Nationwide Building Society has launched the 2011 Nationwide Sustainable Housing Competition, in partnership with RIBA Competitions. This year's theme is Regeneration and judges will be looking for affordable housing designs that demonstrate the reuse of buildings and materials.
The competition is open to registered architects as well as architectural students, and for the first time competitors can choose to base their submissions on a "real" site at Hillington Square in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, which is set to undergo extensive regeneration. The submissions will be judged by a panel of experts including designer Wayne Hemmingway, who is leading the redesign of Hillington Square, and David Orr, Chief Executive of National Housing Federation.
Hillington Square is an estate of 320 bedsits and flats managed by Freebridge Community Housing, the largest not for profit housing provider in West Norfolk.
"The regeneration of Hillington Square is a priority for us and we are working with our partners, including Hemingway Design and mae architects, and the local community to redesign the estate into a place where people want to live, visit and work," commented Tony Hall, Chief Executive of Freebridge Community Housing. "We want to use design to enhance people's lives in Hillington Square. This is a really exciting project for us and the wider community of West Norfolk and we look forward to seeing the ideas generated for the estate through this competition."
Deadline for entries is October 18, 2011.