Building Schools for the Future Designing schools that create Sustainable Communities 9 th November 2006 Paul Mallinder Director of Urban Vision

Definition of Regeneration “ …a comprehensive and integrated action which brings about a lasting improvement in the economic, physical, social and environmental condition of an area”.

Custom and Practice in Planning and Design

Why the blinkers must come off “Too often the people who design and construct buildings don’t worry about whether they will work properly. Once the project is complete, they move on to the next job.” Cabe Lack of time, long established custom and practice and mindset have created a series of fundamental weaknesses –Timing of stakeholder involvement –Varying levels of ambition. Conditions in many existing schools mean that anything new is better. “We want what we already have without the leaks” “We want a new building designed around new approaches to teaching and learning” –Little thought given to how the school can become community resource, not just a school –Little thought given to where the construction expenditure is going

Regenerative Impact of the construction of a £14.5m school £1m profit/ohd recovery to main contractors/ developers £0.6m Profit/ohd recovery to sub contractors £0.4m profit/ohd recovery to suppliers £2.2m of labour employed by main contractors (c 90 people) £4m labour employed by sub contractors (c 160 people) £6.3m of materials manufactured/delivered by suppliers Aim to keep as much as this as possible within the local economy

Dartboard

Creating Sustainable Regeneration Planning –Integration of environments –Spatial/ Location –Future community use Design –Good Practice Guidance and learning/Cabe/ DQI –Secure by Design Construction – Building social and economic sustainability practices into Procurement –Commitment to training and recruiting local people –Commitment to using local supply chains In use –Creating community facilities –Creating community managed businesses

The social costs of bad design Promotes exclusion Disconnection of people, eg. the less mobile Inadequate access by public transport Reduced opportunities for employment Lack of social cohesion –Races and religions –affluent background/ poor background –Bright/ Less bright –Supportive/Unsupportive parents

Cabe: Improving Design Standards Cabe ( Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment). The government’s advisor on architecture, urban design and public space “The Cost of Bad Design”, Cabe,(2006) “Assessing Secondary School Design Quality”, Cabe, (2006)

DQI: Improving School Design Standards Launched by DfES in December 2005 Consists of 111 statements that collect views from all stakeholders on Functionality (design in use, space etc.) building quality (performance and construction standard) impact (a sense of place, effect on the school and wider community)

The Aims of DQI Construction Industry Council’s design quality indicator To focus on comparison to help communication and encourage involvement Form a consensus amongst stakeholders Improve briefing Monitor and review design aspirations throughout the process Raise and manage expectations

Results: Areas where good school design is evident Areas subject to regulation –Size –Health and Safety –Accessibility

Results: Areas where poor school design is evident Build/ design quality –Legibility of entrance and unwelcoming entrance areas –Narrow corridors –Lack of natural daylight and ventilation –Schools too inflexible to be adapted –“soulless buildings” –Use of poor materials that deteriorate quickly Lack of Transformational Design (design to bring about changes in learning techniques Environmental sustainability Creating a “community school”. In PFI security is a major issue. It needs to be built like a fortress to protect the building and keep insurance premiums low.

Final Remarks Society can reap rich long term rewards from investment in good design Through BSF projects around the country we have a great opportunity to use good and innovative planning, design, construction and use to create sustainable communities..

Final Remarks Opportunities like this don’t come along very often.

Final Remarks Opportunities like this don’t come along very often. Let’s not blow it.

Thank You Paul Mallinder