Housing with Care

Housing with Care is affordable social housing with spaces ‘designed in’ for people needing care and support from others.

Sometimes called ‘supported living’, Housing with Care helps adults live more independently.  Housing with Care can suit people who live with physical disability and/or who have autism, progressive dementia or learning disabilities.

Care can be intermittent or permanent. When embedded in communities, Housing with Care can transform lives.
 

The Need for Housing with Care

The need for Housing with Care (sometimes called ‘supported living’) is growing across the UK. The ‘baby boomer’ population is ageing. People with neuro-diverse conditions including autism and learning disabilities are living longer, happier lives.  New treatments permit people to be discharged from hospital back into the community more quickly.

However, the UK housing stock is failing to keep up with these challenges. 

There is an acute shortage of Housing with Care in England and in the devolved administrations of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The reasons are:

The private housing market fails to offer sufficient choice and diversity within social housing delivered as part of planning agreements with local authorities. 

‘Affordable’ housing, defined by the UK government as 80% of market house prices, is simply unaffordable. Houses prices have outstripped the ability of people on low wages to pay rent, deposits and mortgages.

Few local authorities in England have used new financing powers to build social or ‘council’ housing directly. They could increase the amount of Housing with Care by working with their own care commissioners on their own land.

There are 1,300 regulated housing associations (“social landlords”) in England. Most receive public subsidies from taxpayers. They provide 2.8 million homes for 6 million people. Frequently they adopt a conservative approach to residential building development in the belief that Housing with Care is too complicated, too small-scale and time-consuming.

Private sector housebuilders restrict building ‘types’ to conventional expectations of market demand. Commercial models are not inclusive. They overlook the prevalence of disability, ageing and the needs of people who live more solitary lives, with or without disability.

In summary, Housing with Care is regarded by many housing providers (in both public and private sectors) as novel, expensive, disruptive to business models, complicated and challenging. 

Unless these hurdles are overcome, the UK will continue to fail to provide decent, well-designed homes for the growing number of people who not only need somewhere to live but who also need help with living.

The VIVAT Foundation

The VIVAT Foundation is an independent organisation. VIVAT is backed by industry, by care providers, local commissioners and by planning, design and construction professionals. It is supported at arm’s length by central and local government, by registered housing providers and developers.

VIVAT Foundation supports innovation in design thinking, encourages ground-breaking research and develops public knowledge and understanding of specialist housing. VIVAT’s mission is unique in the UK. It is to encourage and reward architectural and design excellence in the development of Housing with Care across the UK.

The VIVAT Foundation acts as a champion and stimulus to innovation and the expansion of conventional thinking about housing design, to meet emerging and urgent needs. The VIVAT Foundation is committed to the demonstration of new possibilities in action, in real places and on real sites. 

VIVAT Design Excellence Awards

The VIVAT Design Excellence Awards for Housing with Care recognise and reward UK-based projects and client teams who have supported housing projects in development. The Awards also reward completed supported housing schemes.

Housing with Care

Housing with Care is affordable social housing with spaces ‘designed in’ for people needing care and support from others.

Sometimes called ‘supported living’, Housing with Care helps adults live more independently.  Housing with Care can suit people who live with physical disability and/or who have autism, progressive dementia or learning disabilities.

Care can be intermittent or permanent. When embedded in communities, Housing with Care can transform lives.
 

The Need for Housing with Care

The need for Housing with Care (sometimes called ‘supported living’) is growing across the UK. The ‘baby boomer’ population is ageing. People with neuro-diverse conditions including autism and learning disabilities are living longer, happier lives.  New treatments permit people to be discharged from hospital back into the community more quickly.

However, the UK housing stock is failing to keep up with these challenges. 

There is an acute shortage of Housing with Care in England and in the devolved administrations of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The reasons are:

The private housing market fails to offer sufficient choice and diversity within social housing delivered as part of planning agreements with local authorities. 

‘Affordable’ housing, defined by the UK government as 80% of market house prices, is simply unaffordable. Houses prices have outstripped the ability of people on low wages to pay rent, deposits and mortgages.

Few local authorities in England have used new financing powers to build social or ‘council’ housing directly. They could increase the amount of Housing with Care by working with their own care commissioners on their own land.

There are 1,300 regulated housing associations (“social landlords”) in England. Most receive public subsidies from taxpayers. They provide 2.8 million homes for 6 million people. Frequently they adopt a conservative approach to residential building development in the belief that Housing with Care is too complicated, too small-scale and time-consuming.

