New exhibition explores solutions to London housing crisis

Howard Chapman, Buildingtalk Editor, reviews the NLA ‘New Ideas for Housing’ exhibition at The Building Centre in London that explores solutions to the housing crisis in the UK capital.

London is a victim of its own success – a wonderful city that attracts people from across the UK and around the world who want to live and work in the capital and share in its vibe and culture.

However, London has faced a growing ‘housing crisis’ for more than two decades – a crisis that at present levels of housing delivery can only get worse.

• 8.6m residents in Greater London
• 1.6m more people in next 20 years
• Adding 70,000 people and 34,000 jobs each year
• 50 – 60,000 new homes needed each year
• 20,000+ new homes delivered each year

New ideas for housing in London

New Ideas for Housing is an NLA Exhibition and series of events taking place from now until 17 December 2015 at The Building Centre in London.

New Ideas for Housing explores what needs to happen in the capital to improve the speed, scale and quality of housing.

• 3.4m dwellings
• 13% of privately rented homes are overcrowded [how eastern Europeans mange to survive, thrive & then relocate]
• 40% of owner-occupied homes have 2 or more spare bedrooms
• 61% of new build homes bought as an investment

NLA together with the Mayor of London brought together architects, contractors, manufacturers, economists and housebuilders to look at how these big numbers could be achieved through innovative solutions such as mass produced modular homes and purpose-built shared homes for multi-generation families.

Exhibition at The Building Centre includes

Buoyant Starts Floating Homes © Baca Architects

International Ideas Competition

• innovative thinking to improve the speed, scale and quality of housing supply
• 100 shortlisted ideas
• 10 winning ideas

London Housing Showcase  

New London Architecture invited architects, developers and planners to tell us about some of the best new housing developments across the city, whether recently completed, under construction or at design stage.

Located across 30 of London’s 33 boroughs, the 165 featured schemes show how building styles are evolving across London’s many housing typologies: mews houses, terraces, towers, estates, bungalows and mansion blocks.

The schemes will be on display at the NLA Galleries until Thursday 17 December, and are also available in a dedicated publication, available to purchase from The Building Centre café. 

Watch the Ideas for Housing London VIDEO that discusses:

• lack of affordable homes
• skills shortage in the sector
• need for new housing models and typologies
• how to deal with our ageing housing stock
• growing London’s density
• building on greenbelt land
• role of overseas investors
• exemplar schemes from London and further afield