Design
Competition

Background

The Home of 2030 competition seeks to develop a home that will help tackle the key challenges facing our society. It focuses on solving multiple issues: to generate new typologies and products that are age friendly and inclusive, address health and wellbeing but at the same time harness new and evolving techniques and technologies for a low carbon and energy efficient future. The competition is focused on deliverability, cost-effectiveness and design quality and addressing gaps that there may be in the market, due to the following:

  • By 2030, 21.8% of the UK population will be over 65 years old1. Between 2016 – 2036 the projected population change shows an increase of 36% of people aged 65 – 79 and a 69% increase in those aged 80+. The Government’s Ageing Society Grand Challenge mission is for people to enjoy 5 more years of healthy, independent living by 2035.
  • It is estimated that illness and injuries caused by poor housing costs the NHS £2 billion per year in the first-year treatment costs2 with those spending most time at home being especially affected.
  • Work and travel trends are set to change significantly, with more people working from home and for longer. This will be combined with growing demands for digital and smart technologies in the home.
  • Around 20% of homes in England overheat, and 1.8 million people live in areas at significant risk of flooding. Conversely, areas of the UK with the greatest housing demands suffer from water scarcity3.
  • Homes are responsible for 14% of carbon emissions in the UK. By 2030, this needs to reduce by a minimum of 24%, with new homes which are low carbon, ultra energy-efficient and climate resilient3 . As we move to zero (operational) carbon in new homes, the focus is shifting to embodied carbon and other impacts associated with the resources used to construct them.
  • It is estimated that around 240,000–340,000 homes per year need to be built by mid-2020s to meet current housing requirements. Irrespective of increasing number of households and rising real incomes, new housing supply has been steadily decreasing since the 1970s. This is contributing to unaffordability and unsuitability of homes to changing needs4.
  • Public engagement carried out in formulating this brief shows emerging recognition that there is a general dissatisfaction with current housing options and growing appetite for fresh thinking and innovation to encourage community cohesion, inclusiveness and increased social connections, which when coupled with active lifestyles contributes to greater independence, healthy ageing and better support mechanisms in times of crisis.

The Home of 2030 competition is a cross Government initiative that brings together MHCLG (the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, responsible for housing supply, standards, planning and building safety), BEIS (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, responsible for innovation and business strategy) and DHSC (Department of Health and Social Care, responsible for health, wellbeing and issues arising from an ageing population). Each of the departments is seeking a benefit: increased housing supply through greater diversity in the market, improved quality and standards in homes through innovation and technology, and social, environmental and economic benefits arising from better health outcomes. Homes England, the Government’s housing accelerator, are engaged in the initiative and may lead a subsequent development phase subject to successful development bids by Homes England Delivery Panel and Winner consortia.

objectives

The core Two-Phase open ideas competition aims to achieve the following 4 objectives:

1.
age friendly and inclusive living


Address a gap in the housing market for new homes which appeal to and cater for a variety of age groups, adaptable to changing uses and needs over lifetime for a healthy and inclusive community.

2.
low environmental impact


Applying technology and construction techniques that will deliver net zero emissions and high quality outcomes, reduced fuel bills and improved occupant health.

3.
healthy living


Promoting better health and wellbeing to enhance quality of life within homes.

4.
deliverable and scalable


Solutions that can deliver market needs at scale and are cost-effective.

Evaluation Weighting

Evaluation of anonymous entries to Phase One of the competition will be based on the following weighting:

• Response to the brief

%

which comprises the key objectives:

•  Age friendly and inclusive living

%

•  Low environmental impact

%

•  Healthy Living

%

•  DELIVERABLE and scalable

%

• Overall quality of the design approach

%

• Creativity and innovation

%

outcomes

The outcomes we are seeking are:

  • New typologies in the market for inclusive, age friendly homes, including innovative new responses and options;
  • New products that are replicable and deliverable to increase housing supply through greater diversity;
  • Increased environmental and energy performance of new homes;
  • Lower environmental impact of housing development;
  • Improved health outcomes to enhance people’s wellbeing and happiness and to help save on costs and pressures on health services and social care;
  • New developers, contractors, supply chains funders and delivery partnerships;
  • Following the competition we also hope that new funding streams will come forward to invest in adaptable housing

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