Introduction

This is the second in a series of annual ideas competitions open to undergraduate architecture and design students.

For 2009-2010 the theme is ‘Suburban Urban – Secure and Green’ and prizes will be awarded for designs in either newbuild, refurbishment or community projects. The aim of the competition is to stimulate and reward innovative thinking about how people can live more sustainably in the future – picking up key characteristics of what might be recognised today as a ‘suburban’ lifestyle but developed in new ways to reflect ‘suburban’ values, ie. set in the context of a denser, more resource-efficient future.

Objectives

Nationwide Building Society, the third largest mortgage lender in the UK, has made their own corporate environmental commitments and wish to promote social, economic and environmental sustainability in housing.

In sponsoring this competition they seek to incentivise the design professionals and homeowners of the future, to take account of and be inspired by the challenges of sustainability in housing. In promoting and exhibiting the shortlisted entries, they also wish to focus the attention, and capture the imagination, of the wider public.

In developing ideas for high quality affordable housing of various kinds, the competition should also consider ideas and influences for the social and cultural context in which they are placed.

Context

‘Suburban Urban’ is not prescriptively described, but there should be an inherent assumption that designs will celebrate contact and interaction with landscape and ecology, be safe and child-friendly.

Recent research has explored public perceptions of suburban living – ‘peace and quiet, greenery, safety and privacy’ – in contrast to ‘life, diversity, convenience and excitement’ associated with urban life, and sought to stimulate debate as to why good living environments cannot have the best of both. Government’s new announcements on Ecotowns can be used as source material where the characteristics of a sustainable community are defined with parks, playgrounds and gardens making up 40% – two fifths – of the towns, and where children attending local zero carbon schools can make use of paths and cycle ways. Ecotowns are expected to improve biodiversity by creating new green infrastructure established as a framework for future development.

Such a picture can provide a contextual basis for the design of the home, groups of homes or the refurbishment of homes for the competition entries.

A hypothetical context must be described in broad terms in order to demonstrate the entrants’ response to the brief. In the case of refurbishment a specific context or existing building typology will need to be identified.

Requirements

Entries are expected to address all specific issues relevant to sustainability in the individual home and/or the wider community. These include:

• Low/zero operational energy.
• Reduction in embodied energy.
• Reduction in waste to landfill.
• Affordability in a whole life context.
• Visual interest, comfort and quality of life.
• Cultural/contextual reference.
• Conservation of Water.
• Biodiversity, Ecological enhancement and reducing food miles.
• Low-impact transport and movement with emphasis on walking and cycling.
• Adaptability, accessibility and security.
• Communities development and governance.
• Lifestyle flexibility e.g. livework, IT-enabled choices.

The entries are to consider the impact of vehicle deliveries and private cars and make reasonable provision for visitors, car clubs and low-carbon personal transport.

Entrants are invited to define or comment on the suitability of their proposals to different tenure types and different cultural/physical contexts.

The accompanying technical report should where possible describe specific expected outcomes or impacts arising from strategies, and make reference to relevant benchmarks. Social/economic strategies may have less measurable outcomes, and there will be acknowledgement that sustainability is a dynamic and location-specific concept.

Submission

Prizes Entries should be anonymous and comprise no more than 2 x A1 boards and an accompanying technical report at no bigger than A4 scale.

Drawings of internal layouts should be a minimum of 1:100 scale. Eligibility criteria must be satisfied, and a successful competitor must be able to satisfy the assessors that he/she is the bona fide author of submitted designs.

Judging

Assessment criteria will be based on the key considerations outlined in Requirements above, in either newbuild or refurbished homes categories, or in the category of neighbourhood/community.