Posts Tagged: Build-to-Rent

May 2019 – Sketchbook 56

In my tent, ready to get up and tackle day three of this camp.

Day three is the last day, and it begins round the flag pole.

I’ve been helping some Cubs and Scouts get their art badge.

It’s a team effort, well organised by Dylan with the support of many D’Mains volunteers.

Travelling.

At Glasgow School of Art, looking at what Hilmi and Mo have been up to.

The project work is great. I like looking closely at the buildings around us too. This is just round the corner from the Edinburgh office.

It’s a warehouse: a well designed bay is repeated and some parts are elaborated, some played down.

Beautiful and unconventional urban design in Edinburgh at Shaw Street.

With some of out HTA Design team winning the “Clients’ Choice” Award at the AJ100 Awards.

Eating with Rettie at the Scottish Homes Awards, and talking about the prospects for Build to Rent in Scotland.

Working on Build to Rent with the Edinburgh Park Design team.

The project is for Parabola. Here it is being reviewed by Architecture & Design Scotland.

Travelling

Travelling, and dinner with the helpful Specifi team in Edinburgh.

Travelling.

An LSE talk on peoples’ attitudes to living at high density.

At home: Fraser & Innes playing on my phone between football and swimming lessons.

 

 

22nd February 2018 – #BTRLon18 or Nine Hours for Nine Drawings

The Build to Rent Forum is the place where the main industry characters come together and discuss how they’re getting on. I spent a day drawing the discussions. The drawings were in aid of excellent children’s charity Coram who I’m raising money for by cycling from London to Cannes. Please donate here if you can.

I spent nine hours drawing: here they are:

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Where’s the land? Getting the day started with a bit of debate and some interesting questions.

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The Collective have convincingly imbued their business with a social purpose.

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I used to be confused by investors because they talked in jargon but now they just talk about how to make nice places for folk to live in. I can understand that.

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This might make you wonder what the people focused people will talk about? They’re wondering what lessons to learn from the huge amounts of data that are being generated by all these new residents in new buildings. What’s really going to work for people?

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To talk about this, we went for lunch.

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Iain Murray’s passionately expressed views are just the thing to beat the post lunch slump.

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The Scots are in London learning from the folk who’ve built more than we have, but there’s quite a bit in the pipeline north of the border.

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Quite refreshing view of the potential of Build to Rent to meet housing need, from Councillor Darren Rodwell.

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Finally, James Murray calmly set out the policy framework that we’ll all be working within, and why it is the way is.

BTRLon18-1So that was it. An informative day, some interesting insights and good practice listening and drawing simultaneously! Many thanks to David Jennings from Movers and Shakers for sponsoring me.

Build to Rent with the ULI 2 April 2014

At the launch of the ULI’s design guide for Build-to-Rent.ULI-B2R 2 April 2014It’s a good guide. If you read it, I’d start at Chapter 6; Management as you need to understand that in order to understand the thinking in the design chapters. It’s an operator business, Build-to-Rent. There’s lots more potential investment than there is stock to invest in so there should be lots of design going on: a well-timed guide therefore.  I’ve inexplicably lost my voice and sound like the Crankies’ grandmother, which makes it difficult to describe how we’re the right people to do this design work, but I sense cracking opportunities edging closer.

The launch was in the Royal Geographic Society in Kensington. In the bits I was in there wasn’t much evidence of their fantastic heritage. Livingstone, Shackleton, Hilary, Scott: all have spoken here I was told. Maybe I could sell them some portraits?