IDENTIFYING CREATIVE SOLUTIONS TO THE LONDON HOUSING CRISIS

London architects ColladoCollins have launched their Residential Design Guide, an analysis of the housing market and response through efficient design. The Guide features a foreword by Sir Edward Lister, Chairman of the Homes and Community Agency and provides a holistic view of the sector written in partnership with town planning consultants DP9, costs consultancy Gardiner & Theobald, valuers DS2 and sustainable design experts Twin & Earth.

In his introduction Sir Edward Lister advocates that through ‘the creative thought of practitioners, the objectives of quality, wellbeing and sustainability across the housing sectors and tenures is readily available.’ This is particularly important as modern day residential architecture is under more regulatory and standard restrictions than ever, meaning creativity amongst all stakeholders is essential whilst trying to design for people’s economic and social needs.

A key part of the Guide is looking at Mayor Sadiq Khan’s ‘Homes for Londoners’ policy published in August 2017 and outlining how the industry can respond to the challenge of affordable housing. The Guide highlights four areas of focus:

· Policies and Guidance - looking at how changes to legislation impact on designers and commentary from DP9 on the Mayor of London’s Homes for Londoners policy

· The importance of value - considering how developers can achieve greater efficiencies from projects

· Design and commercial considerations - this section features recommendations on how new residences should contribute to their locations, with considerations on physical context, character and sustainability

· Designing for residential buildings - ColladoCollins provides its expert insight on the roles of efficiency, aspect and orientation of dwellings, building grouping and provision of amenities in designing homes.

Roy Collado, Founder of ColladoCollins comments on the Guide:

“This Guide is a direct response to one of the biggest issues of our time. The housing crisis needs an industry response to inform the government and succeeding governments of the work that needs to be done. We believe designers and developers can create robust solutions and maximise residential homes’ potential both for investors and residents. We are proud to have leading industry figures contribute their views and I hope the Guide will stimulate debate and ultimately offer progression.”