Who should design our new houses?

Property developers are interested in one thing only, profit. How many houses can be built in the space. The ‘standard’ design passes planning easily and, with a few tweaks can be repeated across the country.
Few new development houses have solid internal walls and rooms dimensions have been reduced, or made open plan to combine living spaces.
The big developers have their ‘design’ team, rarely employing an Architect.

Typically the house buyer will buy what she or he regards as the best house which is available for a price they can afford in their area. This may be very far from what they would ideally like to buy but it is a question of supply and demand.

The volume housebuilders keep demand high by to some extent restricting supply. It is not a matter of lack of planning permissions. The developers deliberately hoard land and sites which have extant pp.

This is a discussion re architects, some , verified local companies, have designed homes that look not much better than my children could have designed, awful looking homes with absolutely no character. A recent one, called the Circle, could have had character, but non whatsoever, and so far non have sold at the exhorbitant prices asked by the developers.

Kayie59 I don't think they are designing what people want at all!
I think they are designing properties that are serviceable and cheap to mass build.

IF they were building what people REALLY wanted they would be innexpensive "eco homes" these days.

The government should impose minimum eco/green/sustainable standards on all new builds to include more eco heating systems such as heat exchange. They should be made to make the most of solar gain and reduce thermal bridging they should be built carefully and to last. They should be made to use sustainable materials in the building... and they should ban all block paving!

Just a few ideas to get started!

I wish builders would employ a few ordinary people to take a look at their plans. Too often there’s really frustrating design flaws that needn’t have happened with a bit of thought.

We looked at several nearly new houses for one of my sons last year, compared to the 1970/80s houses also viewed, they were smaller with less garden, interiors were compact but more practical.
New houses would be much cheaper to heat and easier to live in, in this area new build seems to sell off plans, they are of course built to a price, take your pick, even larger houses have small gardens. They would not sell if they were not what the buyer wanted!.

Part of the problem might be that fact that in the UK anyone, no matter how lacking in knowledge of design or construction, can design a building.

In spite of the arduous seven year training, architects have no "protection of function", only "protection of title" which means that unregistered people are prohibited from describing themselves as architects, though many do and get away with it.

The public is not generally aware of this, especially as unqualified people are generally careful not to describe themselves as architects on their websites or headed notepaper, using titles like "architectural consultant" or "building design consultant" or calling their practice something like "Fred Bloggs Architecture", which it seems, puts them beyond prosecution by the ARB.

I just wish architects would impose their dreams on our community. The design quality of most big developers houses is absolutely dire.

We already know that Robert Jenrick is a thicko and too much in the hands of the developers. he wouldn't recognise a good design unless £50 notes were flying out of the windows.

Shouldn’t it be mandatory for architects to be involved in the design of all housing projects large and small, particularly as we head towards a carbon zero future ?

If we are to create beautiful, safe and sustainable homes and landscaped environments incorporating modern methods of construction, renewable green energy provision, and smart technology, then surely these new homes should be designed by architects and not by unqualified building designers?

Personally I don't know why they aren't looking at non traditional construction to produce actual affordable housing but even if plans are put forward (like they were in MK some time ago) it just doesn't make developers the money they want from the land and dare I say it, the local authority too.

The Conservatives have received more than £11 million from some of the UK’s richest property developers and construction businesses since Boris Johnson became prime minister last July, an Open Democracy investigation has found.

Donations to the Tories from the property business increased significantly over the past year, with more than 120 individuals and companies connected to the sector giving money.

Just six leading Tory donors linked to the property sector gave more than £4.5 million since July – a four-fold increase in their donations from the final year of Theresa May’s premiership.

www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/exclusive-property-tycoons-gave-tories-more-than-11m-in-less-than-a-year/