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What did we get up to in….



Why do we bother?

Because most modern housing
just isn’t good enough.

Because we got angry about
the way volume housebuilders
were riding roughshod over great
tracts of our towns and countryside:
erasing traces of the past; ignoring
established communities and
chucking up identikit Noddy houses
at the lowest possible cost.

Because we believe that housing
should be specific to its context;
that, done properly, development
should improve rather than destroy,
the biodiversity of the site.That it’s
not just about houses, but about
landscape, culture, community.
Because we simply didn’t believe
it when we were told that you can’t
build beautiful environmentally-
friendly housing at a price that
most people can afford.



Do we ever actually
get anything built?

It’s something of a surprise to us
too, but in the words of Bob the
Builder ‘Yes we DO’. Beautiful houses
that keep people cool in summer and
warm and winter and generally
happy and smiling all year round.
Places with beautiful outdoor spaces
with communal gardens and edible
landscapes and butterflies and
badgers and birds. Really we do.
Check out www.haboakus.co.uk
to see that we’re really quite
professional and grown up.



Can I make my
community a better
place to live?

Yes you can!
So right now you could…
Think of something you’d
be happy to lend or give away.
Or a skill you’d like to share.
Then log onto streetbank to
see if there’s anyone in your

neighbourhood who’d like to
take you up on it. If you fancy
operating at a rather grander
scale you could visit Transition
Network
for information about
working as a community to
respond to the pressures of
climate change and generally
improve well-being and happiness.
Or you could check out the
Movement for Happiness and
add your weight to its mission
to replace individualism and

consumerism with community
spirit and contentment.
Or you could phone up somebody
you really like and invite them
over for a cup of tea.



Is there any point at all
in dropping us a line?

Well…..

Hab | Happiness – Architecture – Beauty

Is there any point at all in
dropping us a line?


Well….

SIMON would like to hear from…
Anyone; as he is Irish and stereotypically garrulous.
But anyone with a cracking site, spiffing new technology to push
to market or a novel idea on how to get homes financed and built
will be especially welcome. You can get him on simon@habhousing.co.uk.

CLAIRE would like to hear from…
Inspiring switched on folk who think architecture really can make a difference,
whether that be from the community perspective, or if you’re an architect
who has designed a fabulous scheme in the UK or internationally and
think she should know about it. Email her at claire@habhousing.co.uk.

MIKE is always keen to hear from…
Landowners who have land (preferably brownfield) suitable
for residential/mixed-usedevelopment in suburban locations.
Anybody who has a product or service which might help us make
our houses evenmore lovely and environmentally sound.
You can email him on mike@haboakus.co.uk
Or phone. Phone is good. The number’s 0844 800 3478.
He likes a good chat.But he’s good at keeping secrets too.
Indeed he abides by the Second World War mantra
‘Loose Lips Sink Ships’ so it’s perfectly safe to entrust
him with commercially sensitive information.
Or any really juicy gossip.

ISABEL would like to hear from…
Anybody who has discovered a housing project so beautiful
that it could make a grown man cry. Anybody with any suggestions
for really good recipes using vegetables in season now or in
forthcoming months. Anybody who knows a really good joke.
Email isabel.allen@habhousing.co.uk
Or, ideally, send a particularly pleasant postcard to:
27 High Street, Bruton, Somerset BA10 0AH.

SAHRA would like to hear from…
Anybody interested in living in one of Hab’s houses either soon
or sometime in the future. Anybody with a query or suggestion
about a Hab project in their neighbourhood. Journalists who who
want to find out more or check their facts. Best to phone if possible:
the number’s 01243 816611 . But if you’re really only happy with email
feel free to drop a line to sahra@habhousing.co.uk
(Note to journalists. If you do suffer from some sort of phone phobia,
journalism’s probably not the career for you. Might want to consider
a change of direction. Just a thought).

CHRIS would like to hear from…
Anybody who truly believes that the key to a healthier
happier community is more bicycles and better cycle paths.
Email chris@habhousing.co.uk

KEVIN would like to hear from…
Nobody at all. Please contact his agent.