Churchill Fellowship award for British engineer to study Europe’s secrets to scalable, sustainable custom-build housing

British engineer and sustainability expert Ele George has been awarded a prestigious honour - a Churchill Fellowship - to explore how industrialised construction can unlock the potential of ‘custom build’ homes in Britain.

The research project will take her to Germany and Sweden, two countries where industrialised construction and citizen-led development have transformed communities.

Her aim is to bring back practical, scalable models that can help reshape the way Britain delivers housing - putting power in the hands of people rather than developers.

“This isn’t just research for the sake of research - it could benefit thousands of potential home owners,” said Ele. “It could also encompass social housing shared ownership models, so the potential is huge.

“It’s a passion and it’s also personal … I built my own home through a custom-build route, and I saw first-hand how transformative it can be. It’s about giving people real agency to design homes that work for their lives, not just tick boxes.”

Over six weeks, Ele, who lives near Stroud, Gloucestershire will study modular timber systems and platform-based construction frameworks in Germany and Sweden. Her Churchill Fellowship project will explore how the UK might adopt similar approaches - such as 3D configurators, curated material libraries, and serviced plots - to make custom-build a serious alternative to developer-led housing.

“One idea I’ll explore is Baugruppe – a German term meaning "building group” that allows groups of individuals to come together to design and construct their residential spaces,” said Ele.

Custom build - where individuals or groups commission homes tailored to their needs - remains a niche concept in the UK, in part due to lack of policy support, industrial capacity, and enabling systems. But internationally, it’s a proven route to faster, greener, and better-quality homes.

Ele believes that industrialised construction – for example, prefabrication or offsite manufacturing - could be the key to unlocking scale in the UK.

“There is a real opportunity to move beyond the current developer monopoly. With the right systems in place, we can deliver homes more quickly, more sustainably, and with greater community input,” she said.

“At a time when the Government has set a 1.5million target for new homes in the UK by the end of this parliament, this Churchill Fellowship study has added relevance.”

Ele, who with Elevate works at the intersection of construction innovation and equitable housing, was awarded her fellowship after more than 1,000 people applied in a process begun in September last year and culminating in an interview last month (May).

Ele hopes her work – which will span across other themes including climate change - will directly influence UK policymakers, housing professionals, and construction leaders, offering actionable pathways for adoption rather than just ideas.

She has appealed to UK housing leaders, designers and policymakers as well as European partners in Germany and Sweden to share their insights with her for the project.

“The UK’s housing crisis requires scalable solutions, and my research will identify actionable ways to help,” said Ele. “I’m thrilled to have been awarded a Churchill Fellowship and really excited to connect with leading experts in the field of construction innovation to explore new insights that will hopefully help drive positive change.”