FLOOD PROOF HOMES
At the end of July, in collaboration with Norwich Union, The RIBA will be launching a competition to create a prototype flood-proof house on a site in the Thames Gateway. The Institute will also publish a new guide about Sustainable Design for Areas at Risk of Flooding.
BRE HOUSES
Criticism has been levelled at the work done by BRE, particularly the failure of two prototype houses, one of which was designed to achieve Code 6 and which received a blast of publicity and has since failed to meet construction standards.
ECO-TOWNS
ETs are coming in for a hammering. There now exists The Eco-Towns Challenge Panel which is talking to potential developers and setting out recommendations. Elsewhere, other bodies, such as the Local Government Association, say that there is risk that they will become the future ‘ecoslums’. Richard Rogers favours the urban brown field agenda. May of the public think that it is all just a large housing estate gimmick. The Government in turn has said that the 10 will not be forced through if the proposed schemes do not make the grade. Government plans for a competition to set the design standards has, apparently, been mothballed until at least October. And the Tories say they would scrap the the whole eco-town concepot anyway.
FMB SPEAKS OUT
The Government should promote a patchwork of small eco-projects, with contracts awarded by local regions and communities for both new homes (in existing towns, near existing transport links etc) and refurbishment of old buildings, with green measures spread around a range of proven technologies rather than creating new eco towns, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) in its response to the Government's consultation on 'Eco towns, Living a Greener Future'. Brian Berry , Director of External Affairs at the FMB said: “Eco towns are a misguided attempt to provide more homes on the premise that they will be beacons of sustainability.The reality is that we already know how to create sustainable settlements as demonstrated by the BedZed affordable eco-homes development in South London which has been a shining example to the UK housebuilding industry since 2002. The simple fact is that building brand new 'eco-towns' outside existing towns and cities is a really bad idea when there are 675,000 homes in England alone sitting empty, all ripe for refitting with green technologies. Given that demand for housing is right across the UK it makes more sense for every village, town and city to have new housing rather than creating brand new settlements."
SPACE OUT
The new London Plan will make Parker Morris space standards compulsory – better fit for purpose and better fit for the future.This throwback to the 60s is because London has some of the smallest rooms in Europe and anything up to the 15% smaller than those larger dimensions proposed for social housing developments in the 60s. Some commentators say that that a new home in the UK is even up to a half which you could expect on the nearer Continent. This apparently has not been warmly welcomed by the Home Builders’ Federation who think it is retro or indeed by developers.
MANUFACTURERS FEEL THE PAIN
The sharp decline in house building experienced since the start of the year has now translated into a dramatic fall in sales in the second quarter of 2008 for product manufacturers, according to the latest Industry Barometer from Ernst and Young and the Construction Products Association. This fall has delivered the lowest score since the Barometer was launched more than two years ago and the first time it has recorded below the “no-change” mark of 50. As a consequence the Barometer reading for Q2 records a score of just 41, almost half the figure recorded during the same quarter a year ago.
IS THIS AN ANSWER?
New research is being issued which will show how European models will hold the key to UK EcoTown development or indeed to any type of density development.
PRP architects, URBED and Design for Homes looked at Adamstown near Dublin (a private initiative in a rural area), Amersfoort (a small historic city in Holland with its three suburbs) Freiburg in Germany (with two new urban extensions), Hafen City Hamberg (the massive redevelopment of the port area) Kronsberg in Hanover (designed as part of the Export 2000 international exhibition) and Hammarby Sjostad (an urban extension of Stockholm).
The team identified the four key principles for success as being Vision, Planning, Resourcing and Implementation. There are a further 29 recommendations of which the 6Cs are most important – Connectivity, Community, Climate Proofing, Character, Collaboration, Cash Flow.
ROBOTS TO HELP OUT?
US scientists have developed robots using the same principles of electro-magnetics that make balloons stick to ceilings after being rubbed. The robots, developed by a team in SRI's Mobile Robotics and Transducers Programme, are around the size of a remotecontrolled car and have caterpillar tracks similar to those on toy tanks which enables them to walk up walls, even over dust. The technology could be used to enable robots to work in areas that are difficult for humans to go, such as tunnels or over the facades of large buildings.
BUILDING FOR LIFE
Entries for this year’s awards have now closed and the winners will be announced at a highprofile event in September Last year’s Building for Life winners included suburban homes which break the mould for Reading, affordable homes in deprived areas in the West Midlands and Yorkshire, sustainable homes built on an old Somerset oil depot, traditional homes in Cornwall, and urban regeneration schemes in London. They all share a commitment to high design standards, good place making and sustainable development in this major Award project sponsored by the Civic Trust, Design for Homes, English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation.
