27 Feb 2025
Leading academics in the fields of architecture and population health have collaborated to devise a healthy, sustainable prototype for social housing. Their report, developed for UCL’s Grand Challenges initiative, showcases a sustainable model to mitigate homelessness, health inequalities, and climate change.
How can we ensure that the new housing we are providing for those on lower incomes will be safe and healthy to live in? This was the question tackled in the report Healthy Homes for All: Designing and testing a healthy prototype for social housing.
The project – led by Professor Murray Fraser of UCL’s Bartlett School of Architecture, Faculty of Built Environment and Professor Rosalind Raine of UCL’s Faculty of Population Health Sciences and Director of NIHR ARC North Thames – designed and tested a prototype for housing that meets social housing needs, protects occupants' health and well-being, and has a lower environmental impact.
It builds on previous work done by this team, which showed that building more social and affordable housing could save UK government £1.5 billion a year, and advised how to address the UK’s housing crisis through broader policy changes.
Pictured: Proprietary software was used to model the environmental performance of the design to ensure there would be good cross-ventilation in all the homes.
The report presents a prototype design for a 4-storey development in East Ham, London, made up of 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom flats, that:
- ensures that social housing for low-income individuals and families is designed to improve health outcomes, particularly by preventing issues common in poor-quality housing such as mould, poor ventilation, and overcrowding;
- integrates both architectural design and population health expertise to reduce risks such as respiratory illnesses, mental health challenges, and physical health issues caused by inadequate housing;
- emphasises well-ventilated interiors, use of materials that improve air quality, daylight access, and insulation to prevent fuel poverty and environmental impact – all key factors in improving the health of low-income communities;
- aims to reduce social inequalities in housing, health, and well-being, particularly in the context of vulnerable populations such as children and those facing homelessness or housing insecurity;
- adopts innovative construction technologies in order to deliver the scale of output needed and also to meet the latest Net Zero Carbon targets.
Pictured: Flat interior – daylight is available in all areas while dual aspect floor-to-ceiling windows ensure a strong connection between interior and exterior.
In addition, the project proposed a methodological approach based on readily available software that could be used by all architects designing social and affordable housing schemes.
The report authors believe that implementing this prototype into real housing schemes would contribute to long-term improvements in UK housing standards, health outcomes, and social justice.
