Build It’s Self Build Education House Wins RICS Award

Build It magazine’s very own self build project, the Self Build Education House, has scooped a coveted RICS Social Impact Award
Articles by Build It magazine
by Build It magazine
16th June 2020

A first for any UK magazine, Build It’s Self Build Education House is an innovative real-life home, designed and built to inform and inspire self builders as they embark on the journey to realising an individual home.

Designed by lapd Architects and project managed by Build It’s Editor, Chris Bates, The Build It House is an educational hub that showcases the design options and practical choices available to self builders.

And we’re delighted to announce that our unique project has won the Residential category of the RICS Social Impact Awards 2020 South East.

What is the Build It Education House?

Build It’s Self Build Education House is located at Graven Hill in Bicester, Oxfordshire, the UK’s largest self and custom build development, with over 750 self build plots available for one-off homes.

Build It worked in partnership with Graven Hill and a number of leading self build suppliers to realise this inspiring project.

This pioneering project underpins Build It’s values as the most practical and detailed source of impartial expert advice, both for the immediate community and all UK self builders.

The Education House is free to visit – currently by appointment only – for all members of the public.

Visitors gain a unique opportunity to see and interact with a modern, sustainable smart home – and to decide what key features they’d like to cherry pick for their own home.

Read more: Follow Build It’s real-life self build journey >

A visit to the Education House also gives you access to informational graphics, detailed project costings and a free 84-page house guide explaining the choices Build It made.

So the Education House offers a fantastic platform to plan your budget and identify which elements offer the greatest value-for-money for you – enabling you to complete your project on time and on budget.

An award-winning project

The RICS Social Impact Awards recognise the positive contribution the built environment can have on society, highlight excellence across eight categories – including residential, education, heritage and commercial.

“There were over 460 entries into this year’s awards, ranging from large-scale projects to local community-led initiatives, all with social or environmental impact at their core,” says Matthew Howell, RICS managing director for UK & Ireland.

“Projects in all categories were judged based on their contribution to making a positive impact and adding value to society.”

What the RICS judges said

Presented by TV property expert Phil Spencer, the residential category covers residential developments of either a single building or large projects, new builds and conversions.

The judges recognised that self build is a growing sector of the housing market in the UK that creates high-quality, highly sustainable and end-user focussed homes.

“Build It magazine took a short-term lease of a plot where some 750 have been allocated for self-build houses,” says Phil Spencer. “It then designed and built a house to display contemporary design, construction methods and technological advancements, especially in sustainability, available to the average self-builder.”

“It is a fantastic development – huge congratulations!”

The Build It Education House will now go on to compete in the RICS Social Impact Awards Grand Final on 24th September.

Visiting the Build It Education House

The Education House is open to the public five days a week, currently by appointment only. Find out more and book your free visit to the Build It House >

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