Government launches Home of 2030 competition to deliver homes fit for the future

A design competition to attract the best and brightest talent in the housing industry to design the homes of the future has been launched by the Housing Minister, Christopher Pincher.

A cross-departmental initiative funded by HM Government and led by BRE, with Design Council, MOBIE and RIBA, the Home of 2030 competition is a bold initiative that has been set up to drive innovation in the provision of affordable, healthy and green homes for all.

The competition has been informed by insight taken from four recent interactive workshops led by Design Council, where local communities across the UK shared their thoughts on the homes they will want and need in 2030.

Making new homes desirable to all demographics is key to the Home of 2030 challenge, ensuing homes can adapt to changing needs, in particular an ageing society. Small businesses, designers and manufacturers are now being invited to come forward with ideas for new low carbon, age-friendly homes, meeting the highest standards of design.

Elli Thomas, Lead Programme Manager on the Home of 2030 project, Design Council said: “We will all want different things from our homes in the future, but this means new ideas and innovation now to make it happen. Sustainability, accessibility, affordability and health have been big themes from our public engagement work so far. There is a huge amount of sector knowledge in these areas already so we want to encourage entries from right across the built environment community – not just architectural practices of every size but modular homes pioneers, larger housebuilders, contractors, designers, innovators and other supply chain partners. If you haven’t considered entering an architectural competition previously this could be the one for you.”

Housing Minister Christopher Pincher MP said: “This competition will harness all that technology has to offer to bring in a housing revolution: new low carbon homes that deliver low energy bills and independent living for older generations The new gold standard of building will have the future in mind – not just in the United Kingdom, but worldwide.”

Minister for Clean Growth and Energy Kwasi Kwarteng said: “Levelling up environmental standards in new housing across the country is essential to end our contribution to climate change. This Government is also investing over £6 billion to improve the energy efficiency of existing homes, and during this Year of Climate Action we plan to go further to decarbonise buildings, with low carbon heating central to that.”

As part of the competition, applicants will submit an outline design for homes that are:

• Age-friendly & inclusive – appealing to a variety of age groups and adaptable to how needs will change as people become older
• Low environmental impact – applying technology and construction techniques to deliver net zero carbon emissions
• Healthy living – promoting better health and wellbeing, such as through access to green spaces and communal areas
• Deliverable & scalable – homes that can be rolled-out across the country 

Three finalists will have the opportunity to partner with developers to deliver homes on a site owned by Homes England.

Entries will be judged by an expert panel to produce a shortlist of six applicants. The six will be asked to develop detailed plans for a specific site scheme. All six will receive £40,000 of funding to help them deliver their plans. Three winning entries will then be chosen, and winners will be introduced to Homes England development partners to explore the possibility of developing bids for a series of homes on Homes England land. 

To enter the competition, visit the Home of 2030 website. The first phase of the competition will run until Wednesday 15 April.