2015 MODULE 1

Course Assessment
Cover Sheet

Please attach this to the front of your completed Assignment for Module 1 for the Moodle
submission and both hard copies.

Please note:
Your hard copies will be filed in your Portfolio of work this will be compiled by us and given to your
Professional Examiners when you come to submit for Module 6. Because we are trying to reduce
the weight and density of this work:
You must print on both sides, only use normal weight paper.
You must NOT use any binding of any kind simply staple the top left hand corner of the
work.

Module 1 Candidate Number: Example 3

Essay Topic:
The role of the architect and the housing crisis in London:
discuss the impact of the Farrell Review on the role of the Architect.

Submission Deadline:

Submit on Moodle by 12noon on Friday 6 March 2015

Then
Hand in 2 x hard copies (of exactly the same document) to Professional Studies Office by end of
day Tuesday 10 March 2015

Word Count: 2934

(Not including Footnotes/Endnotes/Bibliography)

By submitting this work I certify that the work submitted is my own and that any material derived or
quoted from the published or unpublished work of other persons has been duly acknowledged. I
confirm that I have read the UCL and Departmental notes on plagiarism.

University College London, The Bartlett School of Architecture, Professional Studies Administration
140 Hampstead Road, London, NW1 2BX T: +44 (0)20 3108 9663 Bartlett-Part3@ucl.ac.uk
2: AHEH 2015
 1:/ Introduction 4
2:/ The Farrell Review 7
3:/ Education 8
4:/ People: Politics and Society 10
5:/ Money: Business and Economy 12
6:/ Conclusion 13
Glossary of Aconyms 14
Bibliography 15

