Architects and housebuilders 'failing to work well together'

A leading designer has said that architects and housebuilders are not working well together because they fail to see each other's point of view.

Speaking at the launch of the Building for Life awards, Wayne Hemingway said that that neither side "values what the other one brings" to the process.

Mr Hemingway noted that the forthcoming zero-carbon requirements will provide challenges to the industry that would be best served by architects and housebuilders working together.

"Most housebuilders seem to think that good design takes longer and costs more - and they're under pressure on both fronts," Mr Hemingway commented.

"Architects, for their part, believe most developers have little appreciation of what good design is and what it can offer.

"There are also some big differences in priority: housebuilders want certainty, not least to ensure their product is insurable. Architects, by contrast, hate the kind of risk-free design which often emerges from that kind of thinking," the designer added.

The government is aiming to build three million new homes by 2020.


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