Memorandum from the Commission for Architecture
and the Built Environment (CABE)
1. CABE is the government's advisor on architecture,
urban design and public space. As a public body, we encourage
policymakers to create buildings and places that work for people.
We help local planners apply national design policy and offer
expert advice to developers and architects. We show public sector
clients how to commission buildings that meet the needs of their
users. And we seek to inspire the public to demand more from their
buildings and spaces. Advising, influencing and inspiring, we
work to create well-designed, welcoming buildings and places.
2. CABE is jointly funded by the Department
for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Communities
and Local Government (DCLG). The sponsorship arrangements are
with the DCMS. However we have strong working relationships with
the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), the Department of Trade
and Industry (DTI) and the Department for the Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs (Defra) on matters relating to the design, procurement
and construction of public buildings.
3. CABE has strong working relationships
with key stakeholders in the UK construction industry. These relationships
consist of:
— The Constructing Excellence
Sustainability Forum;
— The Construction Industry Council
(CIC) Sustainable Development Committee;
— The OGC's Public Sector Construction
Clients Forum (PSCCF); and
— The DTI's Cross Departmental
Construction Group.
(ii) Major service level agreements with:
— Department for Education and
Skills (DfES) for enabling and design reviewing the Building Schools
for the Future programme of building;
— Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA)
for enabling and design reviewing masterplans and designs for
the Olympic Park and buildings;
— Arts Council England for the
enabling arts building projects; and
— Department of Health (DoH) for
enabling the LIFT programme of building.
(iii) Working closely with:
— The OGC on the Government's
Better Public Building Initiative and the PM's Award for Better
Public Building; and
— The Home Builders Federation
(HBF) and the private volume housebuilding industry on the Building
for Life initiative.
(iv) Contribution of design quality expertise
to:
— The Office of Government Commerce's
(OGC) Common Minimum Standards for sustainability in the procurement
of built environments;
— The CIC's Design Quality Indicator
(DQI);
— The Department for Trade and
Industry's (DTI) forthcoming Sustainable Construction Strategy;
and
— The HM Treasury Green Book on
Appraisal and Evaluation in Central Government.
4. Of the areas covered by the Committee's
inquiry into the UK construction industry the following are of
particular relevance to CABE's remit:
— long-term capacity for the delivery
of large infrastructure projects on time and to budget, such as
the Olympics;
— delivery of the Government's
capital investment programme;
— availability of, and investment
in skills;
— encouraging sustainability;
and
LONG-TERM
CAPACITY FOR
THE DELIVERY
OF LARGE
INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
ON TIME
AND TO
BUDGET, SUCH
AS THE
OLYMPICS
5. The UK construction industry is central
to the delivery of the massive public building and infrastructure
programme currently underway and in meeting ambitious targets
for house building across the country. An estimated £45 billion
will be spent on the Building Schools for the Future programme
alone over the next 15 years, construction related costs for the
2012 Olympics are estimated at £3.3 billion and two thirds
of a million homes are planned to be built in England over the
next five years. Never has the construction industry been more
dynamic.
6. According to a recent study undertaken
by Deloitte for the OGC,[30]
the UK construction sector overall is likely to have sufficient
capacity to meet the demand from public sector construction programmes,
including the Olympics, between now and 2015. Labour and skills
shortages in the construction sector have been alleviated to some
extent by the influx of workers associated with expansion of the
EU, although there remain shortages in specific skills and disciplines.
These include project management, leadership and specific aspects
of design and engineering.
7. The study identified pre-construction
issues, such as procurement and project management, as more likely
to be the cause of cost escalations and therefore a priority for
the sector to address. The need for central government to strengthen
its capacity to lead construction programmes and projects and
put in place strategies to develop construction project management
capabilities was also identified in the NAO report Improving
public services through better public construction.[31]
The chief executive of CABE was recently asked to chair a working
group of the OGC Public Sector Construction Clients Forum set
up to explore capacity and capability across government departments
to procure major capital construction programmes and projects,
in order to identify actions needed to improve outcomes. An early
action of this group will be to commission research with the OGC
to better understand current practice and perceptions of need.
8. To address increased tender costs due
to uncertainty about future demand, the OGC has emphasized the
value of using a demand / capacity model to allow for scenario
planning to inform Departments' decision making by highlighting
the effects of public sector construction demand on industry capacity.
