Clearview National March 2016 - Issue 172 | Page 42

DOORS&WINDOWS

Diversity is the key to success
in the housing industry
»»DIVERSITY IN THE HOUSING
market is the only way to solve the UK’s
housing issues. That is the view of some of the
biggest names in Britain’s housing industry,
according to a report published by Origin, a
leading manufacturer of bi-fold doors, windows
and blinds.
The Homes of the Future report highlights
a need for a multi solutions approach if the
government is to meet its housing targets. It
brings together discussions from a roundtable
with some of the nation’s leading industry
thinkers, house builders and developers.
Barratt Developments, Grosvenor, URBED,
the Home Builders Federation and Solidspace,
as well as Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon and Prof.
Christine Whitehead from the London School
of Economics, joined Origin to discuss the
industry’s ‘hot topics’.
Andrew Halsall, Managing Director
at Origin, talks to Clearview about these
discussions, which are crystallised in the Homes
of the Future report.
WHERE WILL THE HOUSING
INDUSTRY BE IN 2020?
Held at the Shard, one of the most
architecturally stunning buildings in the world,
the private Origin ‘Homes of the Future’
roundtable event sought to ask the question
of ‘what do people want, and how does the
housing industry achieve it?’.
Origin understands that homes are about
more than just bricks and mortar. They are an
extension of us, so need to be as individual as
we are to suit each person or family’s needs,
lifestyle and taste. The question ‘what people

42 » M AR 2016 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M

want from their homes?’ can therefore only
be answered if we stop considering it as one
singular issue, requiring just one solution.
The roundtable was not held with the hope
of finding a definite and singular answer to
this question, but rather to find out whether
there were things that we, the industry and
manufacturers, should be doing differently.
Chaired by Evan Davis, the roundtable
covered a number of aspects of the industry,
from the valuation process to skills shortages.
HETEROGENEITY
Building homes that people want to live in
can only be achieved by offering variety in the
housing market. As a country, we have a great
emotional attachment to our homes. We want
them to be as individual as we are, while also
being a functional space for us and our families
to live.
The report determines how encouraging
heterogeneity will benefit both the industry
and house buyers in the future. By supporting
smaller house builders and encouraging a
diverse market, only then will the government
meet the demand of first time buyers as it aims
to build 200,000 new homes by 2020.
IS THE WAY WE VALUE OUR
HOMES OUTDATED?
The way in which the UK housing industry
places a value on our homes has long been
dictated by the market. How much a house is
worth depends on a multitude of factors, from
location to how many bedrooms a home has,
whether it has a new kitchen and bathroom, and
how much land is on offer as part of the deal.

The report looks at whether we need to
reconsider how we place value on homes as
the priorities of the UK housing industry, and
consumer demand, change. For example, a call
for a bigger focus on sustainable mortgages as
energy efficiency rises up the agenda.
SPACE, LIGHT AND
OPEN PLAN LIVING
The Homes of the Future report
investigates how the concept of the ‘two
up, two down’ has been replaced by a more
fluid approach to interior layout and the
creation of an open living space. Increasingly,
homeowners want to maximise the amount
of space and light in their homes, with a shift
towards open-plan living, and most recently
‘broken plan living’.
Changing lifestyles have meant that the
requirements for the layout and size of rooms
have moved on in UK homes, which also affects
the valuation process. Where once house prices
were determined by the number of bedrooms
and bathrooms, houses today may not be so
easily categorised.
CONSTRUCTION MATTERS
A need to invest in modern methods of
construction, while encouraging fresh blood
into the construction industry, must also be
top of the government agenda if Britain is to
meet the housing requirements of a growing
population.
To view the full Homes of the Future
report, please visit www.origin-global.com/
homesofthefuture