18 THURSDAY 18 JUNE 2015 THE INDEPENDENTM
News
Housing schemes are the new stars of British architecture
Modern housing development in Britain has a reputation for poor
quality, cheap materials and unimaginative design.
But increasing numbers of UK architects are proving that
mass-housing schemes can possess style and flair, with eight such
developments today named among the best new buildings in the
country.
The projects, from housing association properties to lux-ury
apartments, are among the 37 winners of this years Royal Institute
of British Architects (Riba) National Awards, the most prestigious
awards for new buildings in the UK.
The unprecedented number of housing schemes on the list comes
just four years after Riba hit out at many new develop-ments for
being shameful shoe-box homes.
While other, more eye-catching winners of this years awards
included a fishing hut, a whisky distillery and the transformation
of the National Theatre, Riba called the high-quality housing
developments the stand-out trend of 2015.
Architect Philip Gumuch-dijian, the chair of the Riba Awards
group, said: There is obviously a desperate need for housing. It
can be difficult to create beautiful spaces when there is a formula
but this is a year of good architecture.
He added that the nomi-nated projects showed it was possible to
build exceptional new housing developments that are profitable,
sustainable and desirable places to live.
Housebuilders were improv-ing their schemes not just to
differentiate themselves from the competition but because they know
that well-designed buildings are less likely to face local planning
objections, Mr Gumuchdijian added.
The housing projects on this years Riba list included the
regeneration of more than 200
homes in the Gorbals district of Glasgow. Another is Darbi-shire
Place in Whitechapel, east London, for the Peabody housing
association. It is a super-high-quality block that is beautifully
crafted, Mr Gumuchdijian said.
Among the private-housing developments honoured were the 14
distinctive homes in the heart of St Andrews old town, as well as
Richard Rogers NEO Bankside towers in Lon-don. The idea of making
large mansion blocks lost its way for many years, but appears to be
coming back, which is great, Mr Gumuchdijian said.
He also hailed the small private developments such as Parkside
in Matlock, Der-byshire, which is clad in local millstone block.
They are producing beautiful places in
historical context improving the local town. Its brilliant.
Another trend on this years list is the renaissance of bricks,
the dominant material among the award winners.
The Riba president, Stephen Hodder, said it was an intrigu-ing
development, adding: Brick is firmly established in the British
psyche as a safe, long-lasting, familiar material. Architects are
using it more and more. People are interested less in fake bricks
but more in real brickwork and craftsmanship.
This comes despite a brick shortage in the UK, with the
Federation of Master Build-ers warning that housing projects would
be threatened as contractors wait for as long as two months to get
deliveries of bricks.
R I BA S B E S TTO P E I G H T B U I L D I N G S
St Mary of Eton Church (above), Hackney Wick, east LondonNEO
Bankside, south-east London Brentford Lock West, west
LondonDarbishire Place, White-chapel, east LondonAbode (left),
Great Kneight-on, CambridgeParkside, Matlock, DerbyshireWest Burn
Lane, St AndrewsLaurieston Transformational Area (below),
Glasgow
For so long the poor relation of Britains buildingboom, mass
developments today feature inRibas annual awards. N I C K C L A R K
reports on howthey may at last be attracting architects with
style
It is possible to build desirable, sustainable places to
live
Building around St Mary of Eton Church in east London,
architects have created 27 new homes
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