Influencing Policy

The value of good design

On 12 July 2011 the RIBA published Good design – it all adds up (pdf 2MB)|, a report that  demonstrates the value of good design.

Good design improves quality of life

  • Well-designed homes and neighbourhoods create better and healthier places to live and build
    strong communities; they can reduce crime and provide homes that keep their value.
  • Well-designed schools support teaching and learning and have a positive impact on students’ behaviour.
  • Well-designed hospitals aid speedier
    recovery and result in more efficient and contented staff.
  • Well-designed offices lead to a more valued and productive workforce and profitable premises.
  • Good-quality public spaces help create healthy communities, desirable properties and can revitalise run-down neighbourhoods.

Good design – it all adds up|

Good design – it all adds up (pdf 2MB)|

Good design makes economic sense

Despite all the evidence, the value of architecture and design has been increasingly questioned, especially as expenditure on construction schemes of all kinds – from schools to hospitals to regeneration projects – is coming under intense scrutiny.

‘There is a danger that, in the rush to cut costs, we lose more than money from our building projects. To avoid diminishing the quality of life that good design brings, it is necessary to identify the value created by thoughtful and responsive architecture.'

RIBA President Ruth Reed

At a time of tightened budgets, some argue that good design is an unaffordable luxury. Exactly the opposite is true: in straitened times, investing in high-quality architecture is the best possible use of public money.

Good design – it all adds up| draws together the broad body of research from the UK and abroad that shows the measurable social and economic benefits of well-designed buildings and spaces. It counters any argument that good design is dispensable.

Design fees are a small fraction of total construction costs and fade into insignificance when measured against the whole life of the building. Good design is an investment that gives value for money – over the long term good design always costs less than bad design.

Good design gives clients what they want

Good design – it all adds up| includes case studies of buildings and spaces from around the country. What the people using them say about the difference that they have made is a strong testament to the value of good design.

Good design takes a good client working with a good architect. Every well-designed building starts with a good brief. An architect can help get the brief right and then design a masterplan or building that fits exactly what the client needs.

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