Design Quality

Design Quality is so important to the success of a project and the satisfaction of the users. It is the element of this guidance that has to be at the heart of all we do to develop quality learning and working places for students and staff engaged in the sector. It also acts, however, as a symbol and signpost to raise the profile of learning to the community.

The basis of design quality is very simple and has key principles that architects have been guided by for centuries. These key principles are interpreted by CABE in their design review guidance on the evaluation of quality:

• Firmness: buildings should be soundly built and durable

• Commodity: buildings should work – they should be fit for the purpose for which they are designed

• Delight: buildings should be good looking – their design should please the eye and the mind.

CABE also develop the principles of good building further:

“Good design provides positive internal and external planning and a building that contributes to the business or user organisation, fits well into the neighbourhood, is safe to build and use, is adaptable and sustainable, has low maintenance and operating costs, attractive materials and finishes, cost effective systems and improved effectiveness for the users. It is designed using the following principles:

• Visually well organised – shown by things like symmetry or asymmetry and balance

• Clearly organised for the user – from site planning to building planning

• A building showing what its function and role is, by its relation to public space, and features that can be seen from outside

• Suitable level of prominence – sometimes buildings should be prominent, sometimes discreet

• Straightforward – the design should not disguise the real way it is built

• Well matched parts of the building – the structure and detail of a building should fit together as part of a clear approach to style and the building function

• Care with how it fits into and enhances the local neighbourhood

• Care with how light and sun fall on the building and with views from it and of it – considering energy efficiency, the function of the building throughout time, day/night, summer/winter

• Detailing and materials – particularly considering how well finishes wear and last and whether the materials used help towards a sustainable approach

• Structure, environmental services and energy use – these aspects should be part of the overall design from the earliest opportunity

• Flexibility and adaptability – a building should be able, within reason, to cope with changes in the needs of the user and potential technological developments

• Sustainability – balancing all the inputs and outputs for the building and its site, minimising waste by using natural resources carefully and disposing of what remains responsibly, designing to promote these for the life of the building

• Beauty – does it lift the spirits?” CABE Design Review, London, 2002