Module 1: The role of the architect Contents :3

(fig.1 to fig.3) Taken directly from the GLA’s website, these
figures give an indication as to the demand for housing in the
capital, the unique state of London in contrast with the rest of
the UK and the overall economic situation.
4: 1:/ Introduction
1/: Introduction
The UK is making a recovery from the 2008 financial
crash and subsequent recession1. London is seeing
a considerable growth in both population and
construction with significant public and private led
schemes to build more houses2. There is a widening
economic gap between London (together with the
South East) and the rest of the UK, centrally driven
by property prices3 exacerbated by an increase of
immigration4 to the capital coupled with a welcoming
situation for foreign investment5. A central plank to
the government’s policies on economic recovery has
been a reform of planning policy at both national
and regional levels, as seen in the heavily reduced
National Planning Policy Framework (2010)6. The
new notion in favour of ‘sustainable development’
is not only a tool to generate economic growth but
an indicative renegotiation between the public
and private sectors in delivering development with
the present Conservative government in favour of
1 With global construction set to rise 70% by 2025, the Gov-
ernment, through the BIS and the Construction 2025 report, has set out
its intention of pursuing a large part in it. It identifies a UK talent as a
major global player, both as educators and in business,
2 London seeing a strong Mayoral-led drive to build (see his
new 9 zones, AJ) and direct finance “The government has shortlisted
29 schemes for a share of £200million of loans aimed at kickstarting
housing delivery on brownfield land” (AJ 5/1/2015, accessed 01.02.14),
3 According to the GLA, “average London house prices grew
by 18% in the past year [2014], and now stand at £508,000.” (Accessed
26.02.2015 from http://data.london.gov.uk/housingmarket/)
4 According to the ONS Migration Statistics Quarterly Report
2014, “583,000 people immigrated to the UK in the year ending June
2014 [while] net long-term migration to the UK was estimated to be
260,000 in the year ending June 2014, a statistically significant increase
from 182,000 in the previous 12 months.”
5 As figures from the FR highlighted, ‘Investors from over 30
different countries acquired real estate in central London in 2012, in-
jecting £10.5 billion of foreign capital.’ As an indicator of the local district
wealth, the ONS compiled the Gross Added Value (income Approach),
for 2013. ‘At the sub-regional level, in 2013 Inner London had the
highest GVA per head at £71,162, while West Wales and The Valleys
had the lowest at £14,763.’ Although not conclusive, it does give a good
indicative number to illustrate the nature of London as an economic
powerhouse.
6 Defined by Greg Clarke MP as “Sustainable means ensuring
that better lives for ourselves don’t mean worse lives for future genera-
tions. Development means growth…”…“The Government will increase
housing supply by reforming the planning system so it is more efficient,
effective and supportive of economic development. In addition, it will
introduce a New Homes Bonus that will directly reward and incentivise
local authorities and local communities to be supportive of housing
growth.” (p.12,NPPF, 2010)
AHEH 2015
 increased private sector involvement in state-funded (fig.4) Identifying PLACE as both a means and
an end with the professional tools to accomplish it.
projects7. With a General Election planned for May (image taken from the FR report pdf 5/3/15)
2015, the main political parties are gearing up in order
to highlight their economic credentials (amongst
others) and how the construction industry – together
with the role of the architect – will be placed politically
in the delivery of economic growth.
In evaluating the role of the architect for this
investigation, the Farrell Review (FR) stands out pre-
eminent in both is recent completion (2014) and scope
of vision amongst the backdrop of past government-
initiated investigations such as the Latham (1994)
and the Egan (1998) reports. The Farrell Review
differs considerably from these two in the focus on
‘place-making’ – the development of space at a
community level – with a holistic consideration of the
procurement process and the component factors that
feed into it, but, more importantly, because it is led by
an architect not a businessman. This is a significant
point for it recognises that, in order to investigate
design and the built environment you need a designer
with a myriad expanse of other specialisms, granting
the view of one and all: a ‘creative’ coordinator8. This
evolves the traditional role of the architect, where
the architect is the first point of contact with a client,
thus linking the architect and client directly. However,
where modern projects of considerable scale are
undertaken, and leading on from the ‘committed
leadership’ of the Egan report9, this differs in usually
being developer-led and, as a consequence, having
a project manager10 who effectively acts as both
7 Such as the PFI schemes or BSF but this is particularly true
of Crossrail (with the initial consultation stages of Crossrail 2 in the
pipeline), ‘Europe’s largest construction project’ (www.crossrail.co.uk,
accessed 02.02.14) with a total budget of £14.8billion.
8 As Colin Marrs in the AJ pointed out ‘more than a third of
the UK’s biggest housebuilders don’t employ a single ARB-registered
architect.’ (AJ, 25.01.15)
9 ‘We believe that the main initial opportunities for improve-
ments in housebuilding performance exist in the social housing sector
for the simple reason that most social housing is commissioned by a
few major clients. Corporate clients – housing associations and local
authorities – can work with the housebuilding industry to improve
processes and technologies and develop quality products.’ (p.05, 1998,
‘Rethinking Construction’, Sir John Egan.
10 As Steven Naylor put it in the AJ (29.06.2000), “project man-
agement (PM) can be defined as the planning, monitoring and control of
all aspects of a project - including the motivation of all those involved in
it - in order to achieve the project objectives within an agreed period of
time, cost and performance.” 

