P A U L   V A N N E R
Democratising Design



If any form of Welsh design commission is to have any chance of long term survival it will have to address three key issues. These are

• The need to de-mystify the design process
• The democratisation of the design process
• The development of education and professional training

De-mystifying design
The favoured "black box/creative architectural leap" is an elitist and arrogant interpretation of the design process. It simply distances designers from their end users and serves to create the pretence of a superiority that avoids dialogue with those who use and "consume" buildings and public spaces. While the creative design process is something to be valued, the skills of designers, architects, urban designers and planners should not be buried and submerged but debated and considered by end users.
   However, neither the general school curriculum nor the higher education system encourage any erosion of the professional power earned through six or more years of study. I believe that good design in the public realm will only come when we have procedures in place that encourage public dialogue and an understanding of the benefits to be derived from good design. And by "dialogue" I do not mean the traditional public consultation meeting - where members of the public sit in a draughty church hall with professionals sitting on a stage surrounded by plans and sections that are unintelligible to the average citizen.

Democratising design
We need to encourage democratisation of the design process. This is an issue that a Welsh design commission must tackle. It should not simply replicate the example of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment - which appears to have inherited some of the perspectives of the old Royal Fine Arts Commission - but offer its own distinctive and comprehensive solution. It should be both radical and inclusive.
   We must empower the public to contribute to the debate. This is not something that can be achieved overnight, but alongside change in school curricula, and other actions that promote a change in cultural attitudes and aspirations there are a number of short-term actions that a design commission could consider.

Education and professional training
This is a long-standing personal hobbyhorse! My belief is that unless there is some common thread to environmental training and comprehensive understanding of the economics and power of development, we will rarely arrive at sustainable solutions and user-friendly environments.
   Architecture centres are one possibility, a means to display models, drawings and planning applications, as well a platform for exhibitions and events, or a source of support for schools and adult education initiatives.
   Education in schools is another issue. I would like to see a team of architecture and design advisors appointed to lead environmental education in schools, and producing resources for use in and outside the classroom.
   Thirdly, we need to ensure that when the Assembly deals with the public and private sectors design is always on the agenda. The Assembly needs design and architectural advisors, not to replicate the old RFAC or the Cardiff Bay Design Panel but to ensure that design considerations are part of every decision emanating from the Assembly.
   There are other ways to engage the public and democratise the design process. At a simple level we might require that all planning applications are displayed on site and contain explanations of their design rationale and details of where the proposed might be viewed.
   More ambitiously, information technology offers enormous opportunities. The internet extends the chance to provide access to design resources and information, including examples of what good design can achieve, materials on building technologies and sustainability, interactive fora that engage the public in live debate. A Welsh design web site should cover all the design disciplines - architecture, urban design, landscape, infrastructure, planning and conservation.
   These thoughts are modest, but the goal is not.
   Why should we not consider as feasible the object of creating a built environment in Wales that is as synonymous with good design as the architecture of some of the Scandinavian countries? Perhaps one of the first tasks for a design commission would be the creation of - not another design guide - but a design primer that illustrates how other distinctive regions of Europe have over the years retained and developed a national design identity. We inhabit a small and geographically diverse nation that proudly embraces its own language, culture and institutions. We have a turbulent history and a strong social heritage; we have diverse and distinctive natural and man-made landscapes. We should certainly look at other countries that have developed distinctive and culturally rich built environments - Finland or Slovenia, Denmark or Holland. These are places where re-emergent national self-consciousness has gone hand in hand with cultural confidence - demonstrated by the recognition of architects such as Asplund, Aalto and Plecnik.
   Can we in Wales develop a design strategy that draws on the wellsprings of national identity? Can we discover confident and radical design solutions that embrace national characteristics and art and craft traditions without slavishly following design exemplars?
   And at the same time we should not be seduced into thinking that design is a purely visual experience. Our overriding goal as designers should be to improve peoples' quality of life and their opportunities for good and healthy living. Design is not a stand-alone quality, and what makes good or bad design remains a subjective opinion unless there has been a clear statement of what a design is trying to achieve, why it is necessary and how these criteria are to be fulfilled. Performance needs to be measured against objectives.
    Design is a means to an end; and if this is to enlighten, improve and inspire people the question of design quality must engage the user and the consumer. The public duty of design professionals is to develop the skills and techniques that engage the end user in meaningful debate.

This essay first appeared in the Trust's magazine, About Wales, in January 2001