Crisis

Sadly, there is a global housing crisis. Several factors are to blame, including building costs, labour shortages, land availability, policies, population growth, changing demographics, and jobs. Additionally, natural disasters and wars destroy homes and cause massive displacement. The design of housing is also to blame to an extent; does it effectively support different types of living?

The scale of the crisis is astonishing. UN figures show over 3 billion people around the world don’t have access to suitable housing. Their data also finds 1.1 billion people are living in informal settlements. Unfortunately the true scale of homelessness is unknown because of under-reporting.

How to improve access to housing?

The simple response is to build more homes. However, that is incredibly challenging and alone isn’t enough. Building for building sake is inefficient and wasteful. It could actually have a bigger long term negative, especially if you build housing that is inaccessible and unsuitable. Ultimately, the goal should be to build better, satisfying what people need now and in the future. As a top name for residential architecture in London, we can do just that for clients.

A key thing to do is ensure the focus is on housing as a human right. That means moving away from the view that homes are private assets. Countries like Singapore have great models here; the government builds and owns homes, making them available for affordable rent. Creating more affordable and accessible housing, and providing financial support, is vital.

It’s also important to ensure we’re creating accessible housing that suits how people want to live. They should match different family structures, including multi-generational living. Plus there should be homes for people who want to live alone while being part of a community. Catering for co-living and mobile lifestyles is vital too.

One of the most interesting challenges with architecture is when projects look to renovate or alter an existing building. It’s a great opportunity to reinvent it. Doing more of this, especially in busy urban areas, is a great way to improve access to housing. It means you are creating new homes where people want to live with good connections and amenities.

Rely on us if you’re designing innovative residential architecture in London

Architects have the ability to help create more accessible housing. The key is to explore new ways to build, innovate, reuse what is already there, tackle challenges, and cater for different needs.

We’d love to help if you have a project in mind. Coffey Architects is an award winning firm that always thinks outside the box. We can explore all kinds of ideas and lifestyle requirements. Whatever your brief and specific objectives, we can help you create the perfect home.

So, talk to us today about residential architecture in London or any other topic. We’ll be the ideal resource and add an amazing amount of value to your project.

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A pattern book

The Assembly recently wrote to the Greater London Authority (GLA), specifically the Mayor of London, to recommend more support for upwards extensions. They estimate there could be the capacity for anywhere from 140,000 to over 1 million new homes. These could be built on top of existing buildings, including housing and commercial properties.

Critically, they are calling on the creation of a pattern book for airspace extensions. This would provide a list of approved templates, typologies, and layouts for projects. The goal is to make it easier to do this kind of project, creating clear frameworks and reducing uncertainty. Developers could look at a property, consider the design examples in the pattern book, and see what could or couldn’t work.

Past efforts

Significantly, this isn’t the first time airspace extensions have been proposed as a viable option for London. In fact, permitted development rights were expanded in 2020 for this very reason. Plans to further reduce restrictions have been under consideration since 2024. If you need help, discuss your ideas with leading architects in London.

On top of that, national planning policy and the London Plan both include sections about airspace development. Two boroughs, Haringey and Tower Hamlets, even have frameworks for projects in their areas. It aims to provide more certainty, and also ensure that any proposals respect the character of the boroughs.

Concerns

The most important thing to keep in mind here though is any airspace developments need to be high quality. While allowing permitted development can make things easier, there is a risk that it allows projects with poor designs. To avoid this, any pattern book should include design quality requirements.

What could happen?

It will be interesting to see what kind of response there is to these calls. The expectation is we could have an answer from the Mayor of London by 3rd November. Crucially, the London Assembly said they want to see key things like the introduction of clearer policy and standardised approaches over the next 10 years.

Explore viability with top architects in London

Creating more homes and housing in London is a tricky job, but creative designs are always the solution. This could include things like airspace extensions and finding answers for challenging sites. We’d love to help, applying our knowledge and diverse skills to find the best results, even if it means doing something completely new and innovative.

