Who should design our new houses?

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/

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.

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?

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.

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.

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!.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Katie59 People need home so they buy what they can afford and what is available, often making big compromises in the process.

They also tailor what thay want to what they know is available to them in their price range.

Buying what you want is only for the very well heeled.

They need me?
No design experience at all but I have lived in houses, flats and bungalows throughout my life and I think, like a lot of you must, that I could do it better.
We would downsize if we could find a two bed bungalow that has decent size rooms, a utility and a study with a small but private garden. There aren’t any round here so we will stay put for a few more years.
Perhaps the planning rules don’t allow builders to do anything but fit as many homes into a space as possible?

new estates often offer financial incentives, mortgage advice, contribution to <whatever> too

Architects also have lived in houses, flats, and possibly bungalows, shared houses, cottages, semis, barn conversions and many other types of homes. Architects are humans, not robots. But the difference between architects and others is the seven year training in building design. Pamela

If you were to commission an architect to design a house for your family she would work with you to achieve the best possible design for your house on your site. It would not be a case of you saying "this is what I want please draw it" nor would it be a case of your architect telling you what to have. It is a team effort.

Sadly very few people in the UK ever have the opportunity to design their own home with an architect. Most live in second hand homes, or new homes built by large developers, so surely it is all the more important that developers should not be able to plonk down standard house types like a potato prints, but should be obliged to employ qualified professional architects to optimise the potential of a site and design sustainable beautiful homes which can accommodate a wide variety of people and lifestyles?

Varian did you notice the??
Obviously not.
That’s it I think for me. I’ll keep my humour for Real life.

No Pamela you migbt have meant this as a joke but it is often said quite seriohsly.

If you have been to school and your children have been to school you obviously know all there is to know about education - as much or more as someone who did four years of teacher training.

If you have been a victim of crime, once spoke to a bobby on the beat, had a part time job in a prison and served on a jury then you know enough to become a judge- you don't need to study law for five years.

If you have had two children, Stuck on plasters when they scraped their knees and you have had your appendix out and given your elderly relative her pills then you know all about medicine and don't need six years at medical school to become a doctor.

No, I've never heard such nonsense either. So why do folk believe that anyone who has lived in a house can design a building without bothering to study building design for seven years?

I have worked with two large building companies, they employ architects for design. They’d companies give the architects their remit, the architects design for the people who pay their wages. So they conform to current planning rules, including lifetime homes/code for sustainable homes etc so all boxes are ticked. After that’s done it’s ‘best bang for their buck’ design, they design to their employers requirement.

I really don’t care, just get them built!!!!

I'm glad that the companies you worked for did employ architects Jaxjacky Sadly they are among a small minority of volume developers.

Why has this discussion got so "hot" I wonder?

Surely all of us would like homes designed by architects to suit the client and the position?
You can have architect-designed one-offs (expensive) or small developments (a bit less expensive) or you can just go on building by volume using "standard house types". There is nothing much for the masses.

I'm sorry if you feel I've gone off-piste Lin52 but I think in any discussion about house-building these days we should be looking at "greener" alternatives.

The "code for sustainable homes" was last updated in 2015 as far as I'm aware. If so, it's way out of date.
Lifetime Homes standards were replaced by an optional "accessible and adaptable dwellings" standard, also in 2015 JaxJacky.

Nothing positive seens to be coming forward. So sad.

NotSpaghetti apologies, I left my job within a planning department in March 2016, missed that.

No need to apologise Jax I'm just fed up that there's no forward movement on the green agenda. Some individual places (Nottingham springs to mind) are definitely trying but why if we want to "build back better" aren't we starting with buildings!

Ed Davey, now leader of the Liberal Democrats, was very successful in promoting green policies when he was Minister for Energy and Climate Change in the coalition government, but in 2015 the Tories chose to reverse much of the
progress that had been made, whilst continuing to claim credit for those LibDem policies which they had not reversed.

"Nine green policies killed off by the Tory government
Onshore wind, solar, green homes ... we round up the measures that have gone under the knife in what some are calling the worst period for UK environmental policy in 30 years"

www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/24/the-9-green-policies-killed-off-by-tory-government