Entries now open for 2010 Building for Life awards

Entries are now open for this year’s Building for Life awards.

Building for Life is the national standard for well-designed homes and is used by the government as a measure of housing quality. Each year the Building for Life awards celebrate the best new homes and neighbourhoods in England.  

The awards are organised by CABE and the Home Builders Federation. All entries are formally assessed by some of Britain’s leading housing experts using the Building for Life criteria. They select outstanding schemes to receive a Building for Life award at a prestigious event later in the year.

The 2009 awards showed that housebuilders are increasingly creating the kinds of places where people want to live. Two of the seven winners last year – Lime Tree Square in Street, Somerset, and Cross Street South in Wolverhampton – earned the highest scores ever given to new housing developments since the Building for Life initiative began in 2002. The winners were chosen from a record 36 schemes receiving a Building for Life standard.

Wayne Hemingway, designer and chair of Building for Life, said:

‘Building for Life pushes developers, architects and planners to think a lot harder about what makes a good home, about what people want, wherever they are. Last year’s awards raised expectations for even better this year, so I’m looking forward to seeing more outstanding schemes – and more evidence that housing quality is on the rise.’

Stewart Baseley, Executive Chairman of the Home Builders Federation, added:

‘The Building for Life awards provide a clear demonstration of the progress developers continue to make with regard to design and I would encourage them to put forward their new developments for consideration.’

Notes to editors

• The deadline for entries is Friday 28 May 2010. Developers, housing associations, architects and planners can enter for this year’s awards if:
  • the scheme – or phase of the scheme – was completed after 1 April 2009
    or
  • the scheme – or phase of the scheme – is at least 50 per cent complete by 28 May 2010. This must include not only buildings but also landscaping and public realm, so that the entry can be assessed against all the Building for Life criteria.
• The winners will be announced in November 2010.
• For more information about the awards and how to enter, see www.buildingforlife.org/awards/how-to-enter
• The Building for Life standard is awarded to housebuilders and housing associations who demonstrate a commitment to high design standards, good place making and sustainable development. Building for Life is an initiative led by CABE and the Home Builders Federation. www.buildingforlife.org
• Developments are assessed against the 20 Building for Life criteria. Those that meet 14  of the criteria receive a silver standard, and those fulfilling at least 16 criteria receive a gold standard.
• Government now includes the Building for Life standard in its annual monitoring return core indicators for local and regional planning authorities.
• CABE is the government’s advisor on architecture, urban design and public space. As a public body, we encourage policymakers to create places that work for people. We help local planners apply national design policy and offer expert advice to developers and architects. We show public sector clients how to commission buildings that meet the needs of their users. And we seek to inspire the public to demand more from their buildings and spaces. Advising, influencing and inspiring, we work to create well-designed, welcoming places. www.cabe.org.uk
• The Home Builders Federation (HBF) is the principal representative body for private sector home builders and voice of the home building industry in England and Wales. The HBF’s 300 member firms account for some 80 per cent of all new homes built in England and Wales in any one year, and include companies of all sizes, ranging from multi-national, household names through regionally based businesses to small local companies. www.hbf.co.uk