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Royston Robinson Reviews the Recent CABE Urban Design Summer School
and its Focus on Cross-professional Learning
Photos: Rene Bach
WHAT IS URBAN DESIGN?
Urban design has often fallen between
two professions – architecture and
planning. This lack of definition has
undoubtedly affected the profession
and currently we are witnessing a
skills crisis: we do not have enough
professionals with the right skills to do
the job. The results are witnessed in the
poor public realm that blights towns
and cities across the UK. We need urban
design professionals to develop the skills
they need to create the sustainable
communities of the future.
CABE, along with key bodies like
the Urban Design Group and Urban
Design Alliance, has made great strides
in putting high quality urban design
at the heart of physical regeneration
in England. Yet, the built environment
sector is still suffering from a lack of
accessible lateral learning; silo-busting
design study forums that unite those
who play key roles in how our towns and
cities are built.
With this in mind CABE developed
a partnership with the University of
Westminster in January 2004 to create
and deliver a three and a half day Urban
Design Summer School with the aim
of gathering professionals from across
the sector to tackle jointly the key
challenges in making successful places.
Richard Simmons, CABE’s recently
appointed chief executive said: “No
profession has a monopoly on wisdom
when it comes to designing attractive
and successful places. We have to
deliver a massive programme of public
and private investment to transform
neighbourhoods and build new ones
Work together and
we can create a
heritage future
generations will
look back on with
pride
over the next ten years. Those of us
who have had the privilege to work in
teams which blend the skills of different
professions know they design better
environments. If we don’t learn from
this we will repeat the worst mistakes of
the past. Collaboration doesn’t always
come naturally, so developing the skills
and competencies to break through
boundaries is critical. Get it wrong and
we will build neighbourhoods nobody
wants to live in. Work together and we
can create a heritage future generations
will look back on with pride.”
The school took place from June
13th to the 16th following a flurry of
booking activity and substantial oversubscription.
Set in the designated
housing growth area of Ashford, Kent
– a rich source of case studies – the
programme centred on four design
workshop groups, or charrettes. These
tackled:
• estate renewal
• green and brownfield development
• town centre regeneration
• housing intensification.
Delegates were able to choose from two
of the four charrettes, allowing them to
select the sites and issues most relevant
to their own work. From collating site
analyses to producing development
frameworks, the varied backgrounds
and skills sets of the students provided
interesting and lively group debate.
Supplementing the charrettes were
an array of skills seminars, keynote
speakers and best practice sessions that
drew on the talents of some of our most
innovative and engaging practitioners,
including:
• Cllr Daniel Moylan, RB Kensington
& Chelsea, tackling street clutter in
Kensington
• Dickon Robinson, Peabody Trust,
explaining the why and how of the
client’s role in design excellence
• David Partridge, Argent St George,
describing the masterplanning of Kings
Cross
• Richard Alderton, Ashford Borough
Council, putting Ashford’s opportunities
in context.
Bill Erickson and Sebastian Loew, the
University of Westminster ‘ringmasters’
for the school, provided seamless
continuity to the proceedings,
successfully guiding 72 delegates
on multiple site visits and providing
thought-provoking sessions and
charrette guidance. Plaudits must also
go to Ashford Borough Council and the
planning team who provided peerless
support throughout the programme. From
delivering plenary sessions on Ashford’s
planning strategy, to providing Planning
Member panels in charrette crits, the
borough proved an invaluable ally.
Overall, the event’s greatest success
stems from the delegates’ own energetic,
unflagging participation. The exercise
of planners, engineers, councillors,
architects and others working together,
provoked challenges in professional
pre-conceptions and misconceptions.
On top of learning about the issues of
contemporary urban design, delegates
learned about the different approaches
and priorities of their peers.
Email addresses were swapped and
local reunions planned. Needless to say,
we are already looking forward to next
year.
For more detailed information about
the summer school visit www.udss.org.
uk. To get ahead of the game and join
next year’s waiting list, contact Royston
Robinson 020 7960 4890.
10 | Urban Design | Autumn 2004 | Issue 92