Proving that good design can be affordable, Richard Rogers Partnership (RRP) has been selected to build a house for £60k.

The unique partnership between RRP and George Wimpey combines high quality, architecturally driven design with the expertise of the UK’s largest house builder.  The product of this collaboration is an exciting, innovative design which meets the ODPM’s aim to provide sustainable, quality housing at a low cost.

The RRP/Wimpey approach examines the architecture of the house building process itself and the methods that underlie construction. 

The aim of the design is to rationalise the fabrication process, both on and off-site, enabling customisation without compromising quality.  It pulls together those parts of a house that are small and complex in nature, creating a highly standardised and thoroughly tested volume. These highly serviced spaces (bathrooms, kitchens etc) are standardised across the entire range of house types.

The remainder of the space is treated as a flexible shell, unencumbered by services and structural peculiarities. The volume is adaptable for orientation, regional variation of scale, proportion, material and life-long living, with an inherent flexibility both in the short and long-term.  It allows the most appropriate construction methods and materials to be adopted for each specific site, as well as offering the freedom to respond to both future technologies and social changes.

From among thirty three contenders, nine organisations have been selected to proceed to the final stage of the Design for Manufacture competition.   They now have the opportunity to bid to build their houses on sites around the UK.  The competition is set to create around 1,000 homes across 10 public sector owned sites.

For more details on the Design for Manufacture competition, please go to http://www.odpm.gov.uk

or contact Vicky Smith, RRP Press Officer on 0207 746 0411