Module 1: The role of the architect 1:/ Introduction :5

(fig.5 & 6) Pocket, the future of affordable urban housing?
(image taken from http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/ on
5/3/15)
coordinator for the design team as well as connection
to the client.
The housing situation, as mooted in the
run up to a General Election, is a highly politicised
subject with the manifestos of the main parties
promising to build more in varying quantities. The
differences of these approaches underlie the varying
situation the architect finds from the Conservative
focus on first-time buyers11, and its resultant pull to
smaller properties (the ideal exhibited by Pocket, the
developers of micro homes12), to the Labour direction
of more public and private houses in more new
towns13, via the SNP, UKIP and Greens focus on the
rental market.14 With this focus on the wider economic
situation, the surrounding social and educative effects
are made secondary. As the London Mayor said in
the introduction to the London Design Guide 2010
“new homes in London are some of the smallest in
Western Europe and this is indefensible,”15 the quality
of the resulting spaces becomes a major reflection of
the value of the architect in the process. Though led
by developers, it is this spatial result that underlies
the public image of the profession and, through it,
a visual marker of the economic situation. As was
highlighted by the AJ/Observer Skyline campaign,
“some 236 buildings above 20 storeys are now in the
pipeline”16 that “are residential, but they are neither
essential to meeting housing needs, nor the best
11 ‘First-time buyers in England under the age of 40 would be
able to buy a house at 20% below the market rate, with 100,000 starter
homes to be built for them.’ (Quoted from BBC website).
12 Merlin Fulcher, ‘Pocket Homes’, AJ, 16.01.2015, vol. 241.
13 ‘Build 200,000 houses a year by 2020, including new towns
and garden cities. Cap rent increases in the private sector and scrap
letting fees to estate agents to give a “fairer deal” to tenants. Greater
powers for councils to reduce the number of empty homes’ (According
to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29642613, accessed 5/3/15)
14 ‘There are 1.7 million people waiting for social housing in the
UK…In London, more than 4,000 families have been waiting more than
two years to get a permanent home.’ (p.30, AJ, 16.01.15) In short, it
becomes a social battle ground with the Tories concentrating on young
professionals working in the city who have the real possibility of owning
property, traditionally countered by Labour’s increased social housing
budget, though modern Labour is somewhat forgetting its socialist roots.
15 In seeking a solution a more widely considered view of the
housing market is valuable. As was highlighted in the Farrell Review
Consultation paper, “the private-rented sector will inherently raise de-
sign standards.” (p.44. FR Report)
16 Richard Walte & Will Hurst, ‘London skyline ‘trashed’ by
wave of speculative towers, says Rees’; AJ, 11.04.14 (accessed online
21.02.15)

6: 1:/ Introduction AHEH 2015

 way to achieve greater densities. Their purpose is
more to create investments than homes or cohesive
communities.”17 The importance of this statement by
the former chief city planner, Peter Rees, highlights
the present friction that has arisen between economic
development and social needs, all underlined by the
lack of legislative tools to instill a balance.
In short, using London (a high-octane
reflection of the wider UK housing situation18) as the
test bed for this investigation into the changing role
of the architect, the varying economic, social, political
and educative elements that comprise the principle
factors addressed in the Farrell Review, can be
dissected and discussed.
(fig.7) PLACE Review Panels formed on government officials,
policy quangos/non-governmental organisations and built
environment professionals.
A CGI of the proposed southbank around Vauxhall
and Nine Elms where the new US and other Embassies
are moving to as part of the Skyline Campaign to bring
awareness and action to the number of tall buildings planned
for London. One idea, from Peter Murray, Head of the NLA,
was a London wide digital 3D model to generate a public
discussion about how these developments
would affect the built environment.
(top image by Louis Hellman for the Farrell Review
taken from the FR report pdf 5/3/15. Bottom image taken from
http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/ on 5/3/15)

2/: The Farrell Review

The structure of the Farrell Review identifies five key
sections connected by a common set of skills denoted
by PLACE19. These five sections are Education,
Outreach and Skills; Design Quality; Cultural
Heritage; Economic Benefits and Built Environment
Policy20 and cover the breadth of the building process
from wide scale planning through construction to team
structure, procurement and government interface.
The various existing institutions that comprise the
theme of PLACE (i.e. the professions RIBA, RICS,
RTPI etc.; government departments BIS, DCMS
etc.) are mooted in the review as constituent parts
of new ‘PLACE Review Panels’ to promote further
integration and consideration of places.
Through a varied series of consultation
exercises, the 60 recommendations of the review
translate the direct evidence of the present situation
(understood from both a top-down and bottom-
up approaches) into a future ideal. These are,

17 ibid
18 According to the ONS, London house prices have increased
at an average annual rate of 15.3% against a UK average of 10% in the
past year to Dec 2014
19 An acronym for Planning, Landscape, Architecture, Conser-
vation and Engineering.
20 Grouped for the purposes of this text in three loose groups
of education, people (politics and society) and money (business and
economy) to rationalise the information further.

