“It is difficult to design a space that will not attract people.
What is remarkable is how often this has been accomplished.”
William H. Whyte
Some new places feel characterful and joined up while others just seem out of kilter. Some come across as over-planned and sterile while others look incoherent and inconsistent.
None of this happens by chance.
Wonderful places that have grown organically over time tend to share core characteristics. Homes will have been built with local brick and stone. Roofs will have similar pitches, streets similar trees and roads similar lighting. But none of this will be completely uniform. Differences may be nuanced, but they exist.
The challenge, then, is in creating new places that are neither over-planned nor scattergun; that share a seamless sense of belonging, without looking contrived.
That’s the role of the Design Code. [1]
To take the vision and character developed in the masterplan, and provide a succinct, illustrated narrative to set rules and guidelines around the aesthetic elements of the development.
It links the smorgasbord of builders, architects, engineers, landscapers and gardeners who will work, often separately over many years, to bring a place to life.
Why is it so important?
The masterplan illustrates the vision for a new place. It shows how it will sit within the contours of the land, connect with its neighbours and link its constituent parts. It sets out the position of roads, paths and meeting points; parks, fields and allotments; houses, shops and schools. Poundbury in Dorset and Derwenthorpe in York show how this looks when it is done well.
Some time after that vision has been approved and planned, delivery begins. That means trucks and diggers, bricks and mortar, planting and painting. By then, contracts have been agreed with many different companies, all of whom have ideas about the best way to work. Jumping straight from the masterplan to delivery would be the equivalent of signing-off a house extension on the back of an outline drawing and then asking a plumber, electrician, builder and decorator to get on with their jobs independently.
The Design Code fills that gap between vision and delivery. It is developed after the broad principles of a scheme have been established and before detailed design work begins. It ensures that, as time passes, the site stays true to its vision and consistent in its look and feel, irrespective of changes in architects, contractors or planners.
What does it cover?
The very purpose of the Code is to ensure a seamless character for the entire place, from its landscape and the way people move around, to the places they meet and the buildings that line the way. It includes:
- The way buildings look and feel
The Code ensures that all buildings are designed within boundaries, ensuring that they are neither homogenous nor incoherent. It covers height to rooflines, foliage to frontages, and materials to windows. - The character of areas within the new place
It allows different ‘boroughs’ to use different design elements and colours, while ensuring that they share a character, linking with future neighbours within and outside the development. - Spaces
Where the masterplan sets out the design of streets, paths and parks, the Design Code focuses on the way they connect and look, from lighting, greenery and seating to play areas and signs. - Sustainability
Encouraging energy-efficient buildings, planting for nature, good cycling and walking routes, and clear guidance on how the plan is delivered and maintained over time.
When is it submitted?
Within the chronology of the planning process, the design code will tend to be created and submitted between the granting of a ‘clean consent’ for a project and the approval of the reserved matters application.
And after that?
There follows a period of consultation during which the code may be edited and refined. In our case, we will speak to as many local people as possible, including local planning officers, leaders of schools, clubs and societies and our Community Panel.
There is no single ‘sign off’ process across local councils. Some have specific guidance, others may simply use the code as a discussion point with the developer. Once ‘approved’ and published, it provides the boundaries within which all future work must conform.
We go a little further
This process is an important step in creating places that are aligned and attractive. But we believe it’s important to go further still. In addition to the Design Code, we produce detailed housebuilder briefs. This includes a further level of detailed instruction, from elevational treatments to feature buildings. With more than one house builder working across the new place, this ensures further consistency and cohesion.
Long-term benefits
As development projects become ever more complex, and involve increasing numbers of people and opinions, it is all too easy to lose sight of the vision. Deadlines and budgets can all too easily lead to disputes, delays and cut corners.
The Design Code is a vaccine, preserving an ongoing brief, and preserving an identity and adherence to the vision. It ensures developers and builders know what’s expected, reassures planners that proposals will become reality, gains the confidence of local people, and maximises the chance of a beautiful, integrated place appearing in phases over time, consistent in tone but diverse in detail.
We can all name urban extensions or housing estates that feel wrong, often demonstrating mismatched materials and incoherent design. Invariably they will have the lacked the discipline, confidence and ambition of a clear and coherent Design Code. Their constituent parts lack a common approach and character. The collective becomes less than the sum of its individual parts.
A well-crafted Design Code doesn’t stifle creativity — it channels it. Done right, it becomes the unsung hero of placemaking: the backbone that lets vision become reality, and ambition turn into somewhere people are proud to call home.
[1] This piece focuses on the design code. At GummerLeathes this follows a foundation piece we call ‘The Context Study’ which is explained in our approach to master planning.