Why a meaningful legacy is all about design

What does good urban design mean to you? Every day we pass buildings, roads and structures that shape our landscape and influence the way we interact with our environment. Yet, even as our world becomes ever more design conscious, much urban planning still consists of structures, such as new roads, and essential electrical or water infrastructures that don’t enhance or inspire.

 There is a growing culture on large projects of setting very broad high-level aspirations that are later translated for delivery into long detailed, mechanical schedules for benchmarking benefits. There is, however, a disconnect between these two facets of project delivery. This needs to be reconciled if a project is to deliver the best possible outcome, in a clear focussed way over the long term.

 The consequence of this approach is often that the high level aspirations are delivered in a disaggregated way. Not only because they aren't clear enough or underpinned with realistic information; but also because complying to the letter with detailed benefits means the bigger picture is lost.

 There is a clear need for an engaged and deliberate chaperone who mediates between the two competing ends of project delivery, guiding the process from broad aspiration to completion. Ensuring that the project delivers a meaningful legacy despite the constraints.

 You may be thinking, isn’t that what the Project Manager does? Well yes, to some degree but in practise with incentivised contracts, their core objectives are often time and money, and the wider benefits of a large project can be lost within a plethora of smaller objectives. A ‘divide and rule’ in order to hit the financial and programme objectives.

 So what about the engineers - a creative, proactive and problem solving profession? This could potentially be their role, but often their objectives are engineering related and do not encompass the wider public realm and landscape benefits. Their key driver is set to run the project to time and budget to deliver the benefits of cheaper electricity, faster transport, more efficient engineering and so on.

 Within the delivery picture there is a clear place for a design motivated individual who will seek opportunities to improve the natural environment with better visual, aural and natural landscape benefits. They will seek to find those opportunities within the project through multi-disciplinary working.

 This opportunistic approach can only come from a design professional who is not simply managing information at delivery level, but is leading the delivery of the vision and seeking out the opportunities that no one else is looking for with enough seniority and experience to pull together the different professional delivery strands.

 The advantage of this is that rather than projects being spooked out by the consequences of the short-term construction issues a credible and authentic delivery approach can be set that inspires and brings the teams and stakeholders with them.

 This legacy is about design. In all its forms, but especially about the creative wider view that seeks out opportunity. This need not be a blousy immoderate approach (which is how so many people think of design) but should define a route that really thinks about how we live and make places. A proposal that is more than the sum of the parts and captures a more favourable outcome.

Design leadership with a clear voice and a clear project brief that captures succinctly the surrounding stakeholder sentiment is an essential first step at the outset. A necessary bridge between the high level objectives and the long and arduous task of pinning down the detail.

 It is where scope for a realistic and measured creativity can be spelt out, underpinned by real information that engages designers and stakeholders early in the process to deliver a cogent and meaningful legacy.

 The result; a better place for us all to live.

 When a design led approach gets it right...

 The Olympic Park Foul Water Pumping Station by Lyall Bills Young

A simple, cost effective building that communicates the history of the site and the Bazelgette sewer as well as enhancing what will in the future be a busy public footpath. A really great example of a building that will add visual and financial value to the area and its future potential.

And when there's immediate room for improvement... 

A typical space behind a London overground station where the land ownership and security and fencing installation leave an ugly rubbish strewn space inaccessible space surrounded by a palisade fence. A typical example of short term budgetary thinking and all its disadvantages for wellbeing, the environment a truly dreadful space.