Module 1: The role of the architect 2:/ The Farrell Review :7

(fig.8) Infographic on one aspect of space: personal space
and what does privacy mean for you. There is always talk
about private/personal space in terms of the closed off or
segregated. But what are the specific emotional demands we
require from it? And, subsequently, how can designers design
homes that reflect this and attune the physical with the mental
to deliver greater comfort and happiness together with a more
harmonious society. A tall order but possible in terms of the
FR where the architect is two people: go to problem solver
and design spiritual guide.
(image accessed from http://www.bmwguggenheimlab.org/
5/3/15)
8: 3:/ Education
however, recommendations and, though instigated
by Ed Vaizey, MP, a minister in the DCMS, there is
no obligation for the government to act upon them.
A point to note is that these recommendations are
positive actions towards a solution and come after,
and in conjunction with, formal conclusions. As a result
they can be read individually and together, the latter
solely being a possible manner of implementation.
In this the central issue begins to lean further
towards the practical reality of the architectural
profession – the breath of skills that are required
combined with the manner of their application – from
the theoretical vantage point of the ideal, enabling a
cross-disciplinary group to be formed that is ‘skilled
up’ to the task in hand. As such the architect is
employed as a skill mediator and promoter, becoming
more a ‘curator of people’, engaging others to bring
the necessary expertise to bear in the most fruitful
manner possible.
3/: Education
The three subsections that make up
Education – Children’s Education, Outreach and
Skills and Professional Education – show how much
the learning process and its early beginning is key
to systemic change in the built environment. These
highlight the common threads of connectivity, access
and engagement that run through the whole review
and adopt specific proposals to each issue. In this
way it seeks solutions using existing and pre-tested
paths of adoption that would lubricate the innovation
proposed. For instance, recommendation #01 seeks
to skill up teachers through online resources, “…
potentially through the Engaging Places portal,” with
#05 highlighting CPD points as incentives for “…
volunteering and mentoring in schools.”21
Prominent among the proposed is the
creation of ‘Place Spaces’, a series of ‘urban rooms’
that activate an identity of place by highlighting past
incarnations with present plans for the future in a
social space, with the Cork Vision Centre given as
21 Farrell Review Conclusions, 2014, p.07.
AHEH 2015
 a prime example. This has the immediate attraction
of being a community meeting space where the
public and private sectors are brought together on
equal terms in a neutral environment.22 Together with
(fig.9 & 10) Cork Vision Centre and the NLA respectively have
similar functions for the promotion of civic architecture and
wider accessibility, although the Cork centre serves a more
general role with social meeting and weddings etc.
(image accessed from http://www.corkvisioncentre.com/ and
http://www.newlondonarchitecture.org/ on 2/3/15)

creating a physical space that programmatically links

schools with state and private companies, this form
has the primary benefit of creating the intellectual
space for such cross-pollination of ideas and multi-
disciplinary collaboration; a prime position that the
architect traditionally holds between the private brief
and state regulation, only that this is formulated as a
civic duty, an almost Victorian ideal that harkens back
to the founding conditions of the RIBA, highlighting
the historic concord the profession has with a wider
socio-civic function.
Whilst much of the existing system of
professional education is still relevant23, the architect
is not so much repositioned or rethought but reminded
of a wider social care, similar to that of the medical
profession, with whom it shares a strong profession
identity. As such, the existing ingredients of schools,
civic centres and private practices are pooled in
order to lend collective strength in furtherance of the
mutual goal that is a better understanding of the built
environment and how to develop it responsibly for
future generations24.

22 As mentioned in 1B.2, ‘…this should be about ‘championing

the civic’ through volunteering, collaboration and enabling.’ As such,
the civic mandate has the potential to unify the best of the public and
private sectors with the greater efficacy of private procurement brought
to bear in an accountable and transparent manner. In such a situation,
the architect would be a professional in the private sense with a public
(civic) duty, transferring the role from increased private competition to
public collaboration in the pursuit and construction of civic projects.
23 Each part of the overall course – degree, masters and
professional practice – contains relevant information that is vital to com-
pletion as a successful practitioner yet it is the surrounding cost of such
a structure – from tuition fees to living - that renders the system unten-
able for universal access. 1C.2 proposes four different forms in which
architectural education can be delivered, which is a mixture of existing
forms internationally (fast-track study) and older forms now discontinued
(apprenticeships).
24 As was mooted in the FR, ‘Architects in particular are quick
to assume their primary role is one of total design; however this has
changed and been eroded. …As Farrell Review Expert Panel member
Sunand Prasad has said, the role of the architect today is increasingly
about selecting, synthesising and integrating, and they are well placed
to do this.’ (p.39, Farrell Review Report)

