The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) launched an ideas competition for homes designed for the private rental market.
Research has shown that an increasing number of households are renting rather than buying, with a predicted 1 in 5 UK households to be renting in 2016.
Renting homes in the UK has long been an ad-hoc arrangement of private landlords buying properties designed for sale, rather than developments designed with the long term renter in mind.
In 2012 the RIBA supported an independent inquiry into how more and better homes can be built in Britain, chaired by Sir John Banham, and published in The Future Homes Commission report.
The Wates Group and Wates Family Enterprise now seeks to build on this theme by exploring what a specifically designed privately rented suburban neighborhood might look like through the vehicle of a RIBA competition.
Open to architects and students of architecture worldwide, a total prize fund of £12,000 is on offer with £6,000 allocated for the first prize.
The winners and a selection of other designs will be showcased to the media, industry stakeholders and government representatives at a prestigious event to be held at the Florence Hall, RIBA on November 25, 2013.
The deadline for submissions is August 28, 2013.
more: ribacompetitions.com (583)