We are pleased to share images from a project on which we’ve been working for the last few months in collaboration with MawsonKerr and Igloo. In late 2020 Openstudio and Mawson Kerr jointly won the Home of 2030 RIBA design competition, which sought to address the challenges of designing multi-generational sustainable housing suitable for an aging population. Sunderland City Council and DLUHC have now funded prototype Homes of 2030, from both winning projects, as part of the Sunderland Future Living Expo.

The aspirations of the competition and both schemes will now be fully explored in the prototypes, which together form a garden courtyard.

Openstudio’s Connector House seeks to create community within the connector space and in the garden courtyard. It is supported by extensive research in sustainable materials, and is on target to have exceptional lifetime carbon figures.

Four different shades of green glazed terracotta are proposed as well as natural slate. All cladding is carefully selected to reference the abundant vegetation and sheer cliff faces along the river of the immediate landscape area. The colours change across each plane of the elevation resulting in different experiences as you walk around the building. Each elevation reveals a different cladding colour, character, and reflection of light, making the building playful and engaging, while being deeply eembedded in its context.