MCAU has been delivering projects in an evolving and expanding residential market sector. Build to rent, later living, co-living, student accommodation sectors, multi-generational living, and extra care are all examples of our experience. Our approach is one where health and wellbeing is a determining and underlying factor in all our housing design solutions no matter what the tenure or type.
The shortage of housing supply, across all tenures and age groups, and the reduction in the qualities and standards of living is a known issue and a challenge that we are all facing together. This is affecting our poorer urban environments in the shortage of quality housing being supplied and in the decline of their commercial centres.
MCAU see the positive opportunity for our towns and cities to evolve, adapt, and rethink their issues in a new way, bringing change for the better and addressing demand and demographic changes that is also having an effect in some of these areas. MCAU was established to find ways to engage with this challenge by combining excellence in design and place-making, which is also grounded in a clear understanding of development and funding requirements. We are committed to exploring modern methods of construction and offsite techniques, seeking imaginative ‘new build’ design solutions that can deliver more efficiently and cost effectively than before.
Seventy-five per cent of the houses required by 2050 are already built and the challenge is how they are adapted for life in the 21st century. Re-using and reviving existing legacy housing, commercial redundant office space, industrial, and heritage assets in smart, creative ways must also be part of the solution.