Module 1: The role of the architect 3:/ Education :9

(fig.11 & 12) The new Bermondsey zone that is one of the 9 4/: People: Politics and Society
new zones announced as part of the Mayor’s Housing Strate-
gy. It will have 2,400 homes designed by Studio Egret West. The planning system has come under
(image taken from http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/ on
5/3/15)
increased pressure to deliver an array of responsive
and responsible buildings with dwindling public
funding25. With the continual growth of building
opportunities where there is high investment,
especially in London, the planning system is rapidly
becoming a constricting force on the development
of the built environment. Government policy at a
national level has been to simplify the bureaucracy of
the process with a synthesized NPPF that functions
in conjunction with a Local Development Plan, “at
the heart of the National Planning Policy Framework
is a presumption in favour of sustainable
development, which should be seen as a golden
thread running through both plan-making and
decision-taking.”26 On a regional level, in the wake
of the Localism Act 201127, the London Plan (2011,
revised 2013), supplemented by the London Housing
Design Guide (2010), aims at implementing the
various green initiatives, infrastructure improvements
and house building that are manifesto pledges. In
this way, this section looks at planning policy, house
standards, the changing social needs this sets and
the political manifestos that promise a possible
solution.
The London Housing Design Guide (Design
for London, 2010) prepares a new set of minimum
space standards that, together with the present
news of “9 new housing zones”28 seeks to update
the old Parker Morris29 standards shaping houses
to the specific needs of people today.30 The Housing

25 Even with the new CIL, a change on all new developments

that aims to replace the existing section 106 agreements, councils are
feeling the pinch with a cut in central government funding.
26 P.4, 2010, NPPF.
27 The Localism Act 2011 ‘…abolished the London Develop-
ment Agency and transferred land and housing responsibilities to the
Mayor.’ (p.5, s.1.46, London Plan, rev 10/2013)
28 Michalia Hancock, ‘Nine of London’s new housing zones
announced’; AJ, 23.02.15.
29 From the 1961 Parker Morris Committee, ‘Homes for Today
and Tomorrow.’
30 ‘The changes made to the draft London Housing Design
Guide reflect a balance between achieving high quality housing against
the objective of increasing the overall supply of housing in London.’
(p.8, Interim LHDG, August 2010)

10: 4:/ People: Politics and Society AHEH 2015

 Review, a government initiative in conjunction with the (fig.13) Infographic of the planning system existing and
proposed (image by Louis Hellman for the Farrell Review
DCLG, has set up a present consultation period that taken from the FR report pdf 5/3/15)
seeks a “the first ever national cross-tenure space
standard”31. With 13.6% of the workforce in London
registered as ‘working from home’32, combined with
the greater focus on cycle transport, the demands on
space have changed much since the 1960s. In this
way, the central task becomes about synthesising
greater practical function into a high quality space in
greater densities, dissembling the behavioural need
for more space.
In response to this, the FR has suggested a
proactive system of planning to aid the implementation
of these policies with greater efficiency.33 Viewing
the built environment as a single form with multiple
functions rather than multiple forms with a single
function, the FR aims at joined-up thinking that reviews
the system from government policy down, together
with communities up. This parallel consideration
fuses the effects of scalar thought – thinking at a
range of scales to determine a fit – together with
the efficiency of the process. All political parties are
starting to gear up their overriding talk of the economy
and the part that housebuilding plays in the pumping
money into the supply chain, increasing employment,
generating new business and providing needed
accommodation.34 The question remains that, in light
of the Skyline campaign and Rees’s claim that much
new residential buildings are “deposit boxes for dirty
Russian money,”35 whether the nature of affordability
towards a more sustainable demographic in London
will happen.

