The BuildGroup Handbook

To find out more information on how BuildGroup can facilitate the early design stages of a building group project, click on the image and download the BuildGroup Handbook. The handbook provides some background to the project, provides more details on our tools, and provides some case studies which showcase recent community-led housing projects in the UK and in Germany. We want to make the BuildGroup approach freely available for anyone to use. 

What’s in the handbook?

Getting community-led projects off the ground is still a challenge, despite widespread interest and support. Our approach can unlock the potential for community-led housing to provide better housing in the UK. The benefits of community-led housing are well documented, as the case studies in the handbook demonstrate. The handbook sets out an approach to community-led housing that everyone can get behind. The handbook contains:

  • A definition of the ‘building group’ concept applied to a UK context.

  • An approach to placemaking which rebalances the ‘triple bottom line’ of sustainability.

  • More information on the BuildGroup design tools and how to use them.

  • A section explaining how to make a BuildGroup project happen, with further resources.

  • An overview of the history of ‘Baugruppen’, UK community-led housing & case studies.

building for the future.

Making it happen.

The challenges of any building project are not to be underestimated. It’s a long process and there’s a degree of uncertainty along the way. Getting good advice and working with informed professionals will increase the chances of success.

You can find further information within the BuildGroup handbook which will help you to make your ideas a reality. We have also referenced some of the fantastic work that has already been carried out in this field, by some of the organisations mentioned below:

Community Led Homes

https://www.communityledhomes.org.uk

UK Cohousing Network

https://cohousing.org.uk

Community Land Trust Network

https://www.communitylandtrusts.org.uk

Self Build Portal

https://selfbuildportal.org.uk

My Community

https://mycommunity.org.uk

Join the movement

BuildGroup can be used to embed social and environmental value into communities but we can’t do it alone. We’re looking to collaborate with local authorities, housing associations, developers, other architects, community-led housing groups and individual households.

Get in touch to join the movement as we develop the BuildGroup resources.