In this episode, Paul answers people´s property design questions. He reveals the biggest trends in housing design, how and why property design is changing, and the impact technology is having. During the episode, he covers some of the pros and cons of building with modular components and the influence recent legislation changes are having. Paul talks about why smaller developers really have the edge over the mass housing builders.

He also talks about his Building With Nature experience, focusing on how it has impacted the way he designs his developments. Within this, he shares sharing how to balance creativity with functionality. 

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• How buildability plays a role within property design, for example, whether it is sustainable, easy to construct and cost-effective to build that way.
• The push for sustainability is having a growing impact on modern property design.
• How building in a way that connects people with nature is a win-win.
• You need to start with functionality. If the property does not work for people, they won´t buy it.
• Creativity comes second to functionality and getting too creative can easily lead to going hugely over budget.
• Aim to build better but do it in a way that still looks good.

BEST MOMENTS

“Smaller developers have a massive opportunity to push the envelope and create much better, bespoke, well-designed stuff.”

“The technology around building quickly, efficiently, economically and in a high-performing, sustainable way will impact design.”

“The best architects would actually quite like to be developers because that's how they get their stuff created.” 

ABOUT THE HOST 

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.

Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group. 

In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 

Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.

CONTACT METHOD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs

Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial