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Quality, sustainability, community

7 April 2010

It is possible to create successful, sustainable affordable housing schemes in this

difficult economic climate if certain key strategies are followed. Richard Powell
shares an award-winning formula

In this recessionary climate, with all the challenges it presents for the property market, demand
for affordable housing remains high and its provision is probably more important than ever.
With the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) investing significantly in a number of
affordable housing schemes across London and the UK, it is clear that this area remains a
priority for government.

Award-winning urban development and investment company First Base believes the delivery
of world-class affordable housing schemes demands collaboration and the sharing of skills and
resources to counter the pressures in the market. Meaningful collaboration should involve all
parties whose expertise can benefit schemes, including local authority councillors, developers,
planners, architects and housing managers.

The company has identified three key themes that need to be at the heart of affordable
housing developments if they are to be successful. Incorporated from the outset, each of these
makes an enormous contribution to the creation of successful new communities.

Quality design

Good design adds value. It turns buildings into places and encourages residents to respect the
homes they live in and become a settled, stable community. In the past, the design of
affordable housing has sometimes been considered less important than the design of
private-sale housing within a scheme. However, eliminating design differentiation in
mixed-tenure developments is the key to ensuring balanced and sustainable communities.

Design is not just about how a home looks from the outside. Style should always meet
function, with attention paid from the outset to how space would be used by residents. The
overall aim should be to create a place that's comfortable to live in, through apartment layouts,
use of public space and the incorporation of natural light for maximum impact.

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Figure 1: Adelaide Wharf has led the way in the creation of 'tenure-blind' developments
(? First Base)

Working with world-class architects to deliver high-quality design need not be detrimental to
the cost of the project. Using so-called modern methods of construction (MMC, or
non-traditional methods), can produce consistent quality while reducing costs and build times.
First Base focuses on products that have proved successful in other property sectors or
elsewhere in the world, and at our Adelaide Wharf scheme in Hackney (see case study
below), examples of this type of innovation include pre-fabricated bathroom pods and
balconies. The result was a quality finish for all tenures and a reduction in overall costs and
delivery times of 20%, due to, for example, reduced time on site and reduced rates for
assembly of the balconies and bathrooms by off-site specialists.

Sustainability

Despite the recession, sustainability measures are non-negotiable; consumers, the industry
and government demand them. Now is not the time to defer these improved standards and
residents need to be made more aware of the benefits they offer by adding value to a scheme.

A question remains as to whether a scheme can be green and affordable. Our answer is yes,
provided sustainability is considered from the very start of a project and measured in terms of
the lifetime of a development. High-quality sustainability measures can help bring costs down
for residents in the long term, which is a strong selling point.

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Building communities

Sustainability does not end with the environment, however; it is also about creating
communities that can thrive in the long term. Rather than simply building a scheme and hoping
it will fit into an area, developers should consider ways of ensuring it supports the existing
community by attracting inward investment from both public and private sectors. Our new
Printworks scheme in Elephant & Castle includes flexible (both in layout and occupational
terms) and affordable work space at street level, designed to help local businesses and boost
the surrounding area. Encouraging and supporting economic activity is as important as
providing the housing itself. Communities that are well supported in this way will continue to
attract new residents and keep existing residents happy.

If schemes are to be sympathetic to the needs of existing residents, consultation is essential.

At our Heart of East Greenwich development, we promoted an initiative called 'My City Tool',
which invited young people from the area to take part in design forums. They visited public
spaces and their views on what worked and what didn't were incorporated in our plans. Their
feedback was invaluable and helped us to shape the plans around the immediate and future
needs of all the groups within the local community.

Figure 2: The new Printworks scheme in Elephant & Castle includes flexible and
affordable work space at street level, designed to help local businesses and boost the
surrounding area (? First Base)

Another initiative was developed for the Printworks project, with the help of the Architecture

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Foundation. Working closely with Southwark Council and Pullens Tenants and Residents
Association, we ran a competition to redesign the public realm around the neighbourhood. The
aim of this was to create a new vision, in line with the existing infrastructure of the area and
ensuring that the new scheme would blend in with its local environment. The exhibition
showcasing the shortlisted designs was attended by more than 120 residents, allowing First
Base to get their thoughts on the area and ensure the winning public realm design worked for
them.

The principles of sustainability, quality design and building communities are paramount to the
long-term success of affordable housing schemes. Through collaboration, these factors can be
incorporated and market demand can be met. This approach provides a real solution to current
demand for the delivery of affordable homes in urban areas.

Best practice: Adelaide Wharf

Adelaide Wharf is a pioneering, high-quality, mixed-tenure community within a key
regeneration area of London. The scheme, completed in late 2007, delivered 147 apartments,
including 50% affordable/social housing. Designed by renowned architects Allford Hall
Monaghan Morris, the development includes one and two-bedroom apartments, along with a
range of three- and four-bedroom homes ideal for urban family living and for those looking for
more space in a central location.

