The Ministry of Building Innovation and Education (MOBIE) – founded by George Clarke – has teamed up with architecture practice Grimshaw and construction and consultancy business Mace on a retrofit challenge for young people.
For the Eco-Fix challenge, the organisations are inviting young people to come up with innovative ways to upgrade existing homes, or to re-use old or vacant buildings, to help us reduce our need for energy and our impact on the climate.
George Clarke, MOBIE founder and Trustee, said:
We are asking young people for their ideas on how we can adapt and change our existing homes to be more energy efficient and to reduce our climate impact.
Entrants will apply their design skills and imagination to present proposals for a retrofit scheme that will update, upgrade, repurpose, and possibly extend the home(s). Designs should provide an efficient, functional, comfortable, safe home for the future. In developing their retrofit scheme, they need to:
- achieve a significant reduction in energy use and carbon emissions from an existing home;
- adapt homes to protect them against the impacts of the climate crisis, for example overheating, storminess, flooding;
- use renewable energy sources to power the home;
- think about what new and local materials they will use in their retrofit project;
- improve and update the home for the way people live today and will live in the future;
- consider if the retrofit design can improve and strengthen the surrounding community
George Clarke added:
Home is the most important piece of architecture in our lives. It crafts the way we live, and how we grow as families and communities. A well-designed home and neighbourhood can enhance the way we live and promote good health and wellbeing
We need younger generations to define how they want to live now and in the future. Most of the homes in which we will live in the future exist now. That is why we are asking young people for their ideas on how we can adapt and change our existing homes to be more energy efficient and to reduce our climate impact. Young people are vital to the future of housing and it is important that their ideas influence home design and shape our communities of the future.
MOBIE challenges are a launch pad for student creativity. That is why I am delighted to be launching this Eco-Fit home challenge with Grimshaw and Mace. I cannot wait to see how young people respond to the challenge – based on previous challenges I know we will be amazed by their imagination and creativity!
Andrew Thomas, Managing Partner at Grimshaw London, said:
Our NetZero commitments are dependent on the creativity and innovation that can be brought to the reimagining of the UK’s 25 million existing homes to suit the needs of the future. The Eco-Fix challenge is a fantastic opportunity for young designers to share their ideas for solving one of the greatest sustainability challenges of our times, and Grimshaw is proud to come together with MOBIE and Mace to help re-think what retrofit can achieve, in terms of design, community, place making and sustainability.
Rachel O’Donnell, Consult Lead for Retrofit at Mace, said:
We are pleased to be part of the Eco-Fix competition and we look forward to assessing the engineering capabilities from entrants from across the UK. Decarbonising our buildings and infrastructure is essential to tackling the climate crisis, as well as creating cities and places that are resilient and fit for the future. We are excited to play a part in inspiring young people to tackle this vital challenge, think about what makes a place really matter and contribute towards the shaping of their local communities.”
The challenge will introduce young people to the environmental considerations in home design and the range of careers in design, engineering, construction and green technology in the built environment sector.
To get involved: mobie.org.uk/challenges/eco-fix
