Driving sustainable housebuilding in the UK
Low Carbon Housing is a Future Observatory project led by Dr. Ruth Lang which aims to identify the hurdles to carbon reduction currently present in the housebuilding industry. The research will explore ways in which these hurdles can be overcome by using the Design Museum as a springboard for innovative practice.
The UK has long been in the grip of a housing crisis, which the government has chosen to address through their manifesto commitment to building 300,000 homes a year. However, since the built environment contributes nearly 40% of the UK’s carbon emissions, any new build homes would have to be low or zero carbon to meet government’s climate pledges. In responding to the twin crises of affordable housing shortages and climate breakdown, our project is to understand how low carbon construction can become a mainstream reality for this sector, rather than a prize-winning exception.
Working in collaboration with architectural practitioners, academics, and construction industry partners, Ruth’s research will invite different perspectives on how we can reduce the carbon consumption of the industry, and curb this impact on climate breakdown.
