Velux sponsors British Homes Awards

Velux is once again the lead sponsor of the annual British Homes Awards. The Awards, which were first launched in 2007, recognise excellence in British building design, and champion innovation and change in the way the industry designs and builds our future homes.

Now in their third year, the 2009 British Homes Awards will judge entrants across 12 categories, from development of the year to best conversion, in addition to this year’s much-anticipated annual competition, which challenges architects and interior designers to lay out their vision of a Lifetime Home for the UK's aging population.

This 'Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods' competition invites participants to challenge not only the industry’s delivery of homes that comply with Lifetime Homes Standards, but also the way new communities are created to provide the desired lifestyle for their aging occupants.

The short-listed designs will be presented as a gallery exhibit at BRE Insite (June 01-04) and the winning design will be announced on September 17th along with the other category winners at the Awards presentation at The London Marriott, Grosvenor Square.

Kevin Brennan, Head of Sustainable Development at VELUX, said: “The awards celebrate the very best in British building design, from one-off private projects to large scale social housing schemes, encouraging the industry to strive for higher and higher standards. Good design is an essential element in meeting the ever evolving needs of our future communities and we are proud to have been a part of these awards since they were first launched.”

The British Homes Awards are run in partnership with CLG.

Housing Minister, Margaret Beckett comments: “With more people living longer and staying independent, it’s vital that our homes and communities adapt to meet these changes. We need better designed, more age friendly homes, and I hope that this competition encourages the best of British architecture to come up with creative and innovative ideas for meeting this challenge.”

Mike Gazzard, Managing Director, British Homes Awards, added: “The British Homes Awards have become renowned among the industry as the key driver for innovation in the design and construction of our new homes. By challenging convention and inspiring innovation the Awards will ensure the future success of our industry to deliver exemplars of best practice that will become the benchmarks for design excellence.”