31 ‘There is a now a single space standard – enough for cate-

gory 2 of accessibility (new Lifetime Homes) and, by implication, fine for
category 1 (current Part M re-drafted).’ (BD, 17.09.2014)
32 According to the Characteristics of Homeworkers, 2014,
published by the ONS.
33 . ‘All government decision-making panels for major infrastruc-
ture reviews should have design and planning professionals represent-
ed.’(p.19, 2B.2 ‘Making the Ordinary Better’).
34 The Grayling political analysts have highlighted that though
the policies are out, there is still a lot of ground to cover till the election.
‘With the majority of public spending cuts still to come, the parties are
working furiously to translate bold ideas into costed, deliverable policies
which resonate on the doorstep and in the boardroom.’ (Grayling’s
Guide to the 2015 Manifestos, Part2: Policies)
35 Max Thompson, “London skyline being built by ‘dirty Russian
money’ says Rees”; AJ, 30.05.14

Module 1: The role of the architect 4:/ People: Politics and Society :11
(fig.14 & 15) Infographic showing the proposed position
of the Cheif Architect in government to solve the issue as
shown in the cartoon below where the architect is sidelined
in the policy formation period without a logical consultation
as to the possibility of its creation. By bringing the architect
and construction leaders in early on in the process of policy
making then a more coherent and feasable development
program can be acheived.
(image by Louis Hellman for the Farrell Review taken from the
FR report pdf 5/3/15 and http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/
on 5/3/15))
12: 5:/ Money: Business and Economy
5/: Money: Business and Economy
The position of the architect in the realisation of this
political will is highlighted by the FR thought on the
role of a Chief Architect. Just as “in the 1970s 50%
of architects were employed by the public sector,
now less than 9% are,”36 the relationship between
the government to the profession can be both
harmonised and mediated. In this way there would
be an architect at the center of central government,
able to fight the battles that an external lobbying
force cannot, together with a reliable source for the
government to direct draft legislation, highlighting
specific areas where such action would be most
useful. Considering the might of the developer lobby
in Westminster37, injecting a voice that has a greater
sense of civic duty into the conversation38 is both
overdue and necessary for any meaningful change
that puts a civic duty at the heart of the housebuilding
program.
The role of the Chief Architect, similar to that
of the Chief Medical Officer or Chief Planner39 would
have the secondary value of confirming in Whitehall
minds the vital role that architects play in not just
reappraising but delivering a functional and a fit-
for-purpose built environment. Amongst the myriad
opportunities that such a position would grant, the
value to the government in proper connection of
need with resources to solution would entail many
millions of pounds. As recommendation #59 points
out all government departments should “produce
a joined-up design policy statement [that sets out]
how they intend to co-ordinate the design quality
of their respective built environment ambitions…”
36 P,23, The Future for Architects, 2009, Building Futures.
37 And putting this into perspective by the fact that ‘more than a
third of the UK’s biggest housebuilders don’t employ a single ARB-regis-
tered architect,’ (AJ, 25.01.15)
38 As David Cameron highlighted, this is “the next big scandal
waiting to happen. It’s an issue that crosses party lines and has tainted
our politics for too long, an issue that exposes the far-too-cosy relation-
ship between politics, government, business and money”. He suggest-
ed that he would shine “the light of transparency” on lobbying so that
politics “comes clean about who is buying power and influence.” (Porter,
A, 2010, Daily Telegraph).
39 5A.3 of the FR states: ‘for the built environment there is a
Chief Planner and Chief Construction Adviser, so there is scope for
a Chief Architect to ensure that the built environment professions are
better represented.’ (p.33, FR Conclusion)
AHEH 2015
 With the government in a continual drive to make (fig.16) Infographic highlighting the position of the PLACE
Leadership Council in the structure of policy making and
efficiencies and economies40, a central FR proposal implementation. By focusing on the built environment
professionals in toto, rather than simply the role of the
of a PLACE Leadership Council would ‘“advise and architect, both a greater solidarity of team building can
help co-ordinate policies and programmes across happen with all specialisms given credit for the skills they
bring to the table.
government in order to support the delivery of better (image by Louis Hellman for the Farrell Review
taken from the FR report pdf 5/3/15)
places.”41 If the Government is truly committed to
the built environment and the aims set down in its
‘Construction 2025’ document, then a holistic re-
ordering of how the sector is best served is not just
necessary but mandatory. With this, the consideration
of design as a cost-saving measure is confirmed
making it, together with its application, a matter of
efficiency and economy. As such, the role of the
architect is best placed to address present issues
and long term plans for its implementation.