Adelaide Wharf was the first scheme to be completed under the HCA's London-Wide Initiative,
and has led the way in the creation of 'tenure-blind' developments with no visible difference
between units in terms of quality and external appearance. This was achieved through the use
of MMC, which brought together best-practice and commercial construction techniques (e.g.
pre-fabricated bathroom pods, a unitised fa?ade system and pre-assembled balconies) to d
liver extremely high quality and good value for money.

The use of pre-assembled elements reduced trades to as few as possible, minimising wet
trades on site, reducing time on site and providing a consistent finish and quality across the
scheme. The reduced delivery time and labour costs cut overall construction costs by 20%.
The use of MMC also reduced the environmental impact of the scheme by minimising on-site
waste.

The scheme was designed to enable residents to live sustainable lifestyles and has
transformed a disused industrial site into a vibrant, sustainable community. The scheme has
achieved the UK government's EcoHomes 'Excellent' rating, due to a number of sustainable
technologies, such as a centralised heating plant system, a rainwater harvesting system,
ecological roofs/gardens and low-energy lighting. The key drivers of sustainability and
affordability have resulted in significant energy savings, which will provide cost savings over
the lifetime of the building.

Adelaide Wharf was delivered with full awareness of lifetime cost, rather than just the initial
outlay. This has allowed First Base to reduce costs to occupiers over time, with a commitment
to long-term success. This is demonstrated through its unique approach to maintenance and
management, which includes, for example, a concierge service for all. The scheme has won
numerous awards, including 'Best New Place to Live' in the London Mayor's Planning Awards,
as well as a Building For Life special award.

Comment from the partners

Ed Lewis, Head of the London New Homes Team at Savills

'Hackney is a key regeneration area of London, where there is high demand for quality,
affordable housing. The high standard of design delivered across the range of homes at
Adelaide Wharf was crucial to the creation of a balanced community. Mixed-tenure is the right
solution for building homes in urban areas.

The

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approach taken by First Base at Adelaide Wharf made buying a high-quality new home a
reality for many more teachers, police officers and nurses across the capital. In fact, all homes
at Adelaide Wharf were 100% sold prior to completion, and all 41 key-worker apartments
reserved within three hours of going on sale, which really highlighted how the scheme
responded to demand in the area.

The creation of living space for families in an urban location was an important differentiator at
Adelaide Wharf. Not only did the family homes (30% of the overall accommodation) provide a
great selling point, but the scheme highlighted the importance of providing outside space -
unusual in urban areas. Key workers were offered homes with world-class design standards
that were perfect for family living.

What is particularly interesting at Adelaide Wharf is the long-term view of the developer.
Building homes was just the beginning. An integrated management system (overseen by the
company) has been implemented across all tenures, with the same property manager and
common service and performance standards.The concierge service ensures that day-to-day
enquiries from residents are handled quickly and efficiently. This investment in the long-term
success of the development has helped create a truly sustainable community.

Ultimately, the developer's approach has added real value. The private-sale homes sold for
10% more than local comparables and subsequent sales have added more than 20% to the
original prices. This is proof that a mixed-tenure approach can create new communities while
remaining attractive to private buyers.'

Morag Tait, Associate Director, architects Allford Hall Monaghan

'Design standards take many forms and are particularly detailed in the housing sector. The
most successful ones have qualitative aims, open to interpretation within the overall design,
such as better access and useable room configurations.

Planning Adelaide Wharf around a courtyard was a design response that satisfied planning
standards on overlooking distances, sunlight and daylight, and providing communal amenity.
The shared, landscaped courtyard became the focal point for the scheme - a place for play
and relaxation and a pleasant aspect to look out at. Adherence to the Association of Chief
Police Officers' Secure By Design principles ensure that access is managed and monitored for
everyone's security.

Regulations on space standards, including the Lifetime Homes Standard, drove the form of flat
layouts as well as their sizes. Once the layout had satisfied these criteria, it was repeated
across the whole scheme to allow for economical procurement. This carried through to the
bathroom pods, kitchen modules and door sets, so that all the flats benefit from the quality and
consistency achieved by offsite production.

The sustainability standards of EcoHomes, beyond the Building Regulations, prompted the use
of a highly insulated fa?ade and installation of a centralised boiler. This has resulted in very l
w heating bills for all residents and a high level of thermal comfort internally.

Building a sustainable community is the long-term benefit of the mixed-tenure model, and
design and long-term management strategies combine to facilitate this.'

Richard Powell is Director of urban development and investment company First Base

Further information

Related competencies include: M009 , T061 and T041

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