Ministerial Advisory Group for Architecture and the Built Environment: Loving Places Symposium 2024
The MAG annual symposium, held befittingly this year in the RIBA award winning St Comgall’s School, Belfast, was an opportunity to explore how collectively we communicate and value what is important in the making of great places, and how MAG’s Design Review service can optimise project development to deliver better outcomes.
Supporting Good Design - Benefits of the Design Review process and strategic design advice
This was the first MAG symposium held in person for five years, as the usually annual event was interrupted and affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The central glazed room at the heart of the recently restored former St Comgall’s school was a welcoming space for the one hundred, or so, in the audience keen to explore and discuss the processes and benefits of Design Review, and strategic advice.
Andrew Haley, MAG Chair, set the tone for the ambition, shared by all present, to share knowledge to create better places for our fellow citizens, reminding all that collaborations and relationships are the resource and the basis for learning from each other to get the best outcome for the places we desire.
The following speakers presented and contributed to the panel discussion:
What is a design review?
Ciarán Mackel, MAG Expert Advisor
Ciarán Mackel affirmed that good design is about wellbeing, and the sharing of evidence and experience to improve social, economic, and environmental outcomes. And it is that ambition to ensure value from public expenditure that lies at the heart of Briefing Reviews and Briefing Workshops, and the Design Review process.
He noted from experience gained as a member of design review panels, and as a presenting architect, that the earlier in the design process the review takes place, the more likely it is that it will produce tangible benefits for all parties. Additionally, design review has proven to be an effective means to engage in and articulate a public perspective as part of the ongoing design conversation. The challenge, for all of us, therefore, is to raise awareness of the value of design and of design review.
Concluding, Ciarán commented on a recent feedback session, at which the client was an enthusiastic driver to support an architectural ambition that would align with the innovative building use programme and would share best practice and lessons learned across design, construction, commissioning, and processes and procedures.
Procurement best practice: the benefits of strategic design advice
Michael Tennyson, Deputy Director, Construction and Procurement Delivery, (CPD), Department of Finance
Michael Tennyson is deputy director of the 140-person CPD team giving advice to Departments and non-governmental public bodies on 1,000 projects supported by public funding. Michael reminded us of the challenges faced by the construction sector, and indeed, the fiscal challenges and context of government debt, and project delays and cost over-runs.
Increasing quality aspirations, sustainability outcomes and net-zero targets have confirmed the need for benchmarking, early brief-making, and provision of an adequate budget for all projects, and Michael presented a well-supported reminder that design and procurement advice is intended to ensure good-quality outcomes.
The plea to ensure that project senior responsible officers (for major projects) remain with a project for its duration, and for robust contract management processes to run in parallel with Gateway Reviews and MAG Reviews were all timely reminders of the benefits of strategic advice.
Ballycastle public realm: the design review process
Introduction by Alex Wright, MAG Expert Advisor
David Black, Hall Black Douglas Architects
Alex Wright introduced the process of preparing for the Ballycastle project to ensure that the appointed MAG advisors would help achieve the best possible outcome for the project and the citizens of the town.
David Black then presented the case study on the car-dominated Diamond in Ballycastle and the client brief to revitalise the central public square.
David Black discussed the early pre-design work and urban design analysis. In reflecting on how architects work – internal processes of collaboration, review, and debate – he welcomed the third-party advice provided by the MAG team and acknowledged that it was all about improving design quality. The benefit to the client – Causeway Coast and Glens Council – was that the Design Review gave a bigger sense of ownership of the project: enhanced communications, gave greater confidence, and build towards better quality of Ballycastle Public Realm project.
Design West Bristol: learning from others
Julie Tanner, Design West, Bristol
Julie Tanner, Head of Planning and Design at Design West in Bristol, gave a detailed, articulate, and well-considered view from ‘elsewhere.’ Julie focussed on the value of processes and relationships to help promote good architecture and good civic conversations.
The chronology of Design West’s narrative and its inception in the 1990s, mirrored some of our own experiences in terms of Policy, a physical centre for activities, and a maturing panel of expertise available to ‘public facing’ clients. The crucial difference is that Bristol is part of a design network, and works with numerous local authorities, ten of whom have Service Level Agreements and partnerships with Design West.
In that context, Design West helps provide clients with a measure of certainty prior to a planning application, particularly adhering to the National Planning Framework, and the National Model Design Code. The use of Planning Performance Agreements are major tools to ensure the efficiency of the planning process and help developers and Local Authorities.
Of interest, of course, was the fact that at Design West, the applicant pays for the design review service. That they held 120 reviews last year across the South-West of England is a measure of their value.
Peer reviews – the benefits of peer review in the design professions
Ciarán Fox, Director, Royal Society of Ulster Architects
Ciarán Fox concluded the presentations confirming the benefits of design review to the design professions, particularly at the early stages of a project. Ciarán welcomed the clear, tangible benefits of review, citing several built examples, including award-winning projects.
A good and robust design process, including the use of design reviews, does not cost more, when measured across the lifetime of a building or place. The design review can bring added value to urban strategies, building forms, material choices and strategies for sustainability and zero-carbon targets.
Panel discussion
Ciarán Fox chaired the Panel discussion and began by asking each of the contributors for comments to help tease out the context, process, and benefits of Design Review.
Ciarán Mackel reflected on the direct benefits of the MAG Design Review for two of his own projects, which were both at early stages in the design process.
Department for Finance Construction Procurement Toolkit states that it is recommended that one Briefing Workshop and four Design Reviews are carried out by MAG during the delivery lifecycle of appropriate infrastructure projects.
Alex Wright whilst stressing the importance of early engagement in a design review, noted that in some instances the design can already be well-developed, though added value can still brought to bear through the experience and advice of external peers.
Currently the MAG Design Review is an independent, free (pending resources) advice service and it was inevitable that some questions should be asked about charging for the service or exploring a hybrid funding /charging arrangement. Discussions continued noting that if developers pay for this service, then they will have a vested interest to ensure they receive value for money. By providing a free service, then could it be considered valuable?
Julie Tanner advised that as a pragmatic agency, that it was by necessity that Design West introduced fee-charges for its services. The developer applicants expect, of course, benefits and clear outcomes for their projects and a more direct link with the planning approval process.
There were discussions regarding the success of the design review process, and the possibility of gathering evidence to identify what recommendations from panellists were implemented in projects.
It was noted that the MAG design and briefing review panel will be multi-disciplinary and comprises MAG members and / or experts drawn from the call-off list of Expert Advisors. The aim is to select the most appropriate panel for each project to be reviewed, matching the experience of MAG members with issues relating to each project, and taking account of the following.
- The particular expertise which a panel member could bring to the evaluation
- Any real or perceived conflict of interest which prospective panel members declare with the project being evaluated
- Any acquaintance with the presenting team which may be a barrier to complete openness and expression of opinion
Concluding remarks
Andrew Haley
MAG Chair Andrew Haley thanked the panellists and the audience for joining the conversation on design review and being part of a collaborative process. He hoped that the morning’s discussions would feed in to promoting the value of the Design Review process and enhance the knowledge and awareness of the design review process. Andrew also noted the ongoing review of the Architecture and Built Environment Policy for Northern Ireland, and a key role of the MAG is to appoint Design Review Panels to review design aspects of significant projects, including projects referred by the Planning Service.