This will provide a view of how projects might impact on each
other or on the wider economy, and reveal potential effects on
inflation, labour and materials supply.
9. Although the Olympic building and infrastructure
programme is high profile, the amount of output it is expected
to generate over the next five years, is less, for example, than
that relating to Heathrow Terminal 5. In 2010, the peak construction
year for the Olympics the number of construction workers at all
levels from contract managers to craftspeople is estimated to
be around 9,300, which equates to a little over 0.3% of total
UK construction employment that year.
10. The competitiveness of the UK construction
industry is based on delivery of quality projects on time and
to budget, and all three need to be considered simultaneously.
However, the construction industry is still largely driven by
time and cost considerations, rather than quality and sustainability.
It's not good enough to deliver projects and meet targets on time
and on budget if the end product is not high quality nor sustainable.
11. Much of our work shows there is a long
way to go in this country. In July 2006 CABE published findings
from an audit assessing the design quality of 52 secondary schools.
Over 50% of the schools were categorised as "mediocre"
or "poor", 29% were "partially good", 15%
were "good" and 4% were "excellent". Most
schools scoring "good" or "excellent" were
completed in 2005, the last year studied, which suggests that
things are getting better. In February 2007 CABE completed a national
housing audit which showed that 82% of new housing built over
the last five years fails to measure up on design quality, and
29% of developments are so poor they should not have even got
planning permission.
AVAILABILITY OF,
AND INVESTMENT
IN SKILLS
12. The UK construction industry currently
employs 2.1 million people and accounts for at least 8.2% of UK
GDP. By the end of 2006, across all occupations, just over 2.5
million people are expected to be employed in construction. To
deliver forecast growth between 2006 and 2010, the number of construction
workers needed is likely to increase by around 245,000 across
the whole of the UK. This translates into a need for an additional
87,000 new recruits a year on average to fulfill the requirement
created by additional demand and to take account of those who
will leave the industry during the same period.
13. In addition to the professions commonly
associated with the construction industry, planning and urban
design skills are also vital to the construction process. It must
be bourne in mind that many decisions affecting the sustainability
of an individual construction project are nearly always determined
at an earlier stage of the design process than construction, and
at the more strategic masterplanning scale than the building scale.
14. Ethnic diversity remains an issue for
across the industry. Research undertaken by CABE[32]
identified that whilst ethnic minority students are relatively
well represented in most of the built environment discipline at
all stages of higher education, only 2.8% of built environment
professionals in employment are from ethnic minority groups (compared
with 7.8% of the working age population). It is worth noting that
figures for representation in employment are, at best, patchy.
Worryingly, the figures also suggested that fewer ethnic minority
graduates go on to careers in the industry than their white counterparts.
In depth interviews with a sample of ethnic minority students
and professionals suggested that barriers to entry and progression
remain, although the picture appears to be changing. Whilst the
focus of this research was on ethnic representation the findings
of this research can be applied to other groups.
15. This picture of under-representation
and barriers to entry and progression is against a backdrop of
a growing construction market, projected shortages of professionals
entering the industry and built environment higher education courses
that report difficulties in attracting enough students. Architecture
is the only built environment subject consistently receiving more
applications than places. Other subjects appear to rely on clearing
to fill courses.
16. One barrier can be the image of the
industry. Both CABE and ConstructionSkills have recently introduced
campaigns to influence attitudes to the sector.[33]
The Academy for Sustainable Communities, ASC, is also currently
developing a campaign to promote careers involved in creating
and maintaining sustainable communities, which includes the built
environment professions. This will build on CABE's careers work.
17. Since its establishment in 2003, CABE
Education has also been working to raise the profile of the built
environment as an arena for learning. The 14-19 curriculum reforms
and industry response to the Leitch Review offer opportunities
to build on and extend this success.
18. In terms of the skills of professionals,
CABE sees urban design as an increasingly core skill that should
be introduced as part of the professional training of all those
involved in the process of place making, and that ideally these
are skills best learnt in the sort of multi-disciplinary groups
found in teams delivering successful places.[34]
19. More broadly, there is an increasing
recognition that, irrespective of their technical ability, to
play a productive role in developing better buildings and places
professionals need a range of generic skills. This is an agenda
that is being driven by the Academy for Sustainable Communities,
in implementing the recommendations of the Egan Review of Skills
for Sustainable Communities, 2004.
20. At a project level, CABE works to develop
wider understanding of what makes a good client (as central to
achievement of good design) and to promote opportunities for those
fulfilling this role to develop the skills and understanding they
needed. This is achieved through its programmes as well as through
work with others, such as OGC.
ENCOURAGING SUSTAINABILITY
21. CABE's view is that good design is synonymous
with sustainable design. No building, public space, infrastructure
or place can be considered genuinely well designed if it does
not contribute to environmental, social and economic sustainability—the
triple bottom line. No building, space or place can be considered
sustainable if it not well-designed. Design is about problem solving
and there is no bigger challenge than climate change and sustainable
development.
22. However, many clients and developers
still see design quality and sustainability as two separate and
marginal issues, one a question of aesthetics, the other a question
of technical solutions to problems such as reducing energy consumption
and waste. From CABE's perspective these are inseparable. Design
quality, after all, is not just defined by how a building, space
or place looks, but how it functions, how it meets the social,
economic and environmental needs of the people it serves, and
how it can be managed and adapted as those needs change over time.
23. Good design is both a process and an
outcome and is integral to all aspects of sustainable construction.
It is not an optional extra. Specifically, design quality reinforces
good procurement, effective asset management and ensures whole
life value within the construction industry. It is fit for purpose,
soundly built, durable and attractive. It is responsive to context,
and a clear expression of the requirements of the brief, flexible
and adaptable to future needs and technologies, uses resources
efficiently, and represents whole life value for money. Whole
life values thinking and sustainable procurement are essential
when making decisions about investment in the design, construction
and management of sustainable buildings, spaces and places.
24. Approximately 30% of the construction
sector's output by value is bought by the public sector with Government
itself the construction industry's leading client. Therefore there
are enormous opportunities for Government and the public sector
to set an example through the sustainable design, procurement,
maintenance and operation of its built assets, stimulating demand,
markets and supply chains for more sustainable products and service.
Given the scale of house building over the next 5 years, and the
challenge of meeting the targets within the Code for Sustainable
Homes the private volume housebuilding industry will also have
a key role to play. Government plans to rebuild or refurbish every
secondary school in England by 2020 through the Building Schools
for the Future programme represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
to ensure they are as high quality and sustainable as possible.
CLG is currently working with the construction industry to set
up a similar framework to the Code for Sustainable Homes for commercial
and public buildings. A Code for Sustainable Buildings is one
possible outcome.
25. A balance is required between a robust
regulatory framework which ensures compliance and system of incentives
which encourage the construction industry to be more sustainable.
CONSTRUCTION R&D
26. CABE believes there should be more investment
into data collection, monitoring and evaluation on the performance
of existing and completed buildings, spaces and infrastructure
in terms of quality and sustainability. In order to ensure there
is a feedback loop between project teams and clients there should
be investment into the development of a comprehensive "living"
database to inform the way buildings, spaces and infrastructure
are planned, designed, constructed, maintained and operated leading
to a process of continuous improvement.
27. Definitions of design quality and sustainability
across the construction industry cannot always be reduced to codes
and prescriptions. However, it is possible to distinguish good,
sustainable design from bad, unsustainable design and there are
a range of tools and indicators and tools for assessing design
quality and sustainability for buildings, infrastructure and public
space in different ways. The main indicators and tools for assessing
the design quality and sustainability of construction projects
are listed below.
28. Using any one of these tools in isolation
will only give a partial picture of design quality and sustainability.
Tools for specifically assessing the environmental quality and
performance of buildings and infrastructure have the potential
to be used as holistic indicators of design quality if used in
conjunction with other indicators to build up a composite picture
of design quality across a construction project or site. A good
design process can play a synthesizing role in bringing the use
of these tools together to help deliver sustainable construction.
Design Quality Indicators
— The Design Quality Indicator
(DQI)—an established tool which helps to define and evaluate
design quality.
— DQI for Schools—a process
for evaluating the design quality of school buildings from the
inception of the project through the design stages and once the
building is complete.
— Design Excellence Evaluation
Project (DEEP)—a DQI for Ministry of Defence projects.
— Achieving Excellence Design
Evaluation Toolkit (AEDET)—assists healthcare trusts and
the NHS to determine and manage their design requirements from
initial proposals to post-project evaluation, concentrating on
the product of their project.
— ASPECT (A Staff and Patient
Calibration Tool)—is used in conjunction with the Staff
and Patient Environment heading of the AEDET toolkit, to establish
performance benchmarks for a new healthcare environment.
— IDEAS (Inspiring Design Excellence
and Achievement)—aids trusts, their architects and design
consultants to develop briefs and design ideas.
— Spaceshaper—a practical
toolkit for use by anyone—whether a local community group
or a professional—to measure the quality of a public space
before investing time and money in improving it. The toolkit works
by capturing the perceptions of professionals involved in running
a space, as well the views of the people that use it.
Award Schemes
— Building for Life—a national
award scheme to enable and reward high quality design in new housing
developments.
— Prime Minister's Better Better
Building Award—this annual award recognises new buildings,
places and spaces that improve the delivery of public services
and help build a sustainable future. It is jointly sponsored by
the CABE and the OGC.
— Green Flag Award—the national
quality standard for parks and green spaces in England and Wales.
Enables and rewards the best green spaces in the country and encourages
others to achieve the same high environmental standards.
— The Civil Engineering Environmental
Quality Assessment and Award Scheme (CEEQUAL) for civil engineering
projects.
Environmental Assessment Tools
— BRE's Environmental Assessment
Method (BREEAM)—BREEAM Buildings can be used to assess the
environmental performance of any type of building (new and existing).
Standard versions exist for common building types and less common
building types can be assessed against tailored criteria under
the Bespoke BREEAM version.
— The NHS's Environmental Assessment
Tool (NEAT) is being developed by the BRE as BREEAM for healthcare
buildings.
— CLG's Code for Sustainable Homes—intended
as a single national standard to guide industry in the design
and construction of sustainable new homes. It is based on nine
sustainable design principles.
— EU Energy Performance of Buildings
Directive (EPBD)—requires UK buildings to comply with stated
energy performance standards and to display or make available
energy performance certificates.
— Arup's Sustainable Project Appraisal
Routine (SPeAR) is based on a four-quadrant model that structures
the issues of sustainability into a robust framework, from which
an appraisal of performance can be undertaken. SPeAR brings sustainability
into the decision-making process with its focus on the key elements
of environmental protection, social equity, economic viability
and efficient use of natural resources.
Post construction and occupation evaluation
— Post-Construction Evaluation
(PCE) and Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) are tools which can
also be used as indicators of design quality and sustainability.
PCE usually takes the form of an in-depth objective study of how
the building and its systems' performance against the original
performance specification. It is not currently that common but
has the potential to be used more widely. POE involves systematic
evaluation of opinion about buildings in use, from the perspective
of the people who use them. It assesses how well buildings match
users' needs, and identifies ways to improve building design,
performance and fitness for purpose.
Key CABE documents relating to issues covered in
this written submission:
Better public buildings: a proud legacy for the
future
http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx? contentitemid=430&field=browse_subject&term=Construction%
20and%20procurement&type=2
Achieving well designed schools through PFI: client
guide
http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx? contentitemid=456&field=browse_subject&term=Construction%
20and%20procurement&type=2
Improving standards of design in the procurement
of public buildings
http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx? contentitemid=656&field=browse_subject&term=Construction%
20and%20procurement&type=2
Creating better public buildings: a guide for
clients
http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx? contentitemid=450&field=browse_subject&term=Construction%
20and%20procurement&type=2
Design and modern methods of construction
http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx? contentitemid=547&field=browse_subject&term=Construction%
20and%20procurement&type=2
Design quality and the private finance initiative
http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx? contentitemid=704&field=browse_subject&term=Construction%
20and%20procurement&type=2
4 May 2007
30 2005-15 Construction Demand Capacity Study,
Deloitte/OGC, June 2006. Back
31
Improving public services through better public construction,
NAO, March 2005. Back
32
Minority ethnic representation in the built environment professions,
CABE, July 2005. Back
33
Making places careers campaign, CABE, 2005; Positive
image, CITB, 2006. Back
34
Urban Design Skills Working Group, CABE 2001; Building
sustainable communities: developing the skills we need, CABE,
2003. Back
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