So, contact us and talk to some of the best architects in London today. We’re award winners, prioritising light and liveability.

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New data

The latest report by the Home Builders Federation, using figures from construction market intelligence experts Glenigan, is hard reading. It shows a slump in approvals across the board in Q2 2026, both large developments and private homes.

Most alarmingly, just over 45,300 homes got permission in the second quarter. This is the lowest total in England since 2012. Looking at the whole year to that point, 214,500 homes were approved. It’s the lowest total since 2013 and a massive 36% below 2017′s peak. So, it’s not close to the NPPF’s goals.

It’s been a tough time for larger projects (developments with 10+ homes). Approvals are down 21% on Q1 and 14% on the same quarter in 2025. Private home approvals are struggling too, falling 15% year on year. Speak to us if you want help from a creative architect in London, especially if you’re struggling or want help getting permission.

Why is it happening?

HBF’s report explores a number of issues with the current housing market. Most significantly, they say demand is actually quite weak at the moment. Buyers are very cautious because of the geopolitical situation. In addition, interest rates and stamp duty make it more expensive to buy.

The viability of projects also remains an issue. This includes key things like higher construction costs, taxes/levies, and additional building and fire safety requirements. It puts pressure on developers and private housebuilders.

What needs to change?

This is a worrying situation for various stakeholders, especially if approvals continue to sink or remain low for a long period. As a top architect in London, we understand how big the impact can be. Low planning approvals can squeeze the pipeline and actually lead to issues like increasing house prices.

There are calls for change to improve the situation. This includes freezes on taxes and levies on construction. More Government support, especially for first time buyers is necessary too. Plus, mortgages need to become more affordable.

Work is also underway to reform leasehold tenures. They are currently the default for flats, but the strain of additional costs and fees like service charges causes problems. There are plans to replace this with fairer commonhold tenure. The hope is it could help to address the housing slowdown in areas that rely on flatted development, particularly London.

Discuss your plans with a fantastic architect in London

Getting approval for projects is one of the biggest challenges, but we’d love to share our expertise with you. You can rely on us to offer fantastic support and advice. Crucially, we can help you to consider local planning requirements and key policies like fire safety.

So, speak to us and work with an experienced architect in London. We’d love to see your plans and help bring them to life.

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Objectives

The most important thing to keep in mind is modern building envelopes need to simultaneously meet different objectives. They still need to do the classic thing of providing effective shelter from the elements. As a result, they must be able to withstand them effectively, particularly rain. However, on top of that they must be energy efficient, meet fire safety requirements, ensure acoustic performance, maximise health and wellbeing, address overheating, and manage moisture.

You can probably already see the problem here; how can you design to satisfy so many requirements? It can naturally lead to conflicts and the need for compromises. It puts more pressure than ever on designers to dive deep into the different options and what will and won’t work.

Multi-layered assemblies

A building envelope today is generally a multi-layer assembly. It can feature numerous components, such as bricks, insulation, cladding, brackets, moisture membranes, and cavity barriers. You must ensure they all work together effectively and don’t fail to meet any of the objectives. Rely on us if you need advice about residential architecture in London and more.

One of the most important things is to prioritise fire safety. If even one product in a multi-layer assembly is combustible, it makes it harder to ensure compliance. Ideally you should make sure all elements are non-combustible. If you can’t, you need to do sufficient testing.

It’s also vital to think about moisture control. The last thing you want is for elements of a multi-layer assembly to trap moisture in the building envelope. It can lead to serious problems like condensation in the walls, mould, and even structural deterioration over time. You need to select materials that can breathe. Plus, key products like vapour membranes must be placed correctly.

Finally, it’s a good idea to look at thermal bridging. It is one of the main factors that can compromise energy efficiency. You need to ensure you don’t choose conductive products that will allow heat to flow and bypass insulation.