6/: Conclusion
This text has attempted to understand the various
situations, skills and issues surrounding the changing
role of the architect in the housebuilding industry in
London, using the Farrell Review as a guide. According
to the various policies and reports described, the FR
has a well-balanced and theoretically possible plan
of action, making the most of existing resources to
future demands by better interconnection.
Yet are the recommendations of the FR the
best way forward? It is undoubtedly the case that
whatever the solution it needs to be a wider social
enterprise with all contributing to it, not simply the
professionals. The key trivector of people that make
space – clients, professionals and users – require
a more integrated way of working than the linear
process of fixed consultation periods followed by
construction; the FR’s recommendation of ‘Place
Spaces’ could be central to this, which might also
readdress the working relationship between public
and private industry. It also provides a platform for
debate that, seen together with the role of Chief
Architect in government, calls for a strong advocacy
40 As seen in the NAO’s Gershon Report (1999) on rationalizing
Government procurement or the later ‘Efficiency and reform in govern-
ment corporate functions through shared service centres’ (2012).
41 P.35, 5B.2, Farrell Review Conclusion, 2014

Module 1: The role of the architect 6:/ Conclusion :13

(fig.17 & 18) Lillington Gardens, a low-rise social housing
project by Darbourne and Darke in Pimlico, is successful
and well liked by its residents who continue to have a strong
community spirit although surrounded by the frenetic nature
of SW1. This is in total contrast to its new nieghbour over
the river, the Tower One, St George’s Wharf, Vauxhall by the
Berkeley Group, which is operated by Harrods Estates with
apartments going for up to £4million. The ideological as well
as social, economic and politcal gulf that separates these two
housing schemes is an indicative reflection of the present
situation in London where the glistening glass and steel
are the visual markers of private wealth without incumbant
communities, dominating a very public site in the city.
(image taken from http://www.theguardian.com/ and http://
www.berkeleygroup.co.uk/ respectively on 5/3/15)
14: 6:/ Conclusion
role to be pushed; surely the most interesting nuance
in developing the conditions for space creation. An
activism and political nous would allow strong ideas to
be pushed in a debate where participation rather than
consultation will render a happier and more inclusive
built environment. This would combine with the
social influence that comes with new housebuilding
and the resultant communities ensuring, as a result,
that the egregious situation of empty ‘luxury’ towers,
as highlighted by Rees’s comments on the Skyline
campaign (see footnotes 16 and 17), are dealt with
by a wider social outcry as well as punitive legislation.
With this being achieved, the additional building
would serve as both an economic and morale boost
to London society, highlighting, as it does, the value of
the community is government thought. This could be
achieved by new low rise42 or mid-rise development43
together with spearheading a larger social change of
consideration towards infrastructure, aiding the UK in
its EU obligations to tackle climate change.
Society and the processes of
intercommunication and relationship are evolving with
increasing innovation via technological development
out of fixed physical spaces, and the architect needs
to evolve likewise. What the FR proposes – that the
architect continues a multi-facetted role as an expert
team coordinator and general designer (similar to
the structure of the FR itself), reflects the immediate
instance of the construction industry at present. With
so broad and holistic an investigation, coupled with
the 4-5 year span of political cycles, the chances for
adoption by the government are low44. This leaves
the architect, like all built environment specialisms,
up to further renegotiation of what is the best role
to adopt with each new project45. The benefit this
42 As in the Lillington Gardens development in Pimlico by
Darbourne and Darke (1961-1972) that provided high density attractive
housing with gardens for all.
43 As advocated by the Princes Trust, ‘Housing London: A Mid-
rise Solution.’
44 Considering the City Hall reception of the Skyline campaign’s
recommendations, “The Mayor of London has accepted only one of
the recommendations put forward…” Richard Walte & Will Hurst; AJ,
03.10.2014 (accessed online 26.02.15) the manner of a government
(and a Tory government at that) accepting a grassroots report is mini-
mal. Public faith in such in equally low
45 Highlighting the system of legal precedent that underpins
AHEH 2015
 has is primarily one of adaptation – the role can (fig.19) Infographic highlighting the process of PLACE -making
(image by Louis Hellman for the Farrell Review
morph and be tweaked according to the idiosyncratic taken from the FR report pdf 5/3/15)
nuances of the project – but it lacks the efficiency and
organisation of a more considered pre-planned form.
As the role has evolved from a pyramid to
satellite structure with a large spread of people in
various specialisms46, it becomes obvious that it
is (and will remain) a collaborative process with a
good structural precedent of working. Therefore, it is
necessary for the architect is to exhibit good leadership
skills and be a responsible force in allocating the best
people with the best skills to the job in hand, adopting
a “long life, loose fit, low energy,”47 maxim to ensure a
viable longevity for our built environment.

