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CHAPTER THREE: CURRENT STANDARDS OF DESIGN

This chapter focuses on the building design professions' attitudes towards the current standards of design in Scotland and compares them to other places in the UK and across Europe. The telephone survey quantifies opinion towards different types of development, from large public sector projects such as schools and hospitals to new suburban Greenfield housing developments. The qualitative interviews take this a stage further, by exploring some of the reasons for current standard of design in Scotland, with chapter four exploring some the key drivers and barriers to good design.

PERCEPTIONS OF CURRENT STANDARDS OF DESIGN IN SCOTLAND

Of types of development included in the survey, Greenfield housing developments were rated most poorly, with over half (55%) of those surveyed rating them as either fairly poor (30%) or very poor (25%). Fewer than one in twenty (3%) rate developments of this type as very good as figure 3.1 illustrates. Brownfield housing developments and conversions are rated most favourably, with two in five (44%) building design professionals rating them as good. Along with new public spaces, Brownfield housing developments and conversions are rated least poorly (19% poor).

Q How would you rate the current standards of design in Scotland for…

Greenfield housing developments

Base: All respondents (500), 3rd-24thNovember 2004

Brownfield housing developments/conversions

Source: MORI

At the sub group level, surveyors are the most likely of all the professions to rate the standard of Greenfield housing developments as good, as table 3.1 illustrates. Planners, structural engineers and architects are more likely to be negative towards this style of development.

This is consistent with information taken from the follow-up interviews. Although no structural engineers or surveyors were interviewed at this stage, architects, landscape architects and planners expressed dissatisfaction with the standards of design of Greenfield housing developments. Almost all of the architects interviewed at the follow-up stage found developments of this type bland and unchallenging and quite often designed to a poor standard.

It was generally accepted that developers need to make a return on their investments, even if that impacts on the quality of design. Of all the variables in the process of design and building, the design and layout of a site is strongly affected by factors such as the price of the land, construction costs and additional costs associated with gaining planning permission. They also felt that in many cases an architect was not commissioned for developments of this type, but that many developers instead used architectural technicians for Greenfield housing developments, which architects felt could contribute to the poorer standard of design. The verbatim comments below illustrate some of the attitudes building design professionals have towards Greenfield housing developments.

Living in the countryside, which in itself is exquisite and is filled with wonderful buildings of traditional charm and character, whenever I see developers take over a site I know it will be the worst common denominator of housing. Not only in its style, in its artlessness, in its branding.

Architect

It's the developers themselves. Very often the problem is that some of them, I know this for a fact, that some of the house builders don't use architects. They use what officially would be called architectural technicians. They're not fully qualified architects.

Architect

It's easier to get a reasonable design on a single house and I think there have been some quite nice houses been put up. Unfortunately you do get the opposite effect and your big builders with their housing schemes and things, the designs could be a bit better I think.

Architect

Generally I think our aspirations are low in terms of the design that we accept for our buildings. We're involved in architecture on a daily basis and there's nothing inspiring coming out of it.

Architect

Although most of the building design professionals held negative attitudes towards Greenfield housing developments they could appreciate that some developers and housing associations could get it right, as the following verbatim comment illustrates.

I think there is some really good high quality housing, particularly in the Gorbals and Glasgow areas along the SECC area of Glasgow. I think the new build work there is very good. I think it's the quality of materials and the standard of design. I think there's a strange kind of style to it which was lacking before. I think there's some really good low key housing association type work that has a solidity to its design which has been missing in the past and a Scottish aesthetic to it which I think is good.

Landscape Architect

As mentioned previously, Brownfield housing developments and new public spaces were rated considerably more favourably than Greenfield housing developments by building design professionals. Again, it is the surveyors who appear to be most positive towards Brownfield housing developments as table 3.2 illustrates.

Landscape architects are the most favourable of the professions, to the design of new public spaces. Perhaps this is because they have more involvement with projects of this type or perhaps they are more appreciative or attuned to the design of public spaces.

You could put more money into landscape design and the spaces between buildings and raise that on the agenda more because that's completely, well not completely, but is very often underrated because of budget usually. It's an important part of people's lives, where they live, the spaces around the buildings, route to school and all that sort of stuff. I think that's very important.

