High hopes: airspace development could be the key to solve the housing crisis

Brownfield development, which means building on derelict land that has previously been used, is increasingly taking centre stage when it comes to tackling the housing crisis.

A package of £1.8bn has recently been announced for new homes on this kind of land. But less is spoken about the role for airspace developments – a sustainable, high-density solution to housing delivery where additional storeys are placed on top of existing buildings. As more is being made about the need to build upwards, not outwards, airspace could become a crucial part of the solution to delivering new London homes in the near future.

Last year, the government introduced new rules allowing apartment blocks to be extended by up to two floors without the need for obtaining planning permission. This presents a real opportunity for airspace developments to take centre stage. As an appetite for these kinds of developments grows among local authorities, airspace is beginning to take off across some locations, with predictions that London has space for over 180,000 of these homes.

Read the full article from Architecture Magazine here