Welcome back to the UK Build to Rent Q&A series. This week we return with the latest of our Grainger Q&A’s. In case you’ve missed any of our previous interviews, you can access all of them here. Join us this week as we share our design focused Q&A with Sam While, Head of Forward Funded Delivery at Grainger. We hope you enjoy it.
Grainger plc is the UK’s largest listed residential landlord and a leader in UK PRS and Build to Rent. With c.9000 homes in operation and c.8500 in the development pipeline, Grainger is investing £2bn into the delivery of high quality rental homes across the UK.
About
Sam While is Head of Forward Funded Delivery. Sam joined Grainger in November 2021 and leads the Forward Fund Development team. Sam holds a Master’s Degree in Construction and Project Management and brings with him a wealth of experience in Architecture, Project Management and Development.
Q: Given the unprecedented 24 months we’ve seen. How do you think the future of BtR design changed due to COVID?
A: How the world of residential design will change post-COVID-19 remains to be seen, however it’s clear that our homes have never been more important.
Whilst modern open-plan living remains popular, an increase in working from home has shown for some that it can be a hindrance when our work lives merge into our living spaces.
It will be interesting to see if there is a move back to layouts defined by separate rooms, thus allowing for a distinct demarcation between home and work life.
Within Build to Rent, the co-working spaces provided within the resident amenity answer to this very well.
There is also now an expectation that developers look to further increase the external amenity space they provide, and not simply rely on the proximity of the development to parks and other green spaces.
Grainger proactively monitors feedback and insight from residents to better understand how spaces are used and what renters want and need to ensure this is reflected in our future designs and plans.
Q: What are the first design steps you take when trying to ensure a BtR development contributes to its wider community, as opposed to segregating tenants from it.
A: People are increasingly living more locally and interacting with their local community.
The homes that we create, should help to make life better. Not only for our residents who live in them, but for the people who build them and the communities they’re built in.
Build to Rent is not just about the amenity space a development provides. It’s about the community it helps to create. Good design can help to facilitate this by creating meaningful places, that put people at the heart of the development.
Q: BtR development design is forever evolving to match the current trends of today’s tenants. What do you see as being the key design trends that will emerge for the BtR sector over the next 5 years?
A: To future proof the development, it’s important to ensure that a wide-ranging demographic is catered for, and that residents are provided with the opportunity to benefit from a diverse selection of on-site amenities, including gyms and wellness zones, green spaces, roof terraces, communal lounges and workspaces, all included within the rental offering.
For Grainger though, we see the importance of helping to create communities as top of the agenda.
Whilst most of us have become accustomed to speaking to family over ‘facetime’, doing yoga with friends on ‘Zoom’, or spending the evening having some virtual drinks, its become undeniably clear, that we have also missed physically being with each other.
Success will be measured by the ability of residents to cultivate their own sense of belonging, through the local networks they create. When people love where and who they live next to, they tend to stay there for longer.
Q: We have seen a rise in health & wellbeing amenities being offered to tenants. How do you think these can be provided at a manageable cost to the investor? And how do you think we can measure this?
A: Developers need to consider what provides actual value to residents as opposed to headline-grabbing uniqueness. For a development to stay current, one needs to be flexible and able to remodel the amenity offering in response to new trends and the changing demands of residents.
The relationship between interior design and mental health is also not to be underestimated, and at Grainger we are working with designers, to understand how we can help to enhance mental wellbeing through innovative uses of lighting, materiality & acoustics, throughout the interior environments we provide.
We also know that when gyms closed during the pandemic, people resorted to at-home workout regimens, and the provision of gyms & fitness studios is a core offering within Grainger’s BtR developments.
Q: We’re seeing an ever-increasing demand from the government, investors, and local councils for the BtR industry to contribute to handling the climate crisis. How do you see the design of a BtR evolving to match this requirement and is it possible to design a carbon positive building?
The Build to Rent sector is conscious of the importance of environmental credentials of a development, with institutional investors also having a vested interest in ESG credentials.
All of the schemes currently being designed for Grainger are Net Zero Carbon ready in operation subject to the greening of the Grid.
With regards to urban build to rent and embodied carbon, the main challenge is that relatively small sites and high density development necessitates complex structure and M&E services compared to single family dwellings. Given the use of piled substructure, concrete, steel, M&E and cladding, until there is a change in manufacturing technology and the supply chain in place to help support and deliver Net Zero Embodied Carbon Urban Build to Rent buildings, offsetting will be required.
There is plenty of opportunity to optimise the carbon used within current technology which is where Grainger and the design and construction supply chain are currently focused in the short term with an eye on the future innovation.
In terms of carbon positive Urban Build to Rent buildings, given the density and small site footprints mentioned above, the first challenge is to get to Net Zero and then move to the challenge of onsite renewable energy generation to deliver a carbon positive building.
Suburban single family housing Build to Rent has the capacity to deliver both Net Zero Carbon and Positive Carbon Buildings much sooner.
Q: Do you have any closing thoughts and/or personal opinions on the direction of the design of developments within this sector?
A: Its an exciting time to be working in the sector. With more and more competitors coming into the market, it is imperative that BtR providers are listening to their residents, understanding the needs of renters, and continuously refining & improving their offering.
I sincerely believe that well designed environments, enable communities to thrive. As a developer we can help to facilitate this by creating meaningful places, that put people at the heart of the development.
A Big Thank You… to Sam While for taking the time to respond.
If you have any other questions regarding this interview, you can reach out to Grainger plc here.
Our content calendar has enough free space for one or two more contributors to this series. If you feel you would offer value and have experience in build to rent investment, design, management or ESG – contact us here.
Thank you for reading.
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