Climate Crisis | Sustainable Construction |Quality Homes
To design, specify, manufacture and construct quality timber homes that are carbon neutral, desirable, long lasting, economic to construct and economic to run – we require interdisciplinary design teams that are climate literate, understand what sustainable timber is, what timber and timber products are available and how to use them effectively and efficiently.
Through a series of interactive webinars, we will introduce you to associations, professionals, resources, research and products that will increase your knowledge and aid your understanding.

The online evening webinars will run throughout February and will introduce:
Interested in the webinars? Register your interest to receive further information.
MOBIE and Sunderland City Council together with TRADA’s University Engagement Programme have launched an exciting Urban Living Design Competition with major sponsor the Confederation of Timber Industries (CTI).
Riverside Sunderland is redefining the city: transforming a spectacular site into a unique, carbon neutral urban quarter – an extraordinary place to live, work and play.
We are inviting built environment students and 2020 graduate from UK universities to take part in this exciting and fun challenge, where you will have the opportunity to:
The team challenge is to collaborate to design:
(1) one 3 bed family home in detail
(2) an indicative masterplan, to include landscape and streetscape with green and open spaces
A mixed and vibrant community of 100 desirable homes, on the Riverside Sunderland site. The schemes must be shown to be carbon neutral, creatively employing sustainable building materials and construction methods, and be energy efficient as well as technologically smart, focussing on the health and well-being of people, the community, and our planet.
The main material focus and specification for the homes will be timber and timber hybrid systems. Housing typologies should be designed and engineered to be manufactured locally, utilising modern methods of construction (MMC). Homes should meet or exceed the RIBA 2030 challenge and must be adaptable to meet the needs of living and working now and in the future.
Open to all built environment students, from first to final year, and 2020 graduate from UK universities.
Interested in taking part? Registration to participate is open, just click on the button below.
Why teams? A housing scheme that is fit for purpose, on time, on budget is delivered by a good interactive multi-disciplinary design team. Beyond this Inter-disciplinary team’s design and build great schemes – understanding, appreciating and learning from each other they find efficient, effective, economic solutions to any design challenge.
Business as usual is no longer an option, we need great Inter-disciplinary teams to create carbon neutral, desirable homes and vibrant communities.
We would encourage you to form interdisciplinary teams that consist of at least 4 members with a maximum of 8 members per team. You can self-select and form your own teams – or we can help you form a team from registered individuals. Team registration opens in February.
Team members will take on the different, but essential roles required to design and deliver a holistic scheme. Within your team you should assign roles for the following core professions:
When more than 4 you may want to include:
You will be asked to identify the roles that team members have assumed and demonstrate how your various disciplines have collaborated to produce your designs.
Interested in taking part? Register your interest to receive further information.