Designing residential architecture in London and more

The single most important thing if you’re designing building envelopes is to get all the information you can. Talk to the manufacturers that make each element, including insulation, membranes, cladding, and more. Make sure you ask them for performance data and compliance documentation. Ultimately, you want to confirm components will work together and not cause issues.

Coffey Architects would love to help here. We can work with you to examine your objectives, create wonderful designs, and look at specifications. Remember, good planning early in a project is always better and more cost effective than late changes and retrofitting.

So, contact us today to discuss residential architecture in London and other types of projects.

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The Small Sites Design Code

The GLA recently launched a new draft design code for smaller sites (less than 0.25 hectares). It will help to support the goals in the new London Plan, particularly the aim to make the best use of land to build more high quality housing. The hope is making the development of small sites easier will help achieve the goal to build 558,000 homes by 2037.

A key thing here is the design code will make it easier for stakeholders, including architects, to see if proposals would be “acceptable in principle”. This is the initial hurdle with many projects. Without a framework or code, it can be time consuming and expensive to even determine if a site would be suitable to develop. It can deter development. Even if projects do progress, issues at this early stage can lead to them being aborted.

One of the most important things here is the Small Sites Design Code provides parameters to help determine if sites are appropriate for development. It covers the type of sites (suburban, terrace, high streets, or flatted), character context, and dimensional parameters. Therefore, it is easier to see if your proposal fits the site and area. Speak to us if you want help from leading architects in London.

Praise

The Small Sites Design Code is receiving a lot of praise. Significantly, it provides more certainty and will streamline the delivery of projects in London. Even better, it could help to reduce costs and prevent aborted work. Notably, it was written with extensive input from industry professionals and other stakeholders to ensure it is well informed and can maximise value.

Notably, the design code applies to conservation areas too. This is vital because they need to contribute to new housing targets. While it is important to preserve the character of these locations, it should not prevent all development. If small sites are viable here and designs respect the context (including using similar materials, roof profiles, etc), they should be acceptable.

What happens now?

The Small Sites Design Code is currently in draft form. A public consultation is open until 4th December, giving stakeholders the chance to provide feedback. After that, there will be reviews of the comments and potential revisions of the guidance. A final version will be created after the new London Plan is finalised.

Talk to top architects in London about your plans

It’s fantastic that it could be much easier to develop small sites in London in the near future. Before then, if you’re planning a project it’s best to work with a passionate, knowledgeable architect. It can help you to explore ideas, understand planning challenges, and create the best plans for any site in any part of the city.

Coffey Architects loves rising to the challenges of redeveloping different sites, including small ones. We can design the most creative properties to bring them to life as homes and more. So, contact us if you want to work with some of the best architects in London.

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Understanding the character

The first step is to identify all the features that give the building its character. They are the most important to preserve. Losing them means you no longer have the things that made the property special. In the worst cases you can make it generic and boring instead, completely ruining the renovation.

There are a number of key details to look at. Firstly, examine the design elements like floor plans and room proportions. Second, consider things like joinery, flooring, plaster details, fireplaces, and other valuable features. Externally, look at the brickwork and masonry, cladding, entrances, windows, and other details.

If you can, you should save as many of the key features as possible. This may require restoration such as refinishing and painting. Evaluate what you can do, the costs, and the value. You can rely on us if you want advice from a leading architect in London.

Preservation sometimes doesn’t make sense

A vital thing to keep in mind is you don’t need to keep everything to retain the character of a property. In fact, there will be times when it doesn’t make sense to, especially if it will be too costly or could actually be dangerous. Safety must always be the priority. So, if there is water damage, structural deterioration, or fire hazards, replacement is generally fine.

Keep an eye on the age of different features too. You may find there are numerous later additions. They may not have as much architectural value as original details, or may even detract from them. You can remove them and actually improve the property.

A respectful balance

Achieving the perfect balance of new and old is important if you want to be successful. You can modernise without making the property feel bland and generic. What you need to do is ensure you meet modern expectations, including ensuring kitchens, bathrooms and living space works for your needs.