Landscape Architect

I've seen pictures of the Maggie Centre in Dundee which is quite an attractive looking building and obviously its particular function is to try and provide a relaxation place and a place for people just to be quiet and so on. I thought that was quite nicely done, nice ideas on the building and so on. Particularly it was using the site. It wasn't so much the building. It was how the building was situated and its views and so on.

Landscape Architect

Source: MORI

At the other end from the more speculative type of project designs which are produced for the mass market, is the one-off or "prestige" project. Examples of these types of project might include the new Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood in Edinburgh, Maggie's Cancer Care Centre in Dundee, Harvey Nichols in Edinburgh and the headquarters of large companies or multinationals, who want to see their brand image and corporate strength and reliability reflected in the design of their buildings. Undoubtedly more money will have been available for projects such as this, more experienced architects would have been involved at key stages from inception to the opening of the building and they would have been designed to a much higher specification. Buildings like this are seen as important because they raise awareness of the built environment, they get people talking and they raise standards and set new design challenges for future developments.

I think there are two or three different worlds which have nothing to do with each other apparently. There's the iconic architecture and then there's the mass architecture, then there is some good architecture which is traditional or more sustainable. The iconic architecture just follows on a minor scale what happens in London or the rest of the world and they're trying to keep up with it. The mass architecture is ghastly, which is the suburbia that goes on. The suburbia is ghastly.

Architect

COMPARISONS TO THE REST OF THE UK AND EUROPE

To give the standards of design in Scotland some perspective, interviewees from the follow-up depths were asked how standards compared to other places such as England, Ireland and Europe. Opinions were mixed, with some building design professionals comparing Scotland favourably to other places. Those who held this view expressed satisfaction with the traditional style of Scottish design such as in the New Town in Edinburgh or with prestige projects such as The Scottish Parliament building.

Some interviewees thought we could be doing better and Scandinavian architecture was considered by many to be something architects in Scotland should aspire to. Scandinavian architecture was noted to be particularly modern in style and designed and developed to a higher specification than in the UK, as the following verbatim comments illustrate.

I visited Denmark a few years ago and I was amazed at the number of what I would call good quality modern architecture. The number of buildings in ordinary towns, not high architecture but just everyday stuff and sometimes it was complete new housing areas. You can see it's modern but it fits in and respects its neighbours.

Architect

When I go to Scandinavia and ask people to describe their houses they invariably say 'my house has this much insulation' and they spread their arms wide like they've caught a salmon! They are proud of their insulation standards. On it will go, down to even their maintenance. There's a tradition of understanding and talking about buildings which we just don't have.

Architect

There was a feeling that urban design issues were considered a lot more in these countries than in Scotland and that building design professionals collaborated with one another more successfully to better shape the built environment and create successful places where people want to live.

There appears to be more of a tradition of talking about the built environment and open spaces by the general population in Scandinavian countries than is present here in Scotland. Perhaps, it is this awareness and understanding that is driving good design in these countries. This is a culture that appears to be evolving in Scotland, with the emergence of TV home improvement and architecture programmes over the last few years. In addition to programmes like this, projects such as The Scottish Parliament building add to the debate and increase the dialogue among building design professionals and the general public as to what constitutes good design, in turn raising awareness and understanding. Chapter 6 examines the issue of the professions' views towards public awareness of architecture and good design in more detail.

Many building design professionals feel that our standards are on the whole, comparable to the rest of the UK. One of the main criticisms levelled at current design in Scotland is that there is too much involvement from the public sector and that there aren't enough developers competing with one another for higher quality developments. Another criticism is that we have a poorer standard of construction technology in Scotland compared to elsewhere in the UK.

I think throughout Britain there is a good general standard of design. I think Scotland's just slightly lagging behind and I think that will pick up with time and experience and education.

Landscape Architect

Scotland is blighted by bland housing, mostly local authority but some private and as you go into any town that's really the worst thing you see… Traditional Scottish buildings looked great, your Inveraries or your Strathaven. As soon as you start to then say 'let's have so many hundred houses as an adjunct to that central community' it's hard to think of examples in a Scottish style that don't look twee or artificial.

Architect

I think there is a problem in Scotland where we have local authorities like Edinburgh and Glasgow appointing design gurus that then stimulate their ideas more than allowing individual artistic flair of independent architects. The whole idea of a design guru to dictate what an architect should do I think is wrong.

Landscape Architect

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