Private sector housebuilders restrict building ‘types’ to conventional expectations of market demand. Commercial models are not inclusive. They overlook the prevalence of disability, ageing and the needs of people who live more solitary lives, with or without disability.

In summary, Housing with Care is regarded by many housing providers (in both public and private sectors) as novel, expensive, disruptive to business models, complicated and challenging. 

Unless these hurdles are overcome, the UK will continue to fail to provide decent, well-designed homes for the growing number of people who not only need somewhere to live but who also need help with living.

The VIVAT Foundation

The VIVAT Foundation is an independent organisation. VIVAT is backed by industry, by care providers, local commissioners and by planning, design and construction professionals. It is supported at arm’s length by central and local government, by registered housing providers and developers.

VIVAT Foundation supports innovation in design thinking, encourages ground-breaking research and develops public knowledge and understanding of specialist housing. VIVAT’s mission is unique in the UK. It is to encourage and reward architectural and design excellence in the development of Housing with Care across the UK.

The VIVAT Foundation acts as a champion and stimulus to innovation and the expansion of conventional thinking about housing design, to meet emerging and urgent needs. The VIVAT Foundation is committed to the demonstration of new possibilities in action, in real places and on real sites. 

VIVAT Design Excellence Awards

The VIVAT Design Excellence Awards for Housing with Care recognise and reward UK-based projects and client teams who have supported housing projects in development. The Awards also reward completed supported housing schemes.

Housing with Care

Housing with Care is affordable social housing with spaces ‘designed in’ for people needing care and support from others.

Sometimes called ‘supported living’, Housing with Care helps adults live more independently.  Housing with Care can suit people who live with physical disability and/or who have autism, progressive dementia or learning disabilities.

Care can be intermittent or permanent. When embedded in communities, Housing with Care can transform lives.
 

The Need for Housing with Care

The need for Housing with Care (sometimes called ‘supported living’) is growing across the UK. The ‘baby boomer’ population is ageing. People with neuro-diverse conditions including autism and learning disabilities are living longer, happier lives.  New treatments permit people to be discharged from hospital back into the community more quickly.

However, the UK housing stock is failing to keep up with these challenges. 

There is an acute shortage of Housing with Care in England and in the devolved administrations of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The reasons are:

The private housing market fails to offer sufficient choice and diversity within social housing delivered as part of planning agreements with local authorities. 

‘Affordable’ housing, defined by the UK government as 80% of market house prices, is simply unaffordable. Houses prices have outstripped the ability of people on low wages to pay rent, deposits and mortgages.

Few local authorities in England have used new financing powers to build social or ‘council’ housing directly. They could increase the amount of Housing with Care by working with their own care commissioners on their own land.

There are 1,300 regulated housing associations (“social landlords”) in England. Most receive public subsidies from taxpayers. They provide 2.8 million homes for 6 million people. Frequently they adopt a conservative approach to residential building development in the belief that Housing with Care is too complicated, too small-scale and time-consuming.

Private sector housebuilders restrict building ‘types’ to conventional expectations of market demand. Commercial models are not inclusive. They overlook the prevalence of disability, ageing and the needs of people who live more solitary lives, with or without disability.

In summary, Housing with Care is regarded by many housing providers (in both public and private sectors) as novel, expensive, disruptive to business models, complicated and challenging. 

Unless these hurdles are overcome, the UK will continue to fail to provide decent, well-designed homes for the growing number of people who not only need somewhere to live but who also need help with living.

The VIVAT Foundation

The VIVAT Foundation is an independent organisation. VIVAT is backed by industry, by care providers, local commissioners and by planning, design and construction professionals. It is supported at arm’s length by central and local government, by registered housing providers and developers.

VIVAT Foundation supports innovation in design thinking, encourages ground-breaking research and develops public knowledge and understanding of specialist housing. VIVAT’s mission is unique in the UK. It is to encourage and reward architectural and design excellence in the development of Housing with Care across the UK.

The VIVAT Foundation acts as a champion and stimulus to innovation and the expansion of conventional thinking about housing design, to meet emerging and urgent needs. The VIVAT Foundation is committed to the demonstration of new possibilities in action, in real places and on real sites. 

VIVAT Design Excellence Awards

The VIVAT Design Excellence Awards for Housing with Care recognise and reward UK-based projects and client teams who have supported housing projects in development. The Awards also reward completed supported housing schemes.