South Warwickshire Housing Association release:
Teenagers help to design homes of the future
More than 400 teenagers across south Warwickshire are to help design affordable homes of the future – and their ideas could be used in new developments being built within the next the next few years.
The 14 and 15 year olds from five schools across the district are taking part in a mammoth schools competition organised to mark the tenth anniversary of the formation of South Warwickshire Housing Association.
The competition kicks off with a Challenge Day on October 10th – the association’s birthday - and is being run in conjunction with Warwickshire Education Business Partnership. It involves year ten students from Stratford’s King Edward VI Grammar School, Stratford Grammar School for Girls, Alcester Grammar School, Alcester High School and Kineton High School.
In teams of ten, they will look at the issues involved in creating the ideal home for one of a number of scenarios, such as elderly people, or a family with a child with disabilities. They will examine issues such as how communities work, energy efficiency, materials, security, infrastructure and the changing face of society.
SWHA chairman, Michael Culverwell explained: “We wanted to mark our tenth anniversary with something which was going to have a real, positive impact on the communities we serve. The current year tens are the ones who are going to be moving into their own homes in a decade’s time and we felt it would be beneficial for them to look in depth at what makes a home and at the environmental, social and practical factors involved in creating one.
“The chance not only to help design a home of the future, but to see some of the ideas the students come up with possibly used in creating some of our forthcoming schemes is a really exciting one - and something participants will remember for the rest of their lives.”
The three stage competition, aimed at creating a home suitable for people in 2016, will see the winning team presented with its award in July 2007 and students could well see some of their ideas incorporated into homes designed and built within the next ten years.