SNG has announced the SNG architects framework appointments that will shape its housing and masterplanning output through to 2030, selecting 30 practices across two lots in a £24 million procurement that drew 113 initial applications and prioritised design quality at 60 per cent of the evaluation weighting.
The roster spans former Stirling Prize winners alongside specialists in affordable and community-led housing, with Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM), Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Alison Brooks Architects, Haworth Tompkins, Mikhail Riches and Mæ among those appointed. Housing-focused practices including Archio, HTA Design, Pitman Tozer and PRP also feature in what SNG describes as its first-ever architects framework.
Two lots covering masterplanning and housing delivery
The framework is structured across two lots. Lot 1 covers masterplanning architect services and includes AHMM, Allies and Morrison, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Hawkins\Brown, Pitman Tozer Architects and Stride Treglown. Lot 2 covers housing architect services and lists 24 practices, among them Alison Brooks Architects, Archio, Cartwright Pickard, Gort Scott, Haworth Tompkins, Henley Halebrown, HTA Design, Jestico + Whiles, Karakusevic Carson Architects, Levitt Bernstein, Mikhail Riches, Mæ Architects, Pollard Thomas Edwards, Proctor and Matthews Architects, PRP and RCKa.
Appointments will generally proceed through mini-competitions, with direct award available in limited circumstances. The four-year framework runs until 2030 and will cover projects across London, the South, the West and surrounding areas.
SNG architects framework appointments and the Homes and Place Standard
Design quality sits at the centre of SNG’s stated procurement rationale, and the framework connects directly to the organisation’s Homes and Place Standard. According to SNG, that standard and its associated assessment tool are co-designed with customers and help inform qualitative and performance outcomes for the home and place. SNG is also exploring sharing the standard with housing associations, planners, developers, consultants and local authorities, a move that could give the framework’s design approach a broader influence across the sector.
Antje Saunders, who joined SNG as design director from Allies and Morrison, said: ‘We’re delighted to announce the appointment of our first-ever architects framework. It will strengthen our partnerships with industry specialists and help raise the quality of the homes and places we deliver.’ Saunders added that by bringing together organisations sharing its commitment to great design, sustainability and customer-led outcomes, SNG aimed to create ‘places where people and communities can thrive for generations to come’.
The procurement launched in June, a year after Saunders took up the design director role.
Background: merger, scale and delivery ambitions
SNG came into being on 1 October 2023, when Sovereign Housing Association and Network Homes merged, according to Indeed. The Wembley-based organisation now houses around 210,000 residents across 85,000 homes in south-east England and has set a target of delivering 25,000 homes over the next decade.
Recent completed projects give a sense of the design ambition in play. The redevelopment of the former Camrose football stadium in Basingstoke, designed by Mæ, is among the schemes SNG cites. With the framework now live, the first masterplanning lot is focused on shaping cohesive, sustainable communities, while the second housing lot will drive design and delivery of new homes at scale.
SNG received 113 initial applications before inviting 45 applicants to submit full responses. Tenders were evaluated at 60 per cent on quality, 30 per cent on price and 10 per cent on social value, a weighting that signals where the organisation places design and sustainability outcomes relative to cost in its procurement calculus.
