a mesh building section 27c. The mesh building section 27c comprises side walls 31 and a roof 32 formed of a mesh material. The mesh allows natural airflow into the modular building 20 and is particularly useful in hot climates. The mesh may be a wall perforated with small holes, like mosquito netting. The mesh may be formed of metal to ensure that intruders cannot enter and ensure safety of the modular building 20. Figures 11,12 and 13 show the modular building system 1 different configurations. Figure 11 shows the modular building system 1 in a configuration comprising more than one hub building 10. This can be used when additional shared space is required between the inhabitants of the modular buildings 20. In addition, the hub buildings 10 can be further adapted and combined to create larger shared spaces. This may be useful if the modular building system 1 is to be converted from a housing set-up to be used for another use such as schooling and / or a hospital. As shown in Figure 12, the at least one modular building 20 can be extended and retracted as required in situ. For example, in the event of strong winds or a hurricane which would pose a risk to the modular building system 1, the modular buildings 20 can be retracted as shown in Figure 8 such that they form a weight anchor that stabilises the modular building system 1. In such a situation the inhabitants of the at least one modular building 20 can take refuge in the hub building 10. The hub building 10 may comprise a delivery opening at the centre of its roof. The delivery opening may comprise a round opening for drones to deliver goods or medical supplies. The delivery opening would lead to a tube extending downwards onto which a sliding door would provide access from the interior of the hub building 10 to the tube. In a further embodiment, shown in Figure 13, the at least one modular building 20 and hub building 10 may be stacked upon a set of one or more further modular buildings 20’ and hub buildings 10’ to create a multi-storey dwelling. In such an embodiment, an external staircase 50 would be required to provide access between the storeys of the 5 modular building system 1.

Claims

1. A hub building for a modular building system, the hub building comprising:at least one external utility connection point, for connecting external utilities to the hub building;at least one hub access point for a user to enter and exit the hub; andat least one modular building removable attachment means on an exterior of the hub building for removably attaching at least one modular building to the hub building such that the hub access point is for access between the modular building and the hub building.

2. The hub building of claim 1, wherein the at least one external utility connection point comprises at least one connection point for one or more of:electricity;gas;water;wastewater;internet; and / ortelecommunications.

3. The hub building of claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one modular building removable attachment means comprises an arrangement formed of one or more of:vacuum cups or a sealing surface for receiving vacuum cups;magnets;recesses; and / orprotrusions.

4. The hub building of any preceding claim, wherein the hub building further comprises at least one modular building utility connection point for connecting utilities from the hub building to the at least one modular building, when the at least one modular building is attached.

5. The hub building of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one modular building removable attachment means comprises at least two, preferably at least four and even more preferably at least six modular building removable attachment means and hubaccess points for removably attaching at least two, preferably at least four, and even more preferably at least six modular building to the hub building such that each hub access point is for access between one of the modular buildings and the hub building.

6. The hub building of any preceding claim, wherein the hub building is separable from the ground.

7. The hub building of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the hub building is fixed to the ground and the at least one external utility connection point is connected to at least one external utility.

8. A modular building for a modular building system, the modular building comprising: a hub building removable attachment means on an exterior of the modular building for removably attaching the modular building to a hub building; anda modular building access point for a user to enter and exit the modular building, wherein the modular building access point is used to enter and exit the modular building from the hub when the modular building is attached to the hub.

9. The modular building of claim 8, further comprising at least one hub building utility connection point for connecting at least one utility from the hub building to the modular building.

10. The modular building of claim 8 or 9, wherein the modular building is telescopically extendable for allowing the modular building to be increased or decreased in size.

11. The modular building of any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the modular building comprises a plurality of building sections of increasing size slidably mounted to each other such that the plurality of building sections can be nested within each other.

12. The modular building of claim 11, wherein at least one of the building sections comprises walls formed of a mesh for allowing airflow.

13. The modular building of any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the modular building or each building section of the plurality of building sections comprises:two side walls;a sloping roof extending between the two side walls; and curved sections blending the two side walls into the sloping roof.

14. The modular building of claim 13, wherein the two side walls diverge as they extend towards the sloping roof.

15. A modular building system comprising:a hub building of any of claims 1 to 7; andat least one modular building, where the modular building is the modular building of any of claims 8 to 14, wherein:the at least one modular building removable attachment means and the hub building removable attachment means are complementary to one another; andthe at least one hub access point and the modular building access point are aligned when the at least one modular building and the hub building are attached to one another.

16. The modular building system of claim 15 wherein the hub building is the hub building of claim 5 and the at least one modular building comprises at least two, preferably at least four, and even more preferably at least six modular buildings.

17. The modular building system of claim 15 or 16, wherein the hub building is connected to an external utility via the external utility connection point and the modular building is the modular building of claim 9 and is connected to the external utility via the hub building utility connection point.

18. The modular building system of claim 17, wherein the external utility is electricity, and the hub building comprises a further external utility connection point for connection to a different external utility.

19. A method of assembling a modular building system, comprising: providing the modular building system of any of claims 15 to 18; and attaching the at least one modular building to the hub building by the at least one modular building removable attachment means and the at least one hub buildingremovable attachment means, such that the at least one hub access point and the modular building access point are aligned.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the at least one modular building is the modular5 building of claim 10 or 11, further comprising telescopically extending or contracting the at least one modular building to increase or decrease of the at least one modular building in size.10

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