HUB, a residential developer, and WhiteHat, a tech start-up building an outstanding alternative to university through apprenticeships, are inviting seven architects to pitch radical ideas for housing that will enhance people’s life-chances.
As society starts to emerge from the pandemic, housing that takes more account of occupants’ health and well-being, including access to quality outdoor space has emerged as one of the biggest challenges.
HUB and WhiteHat want to see proposals that address the needs of young people who have been especially hit by the impact of the pandemic. These include better access to career training and networking opportunities.
Like previous pitches, the seven architects have just three minutes to give a synopsis of their practice and convince the panel they understand the issues outlined above.
Pitches will be based on the practice’s existing work and they will not be expected to present design ideas related to specific HUB developments.
After the pitch the panel will give their feedback and a winner will be announced. The seven pitches and feedback will be free to watch via YouTube Premier.
The winning practice will be invited to work with HUB on a forthcoming housing development.
BACKGROUND
HUB
HUB delivers thoughtfully-designed homes and places that help create positive, sustainable communities and pioneers new approaches, from deal-structuring to design and delivery. A previous Archiboo Pitch resulted in the winner and several shortlisted practices working with HUB.
The developer has 4,100 homes completed, under construction or submitted for planning UK-wide. These include new homes in Croydon, Greenwich, Wembley and White City and mixed-use schemes in Maidenhead and Birmingham – with more expected to be added to the pipeline in the next few months.
WhiteHat
WhiteHat is a tech start-up co-founded by Euan Blair and Sophie Adelman with a mission to open up access, training and jobs to the best careers via a new generation of apprenticeships fit for the future economy. WhiteHat matches diverse non-graduate talent with apprenticeship opportunities at some of the UK’s most exciting companies, and works with employers to upskill their existing teams in Data Analytics and People Leadership.
Key trends to consider:
- One-third of 18 to 24-year-old employees have lost jobs or been furloughed, compared to one-in-six prime-age adults (Resolution Foundation).
- Just 48% of 18 to 24 year olds living in towns are satisfied with their home – according to new research from the Quality of Life Foundation
- The pandemic and accompanying recession is limiting the social mobility prospects of under-25-year olds disproportionately, according to the Centre for Economic Performance
- There are 800,000 young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK not in employment, education or training.
BRIEF
The challenge is to convince HUB and WhiteHat you are a practice they would enjoy working with, have lots of fresh ideas and understand both companies’ ethos and approach.
Part of the presentation should include ideas for urban housing that addresses the challenges posed by the pandemic with particular focus on:
- Community and networking – how can design foster learning from peers, team working and the networks that are formed at university?
- Working from home
- Good quality outdoor space
FORM
Applications are now closed.
The seven architects selected to pitch will be announced the week commencing August 24th and the Pitch will be premiered on September 15th.
