GOOD DESIGN – THE FUNDAMENTALS

Graeme Moore BA (hons), Dip TP, MA (Urban Design)

URBAN DESIGN

What is it?

Many ways of interpreting it – my personal favourite being:

The art of making successful places for people

URBAN DESIGN

What is good design?Firmness

Will it last?

Delight

Does it look good?Functionality

Does it work?

URBAN DESIGN

Is this good design?

URBAN DESIGN

Creating a “sense of place”

URBAN DESIGN

Making great places

URBAN DESIGN

Who’s involved?

We’re all urban designers!

“If you are involved with shaping the environment, the way it

looks, feels, and works, then YOU are an urban designer”.

Who are some of the key players…?

URBAN DESIGN

Developers

“A new housing estate would give

many people a chance to enjoy

rural life”

Good at:

Extracting value

Delivering schemes

URBAN DESIGN

Planners

Good at:

Setting strategy

Negotiation

Decision making

Setting the benchmarks

URBAN DESIGN

Architects

Good at:

Designing buildings but

not necessarily places

URBAN DESIGN

Highway Engineers

Big impact

Good at:

Designing roads for traffic

Bad at:

Making humane places

URBAN DESIGN - SCALE

Importance of scale

URBAN DESIGN - SCALE

URBAN DESIGN - SCALE

URBAN DESIGN

Understanding the urban ‘grain’

URBAN DESIGN – URBAN GRAIN

URBAN DESIGN

Making the connections

URBAN DESIGN - CONNECTIVITY

URBAN DESIGN - CONNECTIVITY

URBAN DESIGN

Connectivity - Walkability

URBAN DESIGN - WALKABILITY

URBAN DESIGN - WALKABILITY

URBAN DESIGN

Designing for play

URBAN DESIGN - DESIGNING FOR PLAY

URBAN DESIGN – DESIGNING FOR PLAY

The local example:

URBAN DESIGN - DESIGNING FOR PLAY

URBAN DESIGN – DESIGNING FOR PLAY

URBAN DESIGN

Taming the car

URBAN DESIGN – TAMING THE CAR

Ashford, Kent Ring Road redevelopment

Existing 40mph dual

carriageway removed

Shared surface

implemented;

Accidents reduced by 20%

URBAN DESIGN – TAMING THE CAR

Poynton – Cheshire

Over 30,000 vehicles a day, 6% HGV’s

URBAN DESIGN – TAMING THE CAR

Homezones

URBAN DESIGN – LIBERATING THE STREETS

URBAN DESIGN

Fighting the Philistines…

URBAN DESIGN - Creative Lighting

URBAN DESIGN – Public Art

Making the case for good

design

Making the case for

good design

THINKING IT THROUGH: Character

Sense of place

THINKING IT THROUGH: Character

Architectural quality

THINKING IT THROUGH: Roads, Parking &

Pedestrianisation

Car parking in the street scene

THINKING IT THROUGH: Roads, parking and

pedestrian environment

Appropriate street design

THINKING IT THROUGH: Roads parking and

pedestrian environment

Overlooked public space

THINKING IT THROUGH: Design & Construction

Well-designed public space

THINKING IT THROUGH

And one final thing:

Good buildings, turn corners!

THINKING IT THROUGH

The humble house extension

THINKING IT THROUGH - EXTENSIONS

THINKING IT THROUGH - EXTENSIONS

THINKING IT THROUGH - EXTENSIONS

URBAN DESIGN

It’s all about the economics, stupid!

MAKING THE CASE FOR GOOD DESIGN

Research by North West RDA (2011): - economic

benefits of good design;

68% believed that good design was important / very

important;

74% believed that good design adds value in terms of

increased rents and capital values;

74% said that good design would be a determining

factor in attracting companies to an area.

48% said that good design would be a very important

factor in attracting investment and funding

MAKING THE CASE FOR GOOD DESIGN

...but there is a body of resistance

At least one senior adviser has advised Government

that:

Schools only need to be, ‘good enough’; and

Good design is a ‘burden’ on developers

Frankly, this kind of thinking is not good enough.

MAKING THE CASE FOR GOOD DESIGN

MAKING THE CASE FOR GOOD DESIGN

Main conclusions

There is strong evidence that economic, social and

environmental returns increase with better design

An increase of up to 20% in rental and capital value can

be added by good urban design

Increased quality speeds up the lettings and sales rates of

a scheme

Quality design generally reduces the whole life costs of a

building or space

Good urban design helps to stimulate the wider

regeneration of an area and improve its image

Substantial costs are often associated with poor urban

design

BENEFICIARIES OF GOOD DESIGN

Investors•Greater security of investment

•Higher rental returns

•Increased asset value on which to

borrow

•Reduced running costs

•Better re-sale values

•Higher-quality longer-term tenants

Developers

• Quicker permissions

• Increased public support

• Higher sales values

• Distinctiveness

• Increased funding potential

• Better reputation

Occupiers

• Reduced costs on energy

usage and major repairs

• Happier workforce

• Better productivity

• Increased business

confidence

• Fewer disruptive moves

• Greater accessibility to

other uses / facilities

• Increased prestige

Local Authorities

• Regenerative potential

• Reduced time spent on

reactive planning

• Reduced public expenditure

on crime

prevention and urban

management

• More time for pro-active

planning

• Increased economic

viability for neighbouring

uses

• Increased local tax revenue

Wider Community

• Better security and less crime

• Increased cultural vitality

• Better quality of life

• More inclusive public space

• Greater civic pride

• Higher property prices

ADVANTAGES OF GOOD DESIGN. WHAT THE

PROPERTY AGENTS SAID:

• “It’s what attracts people to a property in the first place.”

