Jewson has announced the finalists in its first ever Making Better Homes Awards, recognising the champions in the industry who are working hard to create energy efficient, safe and comfortable homes.

After entries closed at the end of 2023, a panel of judges made up of industry specialists assessed all the nominations with the three highest scoring projects in each category making the shortlist.

Going through to the next round in the Best Building Fabric in a Project category are Draper Studio, SIP Build UK and Orka Construction. In the Best Use of Renewable Energy in a Project category, Channel Electrical, Castlethorpe Homes and The Vegan Builder will face the national vote. Finally, competing for the title of Best Sustainable Project of the Year are A Corner of Eden, Greencore Homes and The Holt Group.

The public will now be able to vote online for their favourite shortlisted entrant in each category, with the winners announced at a ceremony later this year.

Sitting on the judging panel were Gavin Crane, CEO for Band of Builders, Nicola De Sousa, Central Director for the Federation of Master Builders, Matthew Handley, Category Innovation Manager at Jewson, and Chris Pearman, Regional Sales Manager at Build Aviator.

Matthew said: “It has been a privilege to judge the first ever Making Better Homes Awards – to say the judges were impressed with the entries is an understatement. Every single project entered demonstrated the steps tradespeople are taking to ensure their customers can enjoy energy efficient properties which will stand the test of time, while making recommendations which also go some way to protecting our planet.

“Judging at this stage of the competition was hard as there were some incredibly inspirational entries, but the public face the hardest step in choosing the winner from each category. It’s a tough one to call and I’m excited to see who the three winners will be.”

Nicola added: “The high calibre of entries to the Making Better Homes Awards is testament to the effort and dedication tradespeople are putting into upskilling themselves in the areas of sustainability and renewables, and proves that as an industry we are making great progress.

“Every entry we saw deserved a place in the shortlist, but the three projects moving onto the next stage in each category really shone and showed us something unique. I can’t wait to see who wins, because they have incredible futures ahead of them.”

Debbie Greaves, founder of The Corner of Eden, said of making the shortlist: “We entered this competition to show that it is possible to bring something amazing to life on a remote island and to overcome the many design, resourcing and logistical challenges along the way. Winning would feel like excellent recognition for our Harris Hideaway project, which we hope will bring so much pleasure to so many people in the future as it continues to blend modern, unique, sustainable design that sits seamlessly in its wild, ancient landscape.”

Chris Warner, Managing Director at Castlethorpe Homes, added: “We entered the awards to help shine a light on the need for more renewable energy being factored into brand new build homes and we feel our entry shows what can be done with great design and thought when building new homes. The use of more renewables in construction is vital if we are going to drive down running costs for the homeowners, especially in these difficult times, embracing the need to show exemplary ways of building but also have a long-term plan to have less impact on our planet.”

The public can now vote online for the winners of the three categories – Best Building Fabric in a Project, Best Use of Renewable Energy in a Project, and Best Sustainable Project of the Year.

AN INTERNATIONAL architectural competition to design a diverse and creative neighbourhood at the heart of Wolverhampton has been announced.

Social impact developers Capital&Centric – who are working in collaboration with City of Wolverhampton on the landmark St George’s site – have teamed up with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for the competition, set to launch soon.

It will see a shortlist of architecture practices put forward their initial ideas for the 5-acre plot, with the challenge to incorporate the existing Grade II listed church as a centrepiece of an aspirational, diverse and playful neighbourhood that will act as a further catalyst for the transformation of the city.

They’ll be tasked with incorporating a melting pot of homes, community facilities, accommodation for businesses, as well as verdant public spaces. A key tenet of the brief will be encouraging wellbeing, health and a distinct sense of identify and place that stands out from the crowd.

RIBA’s renowned competitions are aimed at delivering some of the most inspirational and outstanding designs. Architecture practices who may wish to be considered for this Private Invitation competition are encouraged to contact Martin Crews at Capital&Centric on: info@capitalandcentric.com

John Moffat, joint managing director at Capital&Centric, said:

“We’ve been pretty dogmatic in our belief that exemplar design doesn’t have to be the preserve of London, or the South. Delivering development on brownfield sites in towns and cities is critical to the UK’s housing supply, but that’s no excuse for bland and boring new builds that add little to the social fabric of a place.

“We’re teaming up with RIBA to ensure that the St George’s neighbourhood in Wolverhampton can be held up as a best in class example of how to do creative, brownfield regeneration right in a way that delivers social value. We want the practices to come up with something that both inspires and excites, but is a deliverable design that the city can get behind.”

A leading architect will be appointed to oversee the competition soon, with RIBA and Capital&Centric assembling a panel of experts to judge the  applications. Four practices will be shortlisted from the initial applications, who will each get eight weeks to design their vision, with input from the panel.

Capital&Centric also plan to showcase the finalists’ designs at a local event, where the city’s residents will be able to have their say on what grabs their eye. The winning design will form the basis of the St George’s masterplan, with planning applications to follow later this year.

City of Wolverhampton Council Leader, Councillor Stephen Simkins, said:

“The last time we worked with partners on a design competition it resulted in the delivery of the iconic i9 office building – home to the Government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

“We now want the St George’s scheme to become the design and quality benchmark for future developments in the city and I expect to see a high standard of entries for this game-changing opportunity.

“As part of our ambitious regeneration plans, St George’s can provide an inclusive, safe and sustainable new district that will generate new opportunities and jobs, bring underutilised assets back into community use and, importantly, deliver much needed new homes in Wolverhampton city centre.

“We’re also excited that Capital&Centric will bring further social value to the city through Regeneration Brainery. This programme is aimed at 14 to 21-year-olds and is designed to inspire them to consider careers within property and regeneration, enhancing social mobility and making the industry more representative of society. Projects like St George’s offer the perfect opportunity for young people to experience regeneration in action on their doorstep.”  

Capital&Centric’s appointment on the site was announced in December by the City of Wolverhampton Council, with the first step to develop a masterplan for the former Sainsbury’s supermarket site, with links to the £61million City Learning Quarter set to open in 2025.

St George’s is one of a number of development opportunities featured in the Wolverhampton Investment Prospectus.