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Dates: Day 1: 30 April, 20 September, 28 January 2011 Day 2: 6 May, 24 September Day 3: 7 May, 30 September Day 4: 12 May, 8 October, 9 February 2011 Time: 10am – 5pmLocation: Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8AA
Day 1: Introduction to Urban Design
This day is shared across UDL’s four foundation courses so alongside your professional peers, you will get a chance to meet and work with street practitioners, housing and green space specialists.
Day 1 will cover the basics of urban design, including design principles, how places are structured, how movement networks function and their relation to land use, density and the character of places.
It will explain the qualities of successful places and the physical elements that help create them. Key design policies and guidance such as By Design, Streetscape Guidance and PPSs, and the roles of different professions and agencies will be introduced.
Topics to be covered
- Cool Wall
- Urban Design Principles
- Why Design Matters (short film)
- The Structure of places
- Walkabout
- The Regulations & Guidance
- Assessing Good Design
- Site Visits
- Brief writing exercise
- Discussion & Evaluation
Day 2: Design, Planning Policy and the Planning Process
This session will look at the world of planning policy and how it can help us achieve good quality places. It will start by focusing on national and regional policies. It will then look at how authorities can write their own policies, looking at some LDF best practice examples and considering how local policies and masterplanning for town centres and other established areas can help guide and influence their future. The day will consider how planning can help deliver the Governments Localism agenda.
Topics to be covered
- Understanding national regional and local design policies
- How LDFs deal with design issues
- The concept of development management
- Setting policy objectives for an area
Day 3: Design and Planning Decisions and Design at Appeal
This session will track the life of an application including setting parameters, negotiation, design appraisal, reporting and decision making stages to considering how design related issues may be best dealt with. It will also look at how to assess the quality of proposals and what information you require to do this properly including the use of design reviews and Design Surgeries. The afternoon session will focus on the role of conditions and reserved matters as a form of quality control. We will also discuss how to deal with design at appeal and stage a mock inquiry using a relevant case study.
Topics to be covered
- How the design process works
- Existing tools and tricks to assess the design quality of proposals
- Assessing a test case and comparing your assessment to the built reality
- Design at appeal and our mock hearing
Day 4: Big Design Day
Like the Introduction Day, this session will be shared between planning, housing specialists, green space and streets practitioners. Teams will consider an area, looking at understanding its context, to first set scheme objectives and then develop design ideas combining changes to the street, buildings and open spaces holistically.
Architects call these events ‘charrettes’. They squeeze the design process from concept to a drawn proposal into a day to help people learn about the balances, compromises, co-operation and imagination that can help create places.
Trainers: Alex Ely and Michael Howe (MAE Architects, Neil double ex LB Tower Hamlets planning department, metropolitan Workshops, (TBC)
