Bristol Housing Festival Showcase 2019
Note from the Editor:
October and November have been busy months for the Bristol Housing Festival team. Not only did we see our first completed project officially open, but we also welcomed over 1700 people to events and an exhibition throughout the two weeks of our Bristol Housing Festival annual showcase.
The exhibition was hosted at the Architecture Centre and accompanied by a range of events focussed on furthering the city's conversation surrounding housing innovation. And, in the midst of all the excitement and event planning, we found a bit of time to celebrate our first anniversary!
Reflecting on the year that has gone by, as a team we are incredibly pleased with what has been achieved. We are grateful for the relationships made, the projects started, the partnerships formed and the journey that lies ahead.
It goes without saying that we wouldn't have made it to this landmark without the support and backing from the many companies, charities, sponsors, individuals and friends who have championed and supported the work we're doing. The showcase and its events have been a chance to talk about and celebrate just some of the many amazing projects are being undertaken in this city, for the sake of our city, and it is humbling to be part of this.
We are very much looking forward to continuing learning, meeting more experts and seeing more people move into innovative housing across the city.
And so the festival continues...
Jessie & the BHF Team
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Housing Festival Showcase 2019
From the 21st October - 3rd November we put on an exhibition at the Architecture Centre on Narrow Quay to give the public an opportunity to see some of the projects we're currently working on. Over 900 people across the fortnight visited and learnt more about the Bristol Housing Festival, asked brilliant questions, and heard about plans for next year.
Over the two weeks we were visited by architects, engineers, government workers, charity workers, retirees, students (both local and from abroad), housing specialists, families, actors, and everyone in between! We had particular fun with a Virtual Reality experience created by Bristol University which let the user create a replica of Western Harbour and then walk around it. You can see a short video about how it worked by clicking here.
So many people were involved in making this exhibition happen - Thank you! |
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Events During the Showcase
Alongside welcoming visitors to the Architecture Centre, we organised and participated in a wide range of events designed to further the conversation about Modern Methods of Construction ('MMC'), housing innovation and social value across the city. These included panel debates, roundtable discussions, networking events, and public talks, and covered topics such as intergenerational living, self build, community-led housing, finance, affordability, procurement, and lessons that can be learnt from modular construction. It was a varied and busy two weeks and has been an honour to meet and work with so many different people to make this happen.
Our largest event was our industry-focused event, 'Enabling Housing Innovation for Inclusive Growth'. We welcomed 230 guests to hear from industry-leading individuals such as Chief Executive of Homes England, Nick Walkley, and CEO of Cast and the governments recently appointed 'MMC Champion', Mark Farmer.
At our Self-Build and Community-Led Housing event, we heard from Charlie Luxton and Richard Bacon MP on the importance of furthering discussion in this area of housing. We also welcomed members of the Archbishop of Canterbury's Commission on Housing for our event 'Faith In Housing'.
If you'd like more information on these events, you can look through a list of them by visiting our website. You can also find copies of the slides from some of the events and a gallery of pictures on our website as well.
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LaunchPad Launches
On Friday 25th October we saw the official launch of LaunchPad - our first completed project! Not only is it our first completed project, it is also the first of its kind in the UK.
LaunchPad is a partnership between United Communities Housing Association, 1625 Independent People (1624ip) and the University of Bristol Student Union. The project brings 31 young people; students, keyworkers and 1625ip service users together to offer mutual benefit, enabling the stability of a safe and affordable home while also expanding young people’s horizons by enabling experiences that they may never have otherwise encountered.
Congratulations to all those who were involved with the project.
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West of England Combined Authority (WECA)
The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) is one of the Bristol Housing Festival partners and sponsors.
WECA is made up of three of the councils in the region – Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire. WECA also supports the Local Enterprise Partnership, which is business-led, and covers the four West of England councils, including North Somerset Council. Together, their aim is to deliver economic growth for the region and address some of our challenges, such as productivity and skills, housing and transport.
Innovation in housing is a key theme coming out of the West of England Local Industrial Strategy. WECA and Bristol City Council are contributing towards funding a pilot programme to trial using modern methods of construction on projects to tackle the city’s housing crisis and other social issues.
We are delighted to be working with WECA as part of the Bristol Housing Festival. |
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The Latest Blogs
We are delighted to publish another blog from Nick James, this time considering the circularity of housing (demolition, refurbishment, and how we most efficiently use our resources) as well as an anniversary blog from project manager Dr Ellen Grist which gives an overview and update of what we've been up to in the last year and the projects we are still involved with.
Follow us on our social media channels to see each new blog as it's published. |
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