Making Great Places Jim McMillan RIBA Assistant Director of Development
Jun 15, 2015
Making Great Places
Jim McMillan RIBA
Assistant Director of Development
The bad old days……..The Ridings, Oldham
Selwyn Street, Oldham
Building for Life Gold Award winner
What our tenants say they want?
1. Repairs2. Quality housing3. Value for money4. Being kept informed5. Tenant enforcement
But what does this mean?
Beyond the doorstepWhat adds value to a house?
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Imp
ort
an
t in
cu
rre
nt h
om
e
Source: Savills Research
Mostly outside the home
Mostly inside the home
So don’t forget the neighbourhood
How do we achieve good design?
Set a clear Brief
Get the team right
Get the Process
right
Good Design
Set a clear Brief
Good Design
External Standards
Sustainability Strategy for new build housing
2010
Sustainability Strategy for new build housing
2010
BME Design Guide
2010
BME Design Guide
2010
EMPLOYERS REQUIREMENTS
NEW BUILD FOR RENTREVISION D
2010
EMPLOYERS REQUIREMENTS
NEW BUILD FOR RENTREVISION D
2010
Internal Standards
But you could still get this!
“Good design is not an optional extra, it is an integral part of the success of any project”
“Well designed housing is a fundamental right of everyone”
Raising the bar
•Context
•Clairty of design
•Architectural ambition
•Access and inclusion
•Sustainability
•Detailing and materials
•Maintenance
•Structure and services
Building for life
• Environment and community• Character• Streets, parking and pedestrianisation• Design and construction
‘Improving quality of life through design’
Standard house plans
• Foolproof(?) way to avoid non-compliance
• House Plans not Types
• Still allows the designer lots of freedom
Get the team right
Good Design
Get the team right
• A skilled team will optimise designs and maximise value
• Team selection based on best value not cheapest
• Get a mixture of experience and fresh ideas
• Past schemes are a good indicator (but a bad scheme could be the clients fault)
Designers - OJEU Selection
• A legal requirement but also an opportunity to see who’s out there
• Build knowledge sharing and joint research events into the framework
Design Competitions
• Brings in ‘young blood’ and fresh ideas
• Can be hard work and not always suitable
• Assess the benefits before committing
• Don’t presume what you will get because you probably won’t get it
Woodward Place
Guest Street
Get the Process
right
Good Design
Project Journal• a briefing, benchmarking and learning tool
• requires the team to agree outcomes at project inception
• review at key stages in the course of development.
• learning is captured and fed back to future schemes
PROJECT JOURNAL
Devon Street Oldham
PROJECT JOURNAL
Devon Street Oldham
Design Champion – high level commitment and guidance
• Promoting a design ‘culture’• Networking with bodies such as
CABE/Design Council, HCA, RTPI• Research and development• Organising training and study
visits of best practice examples • Disseminating learning from
previous schemes• Selecting suitable design teams
Design Reviews • Can preview new projects or review
finished schemes
• Allows Architects to see the work of their peers
• Lets development staff know what their colleagues are up to
• Helps improve presentation skills in a ‘friendly’ environment
Design training • Building for Life • Code for Sustainable Homes• Modern Methods and ‘lean’ Construction• Renewable Technologies• Specific Product presentations• Planning and Building Regulations• Contract Law• Health and Safety
Study Visits and Away Days
Nothing beats seeing the real thing
Set a clear Brief
Get the team right
Get the Process
right
Good Design
To Recap…
•External standards
•Internal standards
•Design specific brief
•Project journal
•Design Champion
•Design reviews
•Design training
•Study visits
Work with an agreed panel
Competitions bring fresh ideas
Partner with ‘good’ developers
Share knowledge between consultants
Contractor is part of team
Emperors new clothes?
Is it very different from this?
Compared to this?
Thanks for listening
Jim McMillan RIBAAssistant Director of Development
www.greatplaces.org.uk