Architects claim cost-cutting in the public sector is affecting the quality of new healthcare developments
SOME of the UK’s most prominent architects are warning against cost-cutting in the public sector, claiming it will have a dramatic effect on the quality of the healthcare built environment.
Speaking at the 2011 Design Summit, they raised concern that cuts to public sector funding would have a negative effect on the quality of buildings and, as a result, the effectiveness of the services delivered within, particularly in key markets such as healthcare.
There is a culture in this country, certainly among architects, engineers and so on, of choosing the lowest-cost way of designing something, especially in the public sector
Rab Bennetts, a founding partner of Bennetts Associates Architects, which was behind the design of the Centre for Health Science in Inverness and the Suttie Centre for Teaching and Learning in Healthcare in Aberdeen, told delegates: "There is a culture in this country, certainly in the construction industry, among architects, engineers and so on, of choosing the lowest-cost way of designing something, especially in the public sector." His views were echoed by Jim Eyre, a partner at Wilkinson Eyre, which designed the Maggie's Centre in Oxford. He said: "Good things in the public realm are not happy accidents. Design is a very powerful tool for economic and social benefit and designers have a lot to give."
And he hit out at the impact of PFI, which he said was in danger of dumbing down the role of architects in the delivery of top-quality buildings. He told the meeting: "PFI is dangerous and it worries me when I read that £3billion has been made trading PFI debt. It's wasteful potentially and it could be made a lot better.
Good things in the public realm are not happy accidents. Design is a very powerful tool for economic and social benefit and designers have a lot to give
"Design must not be de-prioritised in the process. The biggest danger of all is that architects and designers get divorced from the construction process. We need to see it though in order to understand it and to improve our designs."
A member of the audience added: "Certainly when we talk about architecture and look at buildings, we can see a lot of cost-cutting going on. It is too obvious and we can't get away with it."
When we talk about architecture and look at buildings, we can see a lot of cost-cutting going on. It is too obvious and we can't get away with it
Highlighting the importance of good design, David Willetts MP used the example of the current project being run by the Design Council on behalf of the Department of Health, which will see design firm, PearsonLloyd, consider how the layout and operation of hospital A and E departments can affect the prevalence of violence and aggression towards staff.
He said: "There's a lot that we can do in the public sector to benefit from good design. It's also, of course, critical to economic growth and innovation."
