How We Work
On behalf of the Mayor
Design for London work on behalf of the Mayor of London. We help drive forward the Mayor's policies and objectives, including the London Plan's promotion of a compact city, with excellent design and an enhanced network of public spaces. We focus much of our efforts in the parts of London highlighted by the Mayor as opportunity areas, working collaboratively to help shape London's growth.
We are tasked with pushing forward several of the Mayor's project focused initiatives including the Mayor's Great Spaces and the Green Grid. We also provide design and spatial input to policy work on behalf of the Mayor, such as the Mayor's housing design guide.
The Mayor's Design Advisory Panel
The Mayor has established the Mayor's Design Advisory Panel to work with Design for London to advise on strategic design-related issues across London. The panel informs the work of the mayor and influences the direction of Design for London. The panel includes the Mayor and Deputy Mayor Sir Simon Milton together with Joyce Bridges, Sir Terry Farrell, Roger Madelin, Cllr Daniel Moylan (chair), Eric Parry, Sunand Prasad and Sir Nicholas Serota and attendees such as Mark Brearley Design for London and Peter Bishop, LDA.
Download the panel's meeting action notes:
Our Management
Design for London is part of the London Development Agency (LDA) and is headed by Mark Brearley. We sit within the LDA's Design, Development and Environment directorate, led by Peter Bishop. The work of this directorate links together design, planning and land development, alongside decentralised energy and environmental programmes, to promote sustainable growth and target investment to areas where it can deliver clear economic benefits.
Collaboration
As part of the LDA we work alongside policy, strategy, planning and delivery staff across the GLA group and the London boroughs. Our mission is to complement their skills and to help ensure that design is a key consideration.
We develop working partnerships with other organisations such as the Homes and Communities Agency and the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation to provide design advice on their programmes and major projects. We also part fund, host and collaborate with Urban Design London - a design focused networking and training resource for London's boroughs and strategic agencies.
Insisting on the best
Design for London insists on the highest quality of design for new projects. We also work to reveal what is already good in places, what works best and how to improve on what's already happening.
We engage early in a project's inception, providing specialist advice through to design sign off and implementation. We assist in the preparation of project briefs for developers, designers and other consultants, and we provide an ongoing role as design mentors. We develop broader spatial thinking and push for the master-planning of areas to guide investment and development decisions and to capture the longer term benefits for communities throughout London. In areas of London where we are closely involved and have extensive knowledge, we engage in the process of shaping development proposals and frequently advise planning authorities on cases.
While we offer direct support to projects, we do not design them ourselves. We work in close partnership with a wide range of architects and designers. We have worked with some of the most capable designers from the UK and abroad and are constantly looking for fresh sources of talent. We promote open procurement processes and design competitions to attract the widest range of design talent and to provide opportunities for new designers to build their reputation. When choosing consultants through an existing framework agreement is favoured, we advise on the selection process. We manage the LDA's own framework agreement panel for architecture, landscape and urban design practices and offer guidance to other organisations on its use.
In addition the LDA Design Advisors panel provides another resource for Design for London and partners, allowing for involvement of designers in defining briefs, selecting consultants, and acting as design mentors on projects.
Area-based focus
As a small team, with a London-wide role, we need to be both targeted and strategic in order to achieve as much as possible. Our impact is maximised when we are able to engage continually in detail and with a geographical focus which reflects the Mayor's priorities and our extensive knowledge base.
We prefer to engage on an ongoing basis, in depth and with a geographical focus, and we generally avoid providing critique at late stages on projects where we have not been involved earlier.
Making it happen
We explore and reveal how London works spatially, to make the case for improving places. We take a longer-term strategic view, and help to bring the relevant partners together to make good projects happen.
We collaborate to identify opportunities for new projects and then assist in making the case and putting together funding packages to make them happen. We take a flexible pragmatic approach, working with an entrepreneurial spirit and jumping at opportunities.
Promoting and influencing
We complement our own project work with other activities which help to build the case for taking design seriously. We engage in research and participate in design debates around urban change. We also publish guidance documents and organise and support exhibitions, workshops and seminars.
We contribute to high profile events such as the London Festival of Architecture, and numerous other public events. We participate in exchanges with, