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Manchester Property Breakfast 2009
Good design is even more important in a recession, the audience at Insider’s latest property breakfast heard. In the second of two events held by Insider and design body Places Matter, a full house packed into the new Manchester studio of architects’ practice BDP - the event’s co-sponsor - to hear how vital it is not to deviate from the upward trend in design quality of recent years.
Stephen Redfern, executive director of BDP North, said: “It’s not just that good design creates value - bad design costs money, and lots of it. In this market, because we’re not awash with funding, it’s even more important that time is spent on creative thinking and getting it right.”
These comments chimed with the keynote presentation by Jackie Potter, chief executive of Corridor Manchester, who quoted research saying that where five years ago 80 per cent of people chose a company over a place when moving job, now 64 per cent chose a city first.
Fellow panellist Tom Lonsdale, a member of the North West Design Review Panel, added: “If you list the characteristics of good design, most of them don’t have a big pound sign next to them. A pound spent at the outset on a good design team is worth £10 at the end.”
Potter spoke about the importance of place-making in the Corridor programme, how the city’s primary knowledge-based economic hub needed to change from a choked bus route to a more pleasant environment with efficient transport systems in and out.
The panel was asked to name its favourite North West examples of quality place-making. Potter went for the ongoing work at Blackpool’s South Promenade, while Lonsdale singled out the long-term work at Castlefield and Hulme in Manchester. Nick Payne, managing director of Nikal, opted for Spinningfields, while Redfern plumped for Liverpool’s Ropewalks, saying:
“The Ropewalks really laid the foundation for Liverpool One and put design back on the agenda in Liverpool. What was done well was that it focused on public realm before the buildings, which is important in creating a sense of place, although it’s difficult to do.”
Although all agreed design was paramount, Payne injected a note of caution. “We have to be realistic about what’s viable,” he said. “The cost of construction hasn’t gone down yet and funding’s hard to access, so development is difficult.”
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