About Building for Life
Building for Life is the national standard for well-designed homes and neighbourhoods.
Good quality housing design can improve social wellbeing and quality of life by reducing crime, improving public health, easing transport problems and increasing property values. Building for Life promotes design excellence and celebrates best practice in the house building industry.
The 20 Building for Life criteria embody our vision of functional, attractive and sustainable housing. New housing developments are scored against the criteria to assess the quality of their design.
What is a Building for Life assessment?
A Building for Life assessment scores the design quality of planned or completed housing developments against the 20 Building for life criteria. Informal assessments can be done by anyone, but formal assessments can only be carried out by an accredited Building for Life assessor.
Several agencies now require a formal Building for Life assessment.
What are the Building for Life awards?
Building for Life awards are given annually to new housing projects that demonstrate a commitment to high design standards and good place making. The awards are judged by a panel of experts and the 2008 winners will be announced in November 2008.
Who runs Building for Life?
Building for Life is a partnership between several national agencies. It is led by CABE and the Home Builders Federation.
