Custom build and urban design coherence: a report written by the University of Portsmouth and Radian Group

The project investigated how the definition of frameworks for the design and delivery custom build housing could be interrelated with urban design codes in order to achieve recognised qualities of place and organisational coherence. The work was a partnership between Portsmouth School of Architecture and Radian Housing. The key research questions were: What are the benefits and drawbacks of promoting custom build in the UK context? How to ensure that on promoting custom build the resultant development is more than a collection of adhoc building projects with no regard for each other or for the quality of the spaces created by the collective whole? What are the combined roles of architectural and urban design codes in ensuring both cohesiveness and diversity? What is the economic return to the different stakeholders involved in the custom build process (i.e. government, developers and home owners)?