• “Extremely important to saleability.”

• “Even more important now, the most important thing is getting

someone interested.”

• “At times like this, design is something that can be used as a

real selling feature.”

• “Character of the area is important.”

• “Space and layout is crucial.”

• “Well-designed properties are the only ones that are moving at

the moment.”

• “Impression is important with offices.”

• ‘People are looking for something with character and good

space for money.”

URBAN DESIGN

Raising the bar – how, what, why?

RAISING THE BAR

RAISING THE BAR

How do you begin to improve quality?

Design Guides;

Urban Design Frameworks;

Design Codes;

Building for Life;

Initiatives and awards;

Design Review; and

SketchUp!

DESIGN GUIDES

What can they do?

Support planning

policy;

Facilitate collaboration;

Express vision;

Set design standards;

and

Indicate next steps

DESIGN GUIDES

Policy

Set a framework for

urban design;

Provide a framework

for development

management;

Contribute to a review

of plans and policies

DESIGN GUIDES

Collaboration

Reflect views;

Provide a basis for

dialogue;

Save time;

Establish a

consensus

DESIGN GUIDES

Vision

Express a coherent

vision;

Provide a degree of

certainty;

Create greater

awareness

Provide a basis for

valuing sites

DESIGN GUIDES

Design Standards

Describe/illustrate urban

form;

Provide info on standards;

Inspire better architecture;

Educate.

URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORKS

What are they?

A bridge between policy

and implementation;

Illustrates how policies and

principles should be

implemented

Why?

Help deliver change across

a wide area; and

Give confidence.

URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORKS

Content can range from a

whole town, to an area or

specific site;

Important to explain what

they are trying to achieve;

Frameworks sit above and

inform;

Masterplans;

Design Codes; and

Site Briefs

URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORKS

The local example:

Wakefield Kirkgate

Aims

Improve Connectivity;

Improve the public

realm; and

Support high quality new development.

DESIGN CODES

What are they? Design codes improve design

quality, tying down ‘must have’

design parameters;

ensure consistency (and where

appropriate differentiation) in the

delivery of key site-wide design

principles between development

phases;

greater certainty about outcomes

and certainty to developers about

the process;

bring key stakeholders together.

DESIGN CODES

Why?

secure higher (sustainable)

design quality;

to deliver more consistent

outcomes of long-term

projects;

and to provide a more

effective planning process,

through expedited reserved

matters processes,

swifter permissions for those

who comply, and by offering

greater certainly for

developers.

DESIGN CODES

How?

Local Authorities/Public

Bodies (HCA);

Landowners;

Derwenthorpe, York

Newhall, Harlow, Essex

Public/Private Partnership

East Kettering, Kettering BC

Prince of Wales, Pontefract

DESIGN CODES – PRINCE OF WALES

DESIGN CODES – PRINCE OF WALES

DESIGN CODES – PRINCE OF WALES

DESIGN CODES – PRINCE OF WALES

DESIGN CODES – PRINCE OF WALES

BUILDING FOR LIFE

Building for Life 12 (BfL

12) is the industry

standard for the design of

new housing

developments.

BUILDING FOR LIFE

Anyone can use it;

20 Questions replaced

with a traffic light system;

Green shows the question

has been addressed;

Red identifies aspects that

need to change;

Amber where there is clear

evidence of local

constraints

BUILDING FOR LIFE

3 Key Themes:

Integrating into

Neighbourhoods;

Creating a place; and

Street & Homes

4 Questions in each theme.

BUILDING FOR LIFE

Integrating into

neighbourhoods:

Connections?

Facilities & services?

Public transport

Meeting local housing requirements.

BUILDING FOR LIFE

Creating a place:

Character;

Working with the site and

its context;

Creating well defined

streets and spaces; and

Easy to find your way

around.

BUILDING FOR LIFE

Street & home:

Streets for all;

Car parking;

Public and private spaces

External storage and amenity space.

BUILDING FOR LIFE

“Homes that sell for the highest

amount and quicker than others

have great kerb appeal. Built for

Life schemes have this special

kerb appeal. The streets and

homes are better arranged -

they are better designed laces

and will sell better in the future

on the second hand market”

Mike Fallowell FRICS, Co-

founder, Newton Fallowell.

DESIGN AWARDS & INITIATIVES

The benefits of running an awards scheme

are that they are extremely useful for: Celebrating good design: raising the profile of existing good

design highlights work which should be brought to a wider

audience for its excellence.

Encouraging good design rewarding good schemes sets

benchmarks for future work, encouraging others to match or

exceed them.

Promoting good design for everyone – professionals,

clients, planners, funders, and the public – should be able to

understand the benefits of good design, and this is often

best demonstrated by using successful examples.

DESIGN REVIEW

Design review is a tried

and tested, well respected,

independent peer-review

system that aims to

improve the design quality

of new developments and

speed up the planning

process.

DESIGN REVIEW

SKETCHUP

A 3D modelling

programme originally from

Google.

Can be used at varying

scales

Useful planning tool.

Sheffield, Manchester (via

ARUP), Leeds (via ARUP)

and NewcastleGateshead

have their entire cities in

3D form.

Revenue Stream?

BIG RISK’S, BUT BIGGER REWARDS

A CREATIVE OPPORTUNITY

FIN/FINITO/THE END

Thank You