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Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP, Minister of State for Housing, has announced the joint winners of the Home of 2030 design competition, which celebrates age-friendly and adaptable homes for independent living.

Launched in March 2020 and managed by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the competition encourages the design of environmentally friendly homes that support people in leading independent, fulfilling lives.

+Home designed by igloo Regeneration with Useful Projects, Expedition Engineers and Mawson Kerr, and Connector Housing designed by Openstudio with Hoare Lea, LDA Design and Gardiner & Theobald are the joint winners of the competition.

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Connector Housing is a flexible and adaptable system for age-friendly, multi-generational housing and neighbourhoods. It proposes varying densities of houses and apartments, with a variety of site configurations, vertical heights, external appearances and internal layouts that can be adapted to respond to changing occupant needs.

The +Home scheme proposes community-led self-build homes that people can design themselves. Simple to build with affordable frames and components, the homes would be climate friendly and recyclable at the end of their use.

Speaking at the HOMES UK conference, Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP said: “The Home of 2030 competition was born out of this Government’s ambition to meet the grand challenges of our time: helping our country adapt to an ageing society, whilst fighting climate change and boldly pursuing our 2050 net zero commitments.

“Two entries really captured the judges’ imaginations – their designs show the way housing in this country can be reimagined and for that I would like to sincerely congratulate both winners of these worthy awards.”

The winners and other shortlisted teams will now be invited to meet Homes England’s development partners to discuss their ideas further.

RIBA President Alan Jones commented: “Congratulations to the two winning design teams. The UK urgently needs new, affordable, well-designed, accessible and sustainable housing that will last for future generations – and these two proposals provide exactly that.

“The winning schemes show what’s possible when architects and designers collaborate and offer intelligent solutions to tackle the housing shortage we currently face.”

The need for more age-friendly and accessible housing has been making headlines recently. A new survey by Later Life Ambitions and the Associated Retirement Community Operators (ARCO) shows that nearly 90 per cent of people think the UK Government should widen housing options for older people (LINK).

The survey also found that 56 per cent are interested in moving, rising to 70 per cent if to somewhere with care and support is available as an alternative to a care home, yet 53 per cent say their local area does not have enough downsizing options, including those with care needs.

Following the announcement of the Home of 2030 winners, Henry Smith, Senior Programme Manager – Homes at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “Affordability, sustainability and accessibility are key to tackling the housing crisis and ensuring we can meet future housing needs. It’s fantastic then to see that the winners of the Home of 2030 competition reflect these important criteria.

“The homes we build now must be built with more than just the first occupants in mind. Estimates suggest that the houses built today need to last 200 years if we are to address climate change. During that period a typical home might be occupied by up to 20 different households of around 70 individuals, not to mention the thousands of people who will visit.

“House should be built for all ages and with an ageing population in mind – a home built to be accessible means it’s suitable for any type of person who may choose to live there, now or in the future. Accessible homes also enable people to remain active and independent for longer, can delay or put off moves to specialist housing such as care homes and can decrease the overall cost on health and social care for individuals as well as the taxpayer.”

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