Demonstration Location: Thames Gateway, UK

Cartwright Pickard's design for the United Kingdom location will address this demonstration's emphasis on housing innovation and flexibility. So important was this criteria that no specific site has been allocated so that the widest range of solutions could be explored. However, the building will be built on a flat site either on, or near to, a flood-plain, possibly on a brown field site previously used for other than residential purposes. The land which best describes these conditions is the Thames Gateway, an area on the northern and southern banks of the River Thames to the East of London. The Thames Gateway area includes the site of the London Olympic Games in 2012 and provides excellent opportunities for meeting the increasing housing demand, but at the same time preserving as much as possible of the 65% that is valuable green space land.

Two key criteria were set forth for this location's demonstration building: First, the design must provide a series of units with common elements yet flexible plans that will allow the region's population, unusually diverse in culture and socio-economic status, to blend into a cohesive community. Second, the design must have the potential to meet the high sustainability standards set forth by the UK Code for Sustainable Homes.