The Davidson Prize

This year we saw nearly 40 multidisciplinary teams submit ideas that responded to the theme ‘Rethinking Home – Adapt and Reuse’. This first round of judging took place on Wednesday 20 March at AHMM and our expert panel of judges had the very challenging, but enjoyable, task of choosing a longlist to be considered for the next round of judging.

Responding to the theme, the 17 chosen projects represent an inspiring range of practical solutions to the UK’s well-documented housing shortage in the context of climate change.

The projects stretch from the Isle of Portland in Dorset to Glasgow in Scotland and from South Wales to the Thames Estuary, as well as focusing on sites in Suffolk, Lancashire, Devon, South Yorkshire, Somerset, Essex, Birmingham and London. The entries innovatively use an extensive inventory of sustainable building materials, including locally sourced willow, flax, hemp and straw, recycled aeroplane insulation, structural cork, wool and site-grown bamboo.

Recurring themes that emerged in this year’s longlist include co-design and co-building, skills and materials exchange, education and workshops, on-site food production and urban farming, urban and rural wilding, and local circular economies.

The cross-disciplinary teams represented in the 2024 Davidson Prize longlist unite the skills and experience of architects and designers with circular economy experts and educators, filmmakers, artists and makers, planning, urbanism and placemaking specialists, ecologists, dietitians and gardeners, and clients and developers.

Annalie Riches, Co-founder at Mikhail Riches, said: “This year’s submissions showcase some incredible, forward-thinking solutions to solving the UK’s housing demand while helping to mitigate the significant impact the built environment has on climate change. From the reuse of pylons and gasholders to airport hangars and high-street shops, it is great to see such a wide variety of skillsets coming together to propose ideas that could have a genuine impact.”

Duncan Campbell, Director at Atelier Ten, said: “The 2024 Davidson Prize longlist demonstrates the diversity of ideas around the future of housing in the UK. As an engineer focusing on sustainable solutions, it has been brilliant to see teams thinking creatively about regeneration and bringing nature back into urban and industrial settings through the use of clever design with exciting and interesting approaches to communicating their ideas. Congratulations to those that have made it through!”

The high standard of entries shows just how pressing the collective desire is to act now on the need for more sustainable, more human-centred housing for all.

Check out the full longlist here.