David Birkbeck
CommentWhy self build is no panacea
Housing minister Grant Shapps is focused on boosting the small self-build sector. These images from a much-heralded Dutch self-build scheme make it clear it won’t be plain sailing, argues David Birkbeck
NewsUnexplainable homes: German sausage
A continental approach to housing uses colourful facades to show just who owns what
NewsUnexplainable homes: Access to flats
David Birkbeck's look at the shock troops of housing design continues with a dramatic reinvention
NewsUnexplainable homes: House or hovercraft?
The new series kicks off with how energy efficiency can become an eyesore
NewsPut money in their purses
Allowing councils to pocket the taxes from the sale of new homes would ensure they are much more supportive of development
- Comment
Demanding satisfaction
Brighton. Buxton. Broadway. Bradford. Britain’s most lively townscapes gained their individual character because development was in the hands of local specialists. Today most of the country’s output comes from volume housebuilders, and they work wherever there is a local market.
- News
When badgers attack
Allow third parties to object to planning decisions – as some pressure groups want – and you'll create a bill of rights for busybodies. Here's one man's story
- Features
Mine's bigger than yours
Leeds' Bridgewater Place could become the tallest residential building in the north. That is until Manchester comes up with something even higher.