Perhaps Beautiful, Definitely Accessible
Whilst the physical outcomes and the influence that Design Codes will have in preserving the character and identity of areas will have to be tested through time, one significant and immediate benefit of the design process has been accessibility. By adopting language that escapes jargon and technical graphics that avoid the abstraction of masterplans and planning drawings – aided by some large-scale models – the debate with residents and businesses can focus on the look and feel of proposals, enabling an honest discussion about design elements such as massing, heights, land uses, landscape, parking, servicing, and so many others. Rather than enforcing rules, Design Codes can enable a healthy and constructive communication tool between multiple stakeholders.
From high-level to ground-level, proposals were supported by clear ‘user perspective’ collages and diagrams – instead of the commonly confusing and technical plans – all collated in a short document of 20-pages with a clear narrative. As a result, the clear visual presentation encouraged a greater level of engagement during the public exhibition and proposals became more tangible and specific for a wide variety of people.
© Farrells
Test, Adapt, Repeat!
Finally, fundamental to the implementation of Design Codes is finding the right balance between aspirations and viability. Again, engagement plays a key role in treading the careful line between giving prescriptive instruction and allowing room for flexibility and interpretation by design and development teams. Working in a fast-changing area, where change is well under way, we were able to benchmark proposals against on-going developments, testing proposed design guidance with active developers, a supporting technical panel and a formal Community Review Panel session.
There needs to be room for change, for flexibility. Design Codes should be able to adapt over time, responding to ever changing nature of places, to prevent them becoming obsolete. With digital tools playing an increasingly bigger role in planning, they could be a solution to ensure that Design Codes are a live accessible resource rather than an archived document.