the judiciary in the UK together with the existing planning system which
is “too reactive and relies on development control, which forces local
authority planners to spend their time firefighting rather than thinking
creatively…” (p.14, 2A.1, FR Conc.)
46 This is especially true in large commercial projects with the
rise of such people as Project Managers. This imagery comparison
was highlighted in the Bartlett lecture by Urban Mesh on 24.02.15. This
could be viewed in a rather positive manner for, by divesting the archi-
tect of project management and contract administration roles, it is freer
to focus on design; the downside is control over its implementation.
47 P.24, 3B.1, Farrell Review Conclusions, 2014.

Module 1: The role of the architect 6:/ Conclusion :15

 Glossary of Acronyms
(Only used where necessary to continue the flow of the text and not be deviated by the
lengthy titles of institutions.)

AJ - Architects’ Journal
AR - Architectural Review
BF - Building Futures
BIS - Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
BSF - Building Schools for the Future
CA - Contract Administrator
CGI - Computer Generated Image
CIL - Community Infrastructure Levy (2012)
DCLG - Department of Communities and Local Government
DCMS - Department of Culture, Media and Sport
FR - The Farrell Review (2014)
GLA - Greater London Authority
HCA - Homes and Communities Agency
LDA - London Development Agency (abolished 2011)
LHDG - London Housing Design Guide
NAO - National Audit Office
NLA - New London Architecture
ONS - Office for National Statistics
PM - Project Manager
PFI - Private Finance Initiative
RIBA - Royal Institute of British Architects
RICS - Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors
RTPI - Royal Town Planning Institute

16: Glossary of Acronyms AHEH 2015

 References

Policies
Code for Sustainable Homes (2010)
Interim London Housing Guide (2010)
The London Plan (2010)
The London Plan Revised (2013)
The NPPF (2010)

Reports
Construction 2025, (2013)
Future of London: Affordable Rent Model (2013)
Grayling’s Guide to the 2015 political manifestos
NAO
- The Gershon Report (1999)
- Efficencty in Gov. (2012)
Progress Report, BIS (20/03/2014)
Prince’s Trust
- Housing Communities (2014)
- Housing: A Mid-rise Solution (2014)
The Egan Report (1998)
The Farrell Review (2014)
- Conclusions and Recommendations
- Consultation (Full Report)
- Summary
The Future for Architects (2009)
The Labour Manifesto (2015)
The Latham Report (1994)

Statistics
ONS
- Output in the Construction Industry, (Q4 2014)
- House price index (Nov. 2014)
- Migration Statistics Quarterly Report (Feb 2015)
- Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (Oct-Dec 2014)

Media
The Architect’s Journal
Building Design
The Daily Telegraph
The Guardian
BBC News

Module 1: The role of the architect Bibliography :17