UWTSD Architecture students shortlisted for the ‘Home of 2030 Young Person’s Design Challenge’

A group of four first year Architecture students at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) have been shortlisted to take part in the next round of the prestigious Home of 2030 Young Person’s Design Challenge.

Home of 2030 is a national design competition whereby entrants are challenged to create the home of the future. The competition is a cross-departmental initiative funded by the UK Government working in partnership with BRE, the Design Council, MOBIE and RIBA.

Open to young people between the ages of 18 and 25, the challenge was to design an innovative and inspirational green home that meets the changing needs of future generations, including promoting wellbeing, quality of life and healthy ageing.

The team from UWTSD – Aneurin James, Steffan Phillips, Hollie Parsons and Blaine Smith – have now reached the competition final with a scheme called “Fl-Hex,” reflecting the adaptable, hexagonal forms that they combined to create communities of climate responsive dwellings.   The students have been invited to take part in a grand final showcase that will be held later this year, where they’ll have the opportunity to present their scheme to industry innovators, including George Clarke and Mark Farmer.

“It is our belief that architects have an important role to play in addressing many of the most vexing issues of our time, including climate change, the shortage of affordable housing and making our cities and towns more inclusive. The Technology and Environment part of the course plays a key role at investigating the architect's role in these key areas,” says Ian Standen, Programme Director of the Architecture course at UWTSD.

“The Home of 2030 competition provided a great opportunity for students to test out their ideas and also matched our course aims.  The students have shown a keen interest in the environmental issues that the planet faces in the coming years and have approached the design challenge with enthusiasm and ambition to provide sustainable solutions for living in the future.

“Our students have also worked hard in their teams which has in turn created a great atmosphere within the Architecture studio environment. Some healthy banter and competition between the groups taking part in the Home for 2030 competition was also good for progress and morale!” adds Ian. 

The Home of 2030 Young Person’s Design Challenge asked those competing to consider the design, composition, layout and features of a family home that would need to be adaptable over a lifetime, be flexible and accessible.

In thinking about and designing the Home of 2030, entrants have had to challenge themselves to design through the prism of today’s technologies and lifestyles and to imagine what future technologies and lifestyles might be like and what they might mean for homes and our well-being.

The competition has challenged designers to imagine how people will live in their homes in 10 years’ time. 

What will new technology, an ageing population longer living, environmental impact, climate change, affordability and so on mean for the design of the homes of the future? How will this impact on size, space, material resources, comfort and aesthetics of the home and its adaptability to changing needs?

Two of members of the team whose design has made it through to the next round of this exciting competition are studying part of their course through the medium of Welsh.  As well as studying for the degree, Aneurin James and Steffan Phillips are also members of the University’s Welsh Architect Focus Group – a forum that brings Welsh-medium students together to discuss architecture in Welsh.  As part of their work, both students submitted part of this project in Welsh.

As part of UWTSD’s Swansea College of Art, students are encouraged and supported to study in Welsh medium and are given numerous opportunities to engage with Welsh medium activities and projects. 

Speaking of the experience of taking part in the competition, student, Aneurin James said:

“As part of the Technology and Environment module we as a group had to design a plan for the Home of 2030 competition. The competition looks at how people would live in the future, in ways that combat climate change. In response to the flooding that occurred earlier in the year, we decided, as a project planning group that we would design a building that would be able to respond to changes in water levels. We called it 'FL-HEX' which reflects the shape of the buildings and how the layout can be adapted to create communities, either on the water or in flood prone areas.

“We have really enjoyed studying the Architecture course this year and are delighted to have been shortlisted for the competition. We are looking forward to the next round where we have to present the scheme to a panel of judges.”

The BSc Architecture degree programme offered at UWTSD’s SA1 Swansea Waterfront Innovation Quarter is intended for those whose ambition is to become a qualified architect but is also a good choice for anyone who has an interest in architecture and design, seeking a broad-based degree programme that can lead to a wide variety of career opportunities.

The course is the first stage (Part One) of the three-stage process of professional qualification as an architect. The course is prescribed by the Architects Registration Board (ARB) and the University is seeking recognition of the course by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

For further information about the BSc Architecture course at UWTSD, please visit the 'Architecture' pages on the University's website.

Further Information

For further information, please contact Sian-Elin Davies, Principal Communications and PR Officer on 01267 676908 / 07449 998476 sian-elin.davies@uwtsd.ac.uk