Design at the Heart of House-Building

Case study 1: Park Lane - Renfrew Riverside, Renfrew

Characteristics and practices of Park Lane

3.17 Park Lane's HQ is located in Glasgow, which is the area where it is most active (more widely it is active in Strathclyde and Lothian & Borders). In 2005/06 it completed 120 homes. Its main market segment is executive homes, followed by mid market and then starter homes.

History

3.18 Park Lane is a privately owned development and investment company established 12 years ago. They are now a substantial property company with a diverse portfolio of strategic land, residential and commercial developments and investments.

Integration of design into company structure

3.19 Park Lane does not have designers or qualified architects in-house. Staff comprises 12 people in total including 1 quantity surveyor and 3 building surveyors. The company buys in all design services, the reasons being the flexibility that this gives to the process, as well as being more economical. Park Lane prefers to "pick and choose" architects for each project, considering that some designers are better for one type of development than others. The company has bought in the services of 26 design-related staff in the last 12 months, including 4 architects.

3.20 In most cases the company purchases the land. External consultants are brought into the process at different stages according to the particularities of the project, occasionally at the feasibility stage. Decisions on the initial brief such as the number of flats or houses, the number of bedrooms, etc are made by the two managing directors of the company. There is no use of standard houses.

3.21 Park Lane's quantity surveying staff get involved in a project at the design stage. Staff are expected to be able to lead the project team, to manage all aspects of the process and understand design.

3.22 The final responsibility for any building problems remains with Park Lane because customers purchase property from this company. Therefore contractors are generally brought into the process at an early stage. The company considers it essential to ensure that the building process works well all the way through.

Approach to design

3.23 Park Lane tends to work in inner city brown field sites with major business revenue coming from strategic land holdings. They tend to get involved more in obtaining planning and building consents than building developments. In many cases other developers get involved, such as in the case of Renfrew Riverside.

3.24 Park Lane gives serious consideration to customer feedback. The company is shared between two owners and therefore any feedback or complaints are dealt with personally. Occasionally alterations are made to houses and flats if customers make a request at purchase.

3.25 Park Lane does not have a particular design ethos but is aware of some market trends. While the company does not have a specific design style, they believe in good design and this is an important aspect of their approach to design. In general they believe that a housing development should include various types of products.

3.26 Urban design is important for this company and the Renfrew Riverside project is an example. The masterplan for this project proposes an urban design framework which identifies policy decisions to be taken with regard to land uses, character areas, roads, and public areas.

Key lessons from Park Lane's approach to the design process

3.27 Park Lane takes a holistic and integrative approach to design, looking at trends of the market but also planning requirements and frameworks, building regulations and customer's feedback. Commercial realism is highlighted by this company as being essential. Vision is one of the key priorities for Park Lane in order to achieve a successful design process, and this involves flexibility in planning processes with regard to frameworks and guidance.

Demonstration project: Renfrew Riverside, Renfrew

3.28 Renfrew Riverside is a major brown field regeneration site in a suburban/urban setting at Braehead, Renfrewshire.

Background

3.29 The overall site was developed in partnership with Capital Shopping Centres ( CSC) and Clydeport - two adjoining landowners. Therefore, and due to the site's multi-ownership, from an early stage it became clear that a masterplan approach would be required. The final masterplan was prepared by David Lock Associates Ltd.

3.30 Key to the success of this development was the three main private sector companies coming together to work jointly with the Planning Department looking at achieving a deliverable and comprehensive masterplan. This involved extensive discussions and looking at best practice across a range of issues.

Main features of the process

3.31 The main features are: the way the scale of the development, the mix of land uses and the proximity to the river were dealt with through a masterplan; the integration of different land uses with different ownerships and related agendas; how brown field issues were addressed, with the site being cleaned by Park Lane and left ready for individual house-builders; and the design and provision of infrastructure by Park Lane and CSC.

Constraints and barriers overcome

3.32 Flooding issues were overcome by generally raising site levels to lie in with the neighbouring proposed flood attenuation scheme.

3.33 Infrastructure was provided through joint funding between all benefiting landowners. The organisation and legal agreements required between all the landowners and funders were fairly complicated and took time to negotiate between all parties.

Relationship between design process and product: Renfrew Riverside

Key data on Renfrew Riverside

site area: 74.8 hectares (185 acres) total - 34.4 hectares (85 acres) for housing
no of housing units: 2000
density: 58 units/hectare (23 units/acre)
no. of different house types: over 20

Key features that make Renfrew Riverside a good product according to the developer

3.34 The end product is an innovative modern housing development with high quality public realm delivered at the outset and joined up urban design at its heart.

3.35 The public areas in Renfrew Riverside are privately maintained, but open to the public for the first time as part of the whole regeneration of the Clyde riverside.

Effect of the design process on the product according to the developer

3.36 The developer believes that this example shows the benefits of an innovative urban framework process. The masterplan was developed in collaboration with Renfrewshire Council. There was an investment of around £25m for ground engineering and infrastructure including ground works to avoid flooding, roads, public parks and a boardwalk. The process of developing the masterplan took around 18 months. The masterplan proposed by Park Lane/ CSC was incorporated into a final document prepared by Renfrewshire Council. The advantage of this joint process has been the inclusion of economic issues and commercial viability but considering also community and design needs.

3.37 Planners in development control have the responsibility for deciding on final planning applications and design solutions.

Figure 3.1 Renfrew Riverside - Aerial view of site