One of the biggest questions in residential architecture London and other large cities around the world have to deal with is how to house everybody. The challenges affect everything from designs to sustainability. It also leads to several trends emerging. The following are some of the most important ones from the last decade.

Community

The brief for many projects is to foster a strong community. This is vital in urban areas because people are living closer together. It is wise to design homes where neighbours can get along and actually benefit each other’s lives. Good designs can help to deal with higher density.

Modular Housing

Improvements in technology as well as manufacturing are great for modern housing. More and more people are looking at modular homes. The quality is much better now and clever designs make even small modules feel comfortable. This kind of housing could also have the solution for building a large number of new homes quickly in urban areas. With pre-fabrication the build time is very small.

Attractive High Rises

In many cities building up is the only way to provide new housing in large numbers. This kind of move can have a dramatic impact on the character of the city though. The key is to make the new skyscrapers look great and fit into the area. There are several ways to do this including thinking about texture, detail, and the context.

Be Greener

People are more aware of the environment and the benefits of a home that is energy efficient and low carbon. Sustainability continues to rise and more people are using green features. There has also been a big rise in home automation and systems like heating and lights that can be controlled on the move.

At Coffey Architects we appreciate how housing designs evolve and change over time. Our team stay up to date and also always work hard to innovate. If you want to see how our approach shapes the residential architecture London is home to, contact us or visit our website.