The future of social housing?

Oliver Wainwright

Leaky concrete towers and warrens of low-rise semis might be what social housing conjures to mind, a stereotype that still clings to the identikit blocks rolled out across post-war Britain, many since left to rot. When we have been lucky enough to see any new social housing built in more recent times, it has usually been the preserve of builders following standard plans, or the work of big anonymous architecture firms beloved of council framework agreements.

But today, one of London's oldest and largest housing associations, Peabody, offers a glimmer of hope that things could be different. The 150-year-old trust has announced a shortlist of designs by 20 young architects that could become blueprints for the next generation of affordable homes.

“We know there's a lot of talent out there, but it's just not being used,” says Claire Bennie, development director at Peabody, who organised the open competition. “The smaller practices just can't make it through the EU procurement rules that most housing associations use, due to onerous requirements on turnover and the sheer size of the documents to fill out.”

Peabody selected three London sites – two in Hackney and another in Islington – and asked applicants to submit just two A3 boards, one of a completed project and one of their design for the site of their choice. There was no requirement to declare turnover or propose a fee, which has avoided the usual cut-throat lottery of fee bidding.

“We wanted to remove fees from the equation,” says Bennie. “We didn't want that to be part of the decision-making process. Design is the key criteria and we want the best people.”

The competition drew over 300 entries, from established practices to recent graduates, and the shortlist of 20 will now be whittled down to a panel of six to eight firms, who will be able to bid for forthcoming Peabody projects of 20 homes or fewer. Entries ranged from clever takes on the terraced house to a curvaceous redbrick tower and a block with allotments on the roof.

Three past winners of Building Design's Young Architect of the Year award feature on the list, including Hall McKnight, mid-listed for the 2013 Stirling Prize for their MAC arts venue in Belfast, and David Kohn, architect of the boat-shaped hotel perched atop the Southbank Centre.

Other shortlisted architects include Adam Khan, designer of a floating visitor centre for Brockholes nature reserve near Preston, and Pitman Tozer, who have already designed a 67-home scheme for Peabody in Bethnal Green, completing next month. But few others on the list have any experience of designing affordable housing.

“That doesn't matter – I know they can all do it,” says Bennie. “I worked as an architect in housing for 10 years, so I know what they're capable of. I don't think I'm making Peabody take a big risk in using them.”

The housing association, which owns and manages more than 20,000 homes across London, and is aiming to ramp up its output to 1,000 new homes a year, expects to have the first of the new schemes ready for planning within nine months.

Bennie hopes the competition will set an example for other house-builders, including local authorities, which have recently been freed up to build their own housing. A rule change now allows councils to spend housing rental income on building new homes, helped along by a relaxation of local authority borrowing caps in December.

“I know some local authorities, like Newham, are already working to get smaller practices involved,” says Bennie. “But the others shouldn't be scared. It's easy, and hopefully we'll end up with some lovely, beautiful buildings that will really stand the test of time.”