Invitation
Norwich Union is inviting submissions for an international open design competition for the design of a flood proof house for the future.
The competition is organised with the support of the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Competitions Office.
Objective
The floods of Summer 2007 demonstrated to the whole of the UK how devastating flooding can be. Thousands were affected by the extreme weather experienced in June and July 2007, with many having to leave their homes and businesses for months afterwards whilst their properties were dried out and repaired.
As climate change takes hold, scientists and meteorologists are agreed that we are more likely to see milder, wetter weather, and flooding – like that experienced in 2007 – will become a more regular occurrence. Running alongside this, the Government have set out their plans to build three million new homes by 2020, and with land in the UK is already limited, there is a potential threat that some of these properties will be built on flood plains. Insurers want to continue to provide insurance to as many people as possible – but assurances are needed that these houses will be designed with flood risk in mind.
In addition to the above, Sir Michael Pitt, in his final report to Government assessing the floods of 2007, identified that people and homes need to be better prepared for flooding, and that we need a much more innovative approach to designing and preparing for flooding. However, whilst this is being considered and developed, no one has yet presented a range of solutions to this problem.
Therefore, Norwich Union and the RIBA are launching an open competition asking architects to design a house for the future, which is built on a flood plain, and takes this associated flood risk into account via its architectural features and design.
You will perhaps look at the current problems with the design of houses on flood plains, or take inspiration from projects which have sought to overcome the flood risk problem. Overall, we want to see designs that will help ensure that properties built on flood plains are designed to mitigate the flood risk, are workable, and, of course, insurable.
The eventual winning design will then be presented to a major developer to consider for inclusion in a real life project.
See the Competition Website
