Entries open for best new places to live

Entries are now open for the 2009 Building for Life awards.

Building for Life is the national standard for well designed homes, used by the government to measure housing quality. In their seventh year, the Building for Life awards 2009 will celebrate great new schemes delivered despite the recession.

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 present with a Building for Life Award at a prestigious ceremony later in the year.

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

‘These awards are all about celebrating the kind of ‘good ordinary’ places we all want to live in. You might think that any homes are good enough with almost two million people on waiting lists for social housing. But quality matters whether you’re in a boom or a recession.’

Last year’s six winners range from a small town-centre regeneration project in Stockport to townhouses in Brighton and the redevelopment of a large ex-military site in East London. A further 18 schemes achieved the Building for Life standard.

Notes to editors

• The deadline for entries is 30 June 2009. The winners will be announced in November 2009. New housing developments must be at least 50 per cent complete to qualify for entry.
• To submit your application form, download an application form from 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
• Government now includes the Building for Life standard in its annual monitoring return core indicators for local and regional planning authorities.
• Developments are assessed by the 20 Building for Life criteria. Those that meet 14 out of the criteria will be given a silver standard, and those fulfilling at least 16 criteria receive a gold standard.
• To find out more about the changes needed to avoid more poor quality design when the housing market recovers read No more toxic assets: time for fresh thinking on house building, written by CABE’s chief executive Richard Simmons.
• 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