A week-long exhibition showcasing the ground-breaking home designs in the government’s £60,000 home competition is to be held at The Building Centre in London this summer.

From 15-20 May 2006, members of the public and industry experts are invited to visit the exhibition, view the winning Design for Manufacture entries and comment on what homes for the future should look like.

Announcing the exhibition, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said, "I am proud of what has been achieved in the 18 months since I launched the Design for Manufacture competition. The pace of this project has been remarkable and we are now looking forward to work starting soon on the first of the 1,000 new homes to be built."

The government challenge to build a quality two bedroom home for £60,000, has been taken up by a number of developers and some have already been selected to go forward to manufacture.

The exhibition will showcase and celebrate the achievements of the developers, designers and contractors who have proved that, homes could be built at this cost.

Trevor Beattie, corporate strategy director for English Partnerships who is running the competition for the government said: "During the past year, the Design for Manufacture competition has captured the imagination of the housebuilding industry. I have been excited and encouraged by not just the number of people wanting to take part in this challenge, but also the quality of home designs that can be achieved for a construction cost of just £60,000."

"We now have proof that it’s possible to build homes more cost-efficiently without sacrificing quality. And even better than that, many of the winning designs showcase real innovation, pushing the boundaries of design to create environmentally friendly homes in vibrant new communities."

"Already, Design for Manufacture homes are having an impact on our industry, and I’m looking forward to the first ones being built. I hope that many people will take the opportunity to visit this exhibition to see for themselves these stunning designs."

So far, preferred developers for nine of the ten competition sites have been selected. In total, the competition will see the creation of over 1,000 new homes.

For further information on the competition and the exhibition, log onto http://www.designformanufacture.info