Work with an exceptional architect in London

It’s more important than ever to retain the buildings we have. This is a far better strategy for the environment than demolish and replace. It’s also fantastic for retaining the character and history of properties, ensuring they are not lost to time.

If you’re thinking about a renovation, we would love to help. You can tell us your goals and we can share our expertise. Critically, we can advise you about elements to preserve and what to replace. Ultimately, we’ll help you create the perfect property.

So, get in touch today and start working with a leading architect in London. We’ll give you the very best services.

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The Index

EIU’s index ranks over 170 cities around the world to find out which are the most and least liveable. Interestingly, it looks at over thirty different factors in five key categories (stability, healthcare, culture & environment, education, and infrastructure). This provides a deeper rating of each city, seeing which offer the best and worst living conditions.

There are some really interesting findings in the 2026 index. Western Europe is the strongest region overall. However, Asia is improving rapidly, particularly because of investments in healthcare, and is closing the gap. Liveability in the Gulf Region has declined because of the Iran war. A big concern is stability continues to decline on average.

Best cities

Before we look at some of the cities in the top ten, let’s have a look closer at home. We’re passionate about residential architecture in London, working to create the best homes and housing. While the city ranks highly on various other indexes, it only gets into the mid 50s here. Luckily, this still places it in the highest tier of liveability. Even better, it has stabilised.

Overall, with a score of 98 out of 100, the most liveable city in the world according to EUI is Copenhagen. It keeps the title for the second year in a row. Incredibly, it got perfect scores for stability, infrastructure, and education. It only lost a few points for healthcare (96) and culture & environment (95).

Vienna, Melbourne, and Sydney were marginally behind the Danish capital, scoring 97. All three had perfect scores for healthcare and education. They also had the same scores for stability (95). Vienna was perfect for infrastructure too.

Discuss any aspect of residential architecture in London with us

Liveability is something you should definitely think about, especially when you’re designing homes. We’d love to help, sharing our expertise and design skills. We can work with you to consider all of the different elements that make properties liveable. This includes access, quality living space, comfort, health & wellbeing, and sustainability.

So, speak to us today about residential architecture in London. We provide the finest services and unbeatable designs.

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History

Historically the UK was a powerhouse for manufacturing. In fact, the first Industrial Revolution began here in the 18th century before spreading to Europe and the US. We were leaders in the production of textiles, steel, chemicals, and more.

Unfortunately, over time other countries began catching up to the UK. Critically it became cheaper to produce various products abroad where key costs like labour were lower. As a result, we transitioned into a services economy. Instead of manufacturing things, we sold our knowledge and expertise.

A key industry

Architecture is one industry that became very important to the UK economy. It’s a service we excel at. Significantly, we have some of the best practices and most prestigious schools in the world. In addition, we’re a hub for design, fashion and innovation. If you want to plan a project with top architects in London, we’d love to help.

If you look at the ONS data, you can see how valuable architecture is. In 1998, the profession (architectural and engineering services) was worth the equivalent of £45bn. By 2025, it had grown to £94.4bn. That is massive growth in those 27 years.

Talking in GDP terms, in 1998 the profession was worth 2.6% of the UK’s total. By 2025 it had grown to 3.3%. A great way to look at this is the first was equal to Liverpool’s economic output, while the second is equivalent to Birmingham’s. They are the fifth and third largest cities in the UK respectively.

There has been impressive growth in our export of architectural services too. They were worth £11bn in 2016 (based on equivalent values in 2023). In just seven years it had grown to £15.2bn (up 38%).

Work with leading architects in London

Coffey Architects knows exactly how much value great services can add to projects. We can help with key things like designs and planning, as well as navigating different challenges. Ultimately, we will do everything we can to make sure your project is as exceptional as it can be.

So, get in touch today and discuss things with award winning architects in London. We design homes, housing, commercial buildings, public spaces, mixed use properties, and much more, ensuring they work perfectly in the settings.

