The AJ is kicking off the new year with a focus on what architects can do to help solve the housing crisis.

The government has set a target to build 1.5 million new homes within the next five years; at the AJ we believe they should be decent, well-built and supported by proper, sustainable infrastructure. There is a need – and an opportunity – for good architecture here, prioritising retrofit and reuse techniques and sustainable M&E wherever possible.

In our four building studies we present successful schemes in which their architects have played crucial roles: Collective Architecture’s Govan regeneration, a pioneering urban district designed by dRMM, Pitman Tozer Architects’ Lea Valley mansion block, and Agar Grove estate by Hawkins\Brown and Mae.

There are also three news features on the topic of housing, looking at pattern books (historic and new) and 3D-printed council housing in Ireland.

Within the Culture section there is a review of an exhibition on William Morris and the Middle East, and this month’s sketches are by JaeHyun Byeon.

Lastly, in Opinion, Martha Dillon writes a column on housing delivery and climate change, while Toko Andrews makes a new year’s resolution to network more.