A design code is a document that sets rules for the design of a new development in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and No ...
. 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 design framework is the vision. It should be accompanied by a
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. Kunz and Horst Rittel, design rationale seeks to provide argumentation-based structure to ...
that explains the objectives, with the design code providing instructions to the appropriate degree or precision of the more detailed design work.
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:
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Poundbury
Poundbury is an experimental planned community or urban extension on the western outskirts of Dorchester in the county of Dorset, England. The development is led by the Duchy of Cornwall, and had the keen endorsement of King Charles III when h ...
,
Dorchester
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Fairford Leys
Fairford Leys is an estate in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, designed in the urban village style, with the street and block layout geared to pedestrians more than cars. The three main developers of the development were bound by a design ...
,
Aylesbury
Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wyco ...
*
Fairfield,
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council was ...
*
Ashford Barracks,
Ashford
*
Upton, Northampton
See also
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Building code
A building code (also building control or building regulations) is a set of rules that specify the standards for constructed objects such as buildings and non-building structures. Buildings must conform to the code to obtain planning permiss ...
External links
Government Advice on Preparing Design Codes in the UKThe Future of Design Codes in the UK
{{Design
Urban planning