Design code
Encyclopedia
A design code is a document that sets rules for the design of a new development. It is a tool that can be used in the design and planning process, but goes further and is more regulatory than other forms of guidance commonly used in the English planning system over recent decades. It can be thought of as a process and document – and therefore a mechanism – which operationalises design guidelines or standards which have been established through a masterplan process. The masterplan or framework is the vision. It should be accompanied by a design rationale
that explains why, followed by a code that gives instructions to the appropriate degree or precision and that is operational.
In this way a design code may be a tool which helps ensure that the aspirations for quality and quantity for housing developments, particularly for large-scale projects, sought by the Government and other agencies are actually realised in the final schemes. It has the potential to deliver the consistency in quality exposed as lacking by CABE
’s Housing Audit (2004).
Examples of developments where design codes are being used include:
Design Rationale
A Design Rationale is an explicit documentation of the reasons behind decisions made when designing a system or artifact. As initially developed by W.R...
that explains why, followed by a code that gives instructions to the appropriate degree or precision and that is operational.
In this way a design code may be a tool which helps ensure that the aspirations for quality and quantity for housing developments, particularly for large-scale projects, sought by the Government and other agencies are actually realised in the final schemes. It has the potential to deliver the consistency in quality exposed as lacking by CABE
Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment
The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment was an executive non-departmental public body of the UK government, established in 1999. It was funded by both the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Communities and Local Government.-Function:CABE was the...
’s Housing Audit (2004).
Examples of developments where design codes are being used include:
- PoundburyPoundburyPoundbury is an experimental new town or urban extension on the outskirts of Dorchester in the county of Dorset, England.The development is built on land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. It is built according to the principles of Prince Charles...
, Dorchester - Fairford LeysFairford LeysFairford Leys is a new high density housing estate of 1,900 homes west of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. It has its own village centre with a number of traditionally fronted shops, a small supermarket, two restaurants, a nursery, an ecumenical church and a community centre. It also has a...
, AylesburyAylesburyAylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands... - Fairfield Park, LetchworthLetchworthLetchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The town's name is taken from one of the three villages it surrounded - all of which featured in the Domesday Book. The land used was first purchased by Quakers who had intended to farm the...
- Ashford Barracks, AshfordAshford, KentAshford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the Great Stour river, the M20 motorway, and the South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most...
- Upton, NorthamptonUpton, NorthamptonshireUpton is a civil parish north-east of Kislingbury and south-west of Dallington, in Northamptonshire, England about west of Northampton town centre along the A45 road. Formerly a scattered hamlet, it is now part of the town...