Igloo Regeneration, the development management company behind specialist East Midlands based developer Blueprint, has been announced as just one of six finalists of the Government’s Home of 2030 competition.
The team at Igloo, alongside team partners, MawsonKerr and sustainability consultants Useful Simple Trust, has made the final stages of this cross-government initiative, which includes MHCLG*, BEIS** and DHSC***. It aims to drive innovation in the provision of affordable, efficient and healthy green homes for all – principles on which Blueprint bases its award-winning developments, which currently include Trent Basin and Meadows Green.
Commenting on the successful competition bid, Sam Veal, Chief Executive at Blueprint said: “We are so pleased to share this news. Alongside Igloo and our own partners, we are passionate about the delivery of low energy, sustainable, design led neighbourhoods that enrich our communities and offer up new homes that can create attractive, affordable and efficient places to be.
“Any initiative, any campaign, that promotes that message to a wider public and the wider housebuilding industry has our full support.”
The winning entry: The igloo entry is called +Home.
+Home helps communities to build green, walkable, vibrant neighbourhoods themselves, bypassing traditional housebuilders.
Instead of standard house designs, it proposes community-led and self-build homes that people can design themselves.
The homes are simple to build, with flexible, affordable frames and components, and are climate friendly to build and run.
The concept innovatively addresses the climate and nature emergencies by being planet positive, with zero ‘UpFront’ and ‘InUse’ carbon, alongside the pro-active re-wilding of urban neighbourhoods.
Judith Sykes of Useful Projects said: “To meet national carbon targets, we need to be building new homes today that go beyond net zero. In the +Home of 2030, residents become energy generators and it’s not just operational energy that we have tackled. Our manufacturing method is founded on circular economy principles to minimise embedded upfront and lifecycle impacts. We are looking forward to demonstrating how +Home can be delivered at scale.”
Will Mawson of MawsonKerr said: “There has never been a more pressing time to tackle the challenges posed by the Home of 2030 competition; the core issues align with what we have been working on at MawsonKerr over the last 10 years and having a platform to explore and challenge outdated and poorly driven models is something that excites us. We look forward to working with this talented team in the next phase.”