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The problem

It’s wonderful to create great designs and have models for energy efficiency. However, they may not accurately consider the behaviour of occupants. In fact, they will likely think of behaviours in very simple, idealistic terms. It can easily mean the actual performance is very different. As a result, the homes can consume more energy and have higher bills than planned.

In the worst cases, homes can be several times less efficient than the design predicted. This is a massive performance gap. Sadly, while it is possible to improve designs retrospectively, it is generally more difficult and more expensive.

What to consider?

If you want to reduce the performance gap, it is important to understand real-world occupant behaviour. Don’t simply think about the ideal scenarios. Look at what the occupants will actually be doing on a day to day basis. Remember you can always rely on us when you want to work with a leading architect in London.

There are a number of key things in particular to look at. Firstly, how will occupants behave in terms of opening windows? If they like to leave them open all year round, even in winter, you need to factor that in. It can have an impact on heating and cooling costs.

Next, consider shading. We’ve seen this year that the majority of homes in the UK aren’t good at dealing with intense hot weather. One way to tackle this is using window shades or even closing blinds and curtains to reduce solar gain. However, you need to make sure occupants will actually be doing these things; don’t idealistically think they will when they may not and simply use fans or air con more often.

It’s also vital to get a good idea of how much water people are actually using. You can design homes with sinks, toilets, and showers that are very efficient and minimise water use. However, what if occupants prefer baths or take more long showers? What if they leave the tap running while washing up or brushing teeth? All of this leads to the performance gap.

Designing with a fantastic architect in London

One of the best things about working with us is we can discuss everything in detail with you. Our goal is to create your perfect home, ensuring it suits your lifestyle, celebrates what you love, and performs effectively. To achieve all of this, it’s important to get a really good idea of the day to day decisions you make, reasons for them, and how you respond to different factors, including hot weather.

So, let’s get started. Contact us today to discuss your requirements and ideas with an award winning architect in London. We’ll help you to create a stunning design, considering various things that will ensure your home is efficient and sustainable.

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The problem

A vital thing to keep in mind is the majority of homes in the UK were built before overheating was a concern. In fact, for a long time the goal was actually to do all we could to keep heat inside the building to reduce heating costs. Now, when it’s incredibly hot during the summer, it works against us, making homes harder to cool.

Windows play a massive part here. Over 90% of homes have double glazing. Some have triple or even quadruple, all in the name of improving energy efficiency. However, many of these windows actually suffer from high solar gain. That means they allow a large percentage of heat to enter the building. It can be a massive problem during heatwaves.

An alternative

Solar-control glazing can be a really incredible alternative to standard glazing. It allows light to enter, but dramatically reduces how much heat does. In technical terms, it provides a much lower g-value. Speak to us about specifying glass for residential architecture in London and other buildings.

The most important thing to keep in mind here is solar-control glazing is a passive cooling measure. So, unlike air con, window shading, and heat pumps, it doesn’t require any kind of activation or energy. As soon as glass is installed, it will continuously limit how much solar heat enters the property. It’ll do that for the whole lifecycle of the windows.

It’s best to consider high quality solar-control glazing for windows that have the highest sun exposure. This includes south, east, and west elevations. It is fantastic for new builds as well as retrofitting.

If you are planning a new build in England or Wales, you must think about overheating. It is in Part O of the Building Regulations. Therefore, it is a design and compliance issue. Plus, when the Future Homes Standard comes in, it’ll increase requirements for ensuring new homes are more airtight than ever. So, it’ll be even more important to specify the right glazing.

Make the right decisions for residential architecture in London

One of our core focuses at Coffey Architects is to create properties that are full of light. Choosing the right orientation, design (including size and style), and glass is vital. However, it’s crucial to think about all sides here, including solar gain. We’d love to help.

You can rely on us to create your dream home, whether it is a new build or updating your current property. We’re award winners, delivering some of the most amazing residential architecture in London and other areas. So, get in touch today and talk to us about your plans.

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