Luke Tozer, Founding Director at Pitman Tozer Architects, highlights the priorities of the Architects’ Action for Affordable Housing (AA4AH) campaign as well as the actions needed to provide good homes for all Londoners.  

 

London’s housing crisis is not new, but the pressures we face today from affordability, to sustainability, to delivery at scale demand fresh approaches to regeneration. At Architects’ Action for Affordable Housing (AA4AH), we argue that the current model of relying on private development contributions to fund affordable homes is fundamentally broken. Regeneration, if it is to meet the needs of London’s future generations, must be underpinned by direct public investment, long-term stewardship, and design strategies that place social value at the core. 

 

Over the past decade, we have seen both successes and failures in public housing delivery. Schemes such as Citizens House in Lewisham, London’s first community land trust homes delivered with the London CLT, demonstrate what can be achieved when land is secured affordably and communities have a stake in long-term management. By contrast, many estate regeneration programmes have struggled to reconcile the tension between commercial viability and social outcomes, often leading to displacement, community distrust, and reduced levels of social housing. 

 

One key lesson is that design adds most value at the earliest stages. Strategic design work, looking not just at the building but at the viability of the site, the mix of tenures, and the long-term management model, can unlock efficiencies that make more affordable housing deliverable.  

 

At AA4AH, we champion early collaborative feasibility studies that bring together architects, local authorities, housing associations and communities. These studies show that by optimising layouts, density, and phasing at the outset, regeneration can achieve higher quality and more inclusive outcomes. 

 

Partnership is also central. While the public sector must play a stronger role in land assembly and direct funding, collaboration with private and community partners remains essential. The Marklake Court scheme in Bermondsey is a strong example. Here, a resident-led management organisation partnered with architects and a local authority landowner to deliver genuinely affordable homes that respond directly to community need. This model of co-production has proven its ability to deliver long-term trust and stewardship. 

 

Looking ahead, regeneration must also respond to the climate emergency. Public housing cannot be delivered at the expense of environmental performance. The Agar Grove Estate in Camden illustrates the potential of combining ambitious sustainability targets with social housing delivery. As one of the UK’s largest Passivhaus schemes, it shows that long-term savings in energy bills can directly support affordability for residents. Sustainability, in this sense, is not an add-on but a central driver of equity. 

 

For London to achieve the scale of housing it needs, the government must shift its approach. Affordable housing should not be a by-product of private schemes but a national infrastructure priority, directly funded and delivered through local authorities, housing associations and community partnerships, working collaboratively with private sector partners. Regeneration, when underpinned by long-term public investment, early strategic design, and genuine collaboration, can deliver homes that are not only affordable but socially and environmentally sustainable. 

 

At AA4AH, we believe the next decade must be defined by a move away from fragmented, site-by-site negotiations and towards a systemic, values-driven model of delivery. Only then can regeneration meet the test of providing good homes for all and securing London’s future as a fair, liveable city.