A soaring population and a lack of affordable housing has led to an overwhelming number of people needing accommodation in London.
Latest figures show that 80% of all new housing built in London is only affordable for 20% of the population.
A new exhibition organised by think-tank, New London Architecture, will exhibit creative solutions for London’s housing shortage.
From floating houses on the Thames, to "cube" designs stacked on top of one another, ideas range from the wonderful to the bizarre, offering an insight into the true extent of London’s housing crisis and how it can be solved.
The NLA competition, set up in association with the Mayor of London, saw submissions from designers, architects, planners, developers, housing associations and decision-makers across the world.
Future London housing
Floatopolis (01 of12)
Open Image ModaldRMM Architects propose new floating neighbourhoods in London called Waterhoods. Instead of “paving over” open water as was done with London’s lost rivers, they will create new floating facilities such as lidos, open-air cinemas, creative workspace, cafés, schools and housing. Waterhoods tackle the problem of access to and affordability of developable land, but also a future in which flooding and rising sea levels will change the cityscape.
Buoyant Starts(02 of12)
Open Image ModalThis proposal, submitted by Floating Homes Ltd with Baca Architects, would create 7,500 new fixed-placed floating homes on London’s canal and river network, which the designers believe could be completed in just six to 12 months.
Gap Housing (03 of12)
Open Image ModalAkira Yamanaka Architects' submission aims to create micro-housing in the gaps between terraced and semi-detached homes. Urban typologies of terraced and semi-detached houses can be densified by utilising the gaps between houses. A 100-metre stretch of a street in Southeast London was chosen to investigate the potential. Five small houses could be added to the area of about thirty terraced/semi-detached houses. If we could add a half of this rate to London’s residential streets of these typologies, this would supply more than 100,000 new households, where no potential was previously assumed. This approach would unleash crowd-based and bottom-up initiatives.
Community Led Intensification by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (FCBS)(04 of12)
Open Image ModalFCBS propose community-led development as a solution for helping deliver homes while creating a positive local impact. Community members would identify development opportunities in London via an app, helping establish ‘micro-development zones’ for housing delivery
Intimate Infrastructures(05 of12)
Open Image ModalIn response to the drastic urban changes occurring in East London, Natasha Reid Design proposes an alternative to more dominant forms of volume house-building and provides solutions for both private renters in the form of purpose-built shared homes, as well as considering the needs of local communities vulnerable to displacement. By drawing upon the existing collision of domestic spaces and industrial structures found in Poplar, the study explores a toolkit approach to bringing together humanly-scaled typological components within a large scale “infrastructure” framework for delivering higher densities of homes on available land. This generates an intimate, complex and vibrant urban realm of dense, overlapping spaces, uses and people.
Living Arteries(06 of12)
Open Image ModalLondon’s rail transportation system is split between The London Underground, which shares land with other uses above it, and the railways, which generally do not. Benjamin Marks believes it would be possible to substantially increase the amount of land available for homes if we were to build over our overground rail network. 1% of Greater London’s land area is taken up by railways, comprising about 1,522 hectares. By building over just a quarter of this - at 140 homes per hectare - it would be possible to deliver more than 53,000 homes on land currently not considered available for use.
Terrace Upcycle (07 of12)
Open Image ModalThis scheme by Adams + Collingwood Architects involves renovating the terraced house with altered planning legislation and government-assisted funding. This could provide one new dwelling per typical terraced house by adding a single storey, with roof terrace, and a full height extension to the back. This would be a cost-effective solution to the current housing crisis whilst retaining and reviving a valued London housing typology.
Ministry of Densification of Suburbia (MODS) (08 of12)
Open Image ModalHal Architects seeks to address the potential for London’s suburban edges to provide well designed housing to meet growing demand. Homeowners would partner with a development company to build on existing and underutilised land in each of London’s outer boroughs.
The Streets(09 of12)
Open Image ModalA city such as London’s built area includes more than 9,000 miles of streets - over a third of the built surface area is given over to streets which is typical of most global cities. Emerging research is demonstrating that our street network must change to facilitate autonomous vehicles and future proof infrastructure. NBBJ believe this represents a fantastic untapped resource for development and future housing provision, one which can meet our housing needs for the next 40 years.
Y:Cube(10 of12)
Open Image ModalRogers Stirk Harbour + Partners are working with the YMCA London South West to develop an economical and innovative housing solution, providing self-contained and affordable starter accommodation for young people who have previously been living in hostels and other short stay housing schemes. The Y:Cube units are 26m2 one-bed studios, for single occupancy, that arrive on site as self-contained units. Each unit is constructed in the factory with all the services already incorporated. Therefore, water, heating and electricity can be easily connected to existing facilities or other Y:Cubes already on site.
[nest] (11 of12)
Open Image ModalStride Treglown Limited's [nest] would quickly, affordably, and efficiently erect off-site manufactured, high quality modular housing above hundreds of existing retail surface carparks with ten year licences, providing 30% of the 6,500 annual homes. Local people would qualify for tenancies via loyalty cards by spending money in local shops. Meanwhile the most appropriate long term development solution would be found.
Custom Build Igloo (12 of12)
Open Image ModalCustom Build is normal throughout the developed world and new-build rates are much higher than in the UK, by HomeMadeTM Homes
Claire Bennie, architect and housing development specialist, and former development director at Peabody, said: “Scanning the literature about London from the mid-nineteenth century onwards reveals that a housing crisis, whether of supply or affordability, has dogged London since its first industry-inspired expansion.
“The causes and attempted remedies have been different over the 150 intervening years, but the ‘holy grail’ that London’s housing supply should meet its demand in both numbers and quality (including affordability) seems to have eluded all generations including our own.”
Peter Murray, chairman of NLA, added: “If necessity is the mother of invention, right now London should be experiencing a highly creative period as far as housing is concerned. But we aren’t producing enough housing of the right kind in the right places.”
Richard Blakeway, deputy mayor for housing, land and property, added: “We need to build many more new homes in London.
“For decades, the number of homes built has not kept pace with population growth. For many Londoners, housing availability is their greatest concern and addressing the shortage is now one of the biggest challenges facing our city.”
New Ideas for Housing will run alongside an extensive set of talks, debates, site visits and seminars. A major public debate will also be hosted by the NLA in November.