Countdown to zero: The Housing Corporation has thrown its weight behind an adapted version of the BedZed home design. Architect Bill Dunster has spent two years adapting his acclaimed zero-energy development – built for the Peabody Trust in Beddington, south London – for use on a larger scale, and is set to launch it with the corporation on 24 October.

The initiative is separate from the Housing Corporation's Approved Standard House Plans, which are set to be launched with the backing of five developers in the next two weeks.