Students invited to design home for the 21st century

The newly-formed Construction Innovation Hub has teamed up with the Ministry of Building Innovation and Education (MOBIE) to challenge school students in the UK to design a home for the 21st Century. The winning design is set to become a reality.

The 2019 MOBIE and Construction Innovation Hub Student Design Challenge will ask students to design the ultimate 21st century house which may begin as a starter home but be extended to accommodate a multi-generational family. Students are asked to consider technology, affordability, size, space, family growth, sustainability, comfort, individuality and aesthetics.

It is MOBIE and the Construction Innovation Hub’s intent for the winning home design to be developed by architects and professionally structurally engineered, enabling the manufacture and assembly of modules at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry – a member of the Construction Innovation Hub. It is hoped that elements of the design will be showcased at major home and design events later in the year, with the full design showcased in virtual reality.

Mark Southgate, chief executive of MOBIE, said:

Established in 2017 by renowned architect and TV presenter, George Clarke, MOBIE aims to inspire new generations to join the building and construction professions and fundamentally transform the way we think, design and construct homes.

MOBIE’s focus is on developing innovative ways to build homes, providing access to education and skills development and, vitally, challenging the housing market to do better. This challenge covers all the bases and we look forward to seeing entries from across the country that design homes to genuinely transform the way we live in Britain.”

George Clarke, founder and trustee of MOBIE, said:

I’m super excited about MOBIE’s new challenge with the Construction Innovation Hub. It’s an amazing opportunity for students of all ages to design a family home for the future which embraces modern methods of construction, innovative materials and digital technologies. I’m enthusiastically looking forward to being wowed yet again by the creativity and commitment of young designers.”

Keith Waller, programme director of the Construction Innovation Hub, said:

We are delighted to team up with MOBIE as part of the Student Design Challenge. The strong focus on modern methods of construction, sustainability and embracing new digitally-enabled manufacturing and assembly technologies goes to the very heart of what we are trying to achieve through the Construction Innovation Hub, as we work to be a catalyst for change right across the sector, delivering wider economic, environmental and social benefits for society.

But key to delivering real and lasting transformation will involve attracting more young people with diverse new skills into the construction sector and that’s why initiatives like this one are so vitally important. I’m really looking forward to seeing what exciting new designs emerge through the Student Design Challenge and I wish all of the students who get involved the best of luck.”

Schools interested in taking up the challenge can find registration forms at https://www.mobie.org.uk/challenge.

A shortlist of finalist teams will be selected, and those teams will be invited to attend a judging event hosted by the Construction Innovation Hub at the MTC on Friday, June 28.

Further Information 

To contact the Construction Innovation Hub’s press office, please email pressoffice@constructioninnovationhub.org.uk.