We don't just design buildings, we set standards, shape opinion and contribute to books and papers, guidelines and reports. Our work has been in press and it's helped influence government thinking. Our efforts are directed towards making policy more practical and effective, campaigning for quality and fairness, finding creative ways to solve specific problems, and reflecting on lessons learned from 50 years in practice.
Resident training
Our post-occupancy research has highlighted that residents benefit from training when moving into new homes – especially where complex building services are installed in addition to passive design measures. We offer... Read more
Julia Park: BD’s housing columnist
The best thing about writing a column for BD is the added incentive to stay up to date and make time to think about what’s going on. In such busy... Read more
Altered Estates
London’s failure to keep up with the demand for additional homes has renewed interest in regenerating existing housing estates – to not only increase the quantity of homes but also... Read more
New Council Housing in Enfield
It’s been almost fifty years since we last saw large-scale ‘council-built housing’. From the 70’s this role effectively passed to housing associations, but following changes to borrowing restrictions, many local... Read more
Why Manchester’s new design guidance is something to be celebrated
From our window in the soon-to-be St. John’s Quarter, we can see a skyline peppered with cranes at work on numerous sites across Manchester. Our informal ‘crane survey’ tallies with... Read more
NHF Housing Standards Handbook
The National Housing Federation describes itself as the voice of affordable housing in England and part of its role has always been to promote good design and champion standards. Housing is... Read more
Superdensity: The Sequel
As the scope and concentration of development in London continues to rise, we see an increase from ‘superdensity’ to what we have dubbed ‘hyperdensity’ – surpassing 350 homes per hectare.... Read more
Housing our Ageing Population: Panel for Innovation (HAPPI)
This report considers how to best address the challenge of providing homes that meet the needs and aspirations of the older people of the future. A thirteen-member panel, chaired by Lord... Read more
Non-Mainstream Housing Design Guidance
Alongside PRP Architects, we carried out a thorough review of design guidance for all types of specialised housing. Rather than limiting our search to just older persons and supported housing –... Read more
Ashley Road Depot: path to net zero
Alongside Haringey Council, we developed the environmental aspirations for Ashley Road Depot to deliver a low carbon neighbourhood. The existing site, which houses a refuse depot, will be transformed into... Read more
Melfield Gardens: net zero one-pager
Phoenix Community Housing, the client for Melfield Gardens in Lewisham, shared our ambition to put the project on a path to zero carbon. This multi-generation scheme comprises 30 affordable homes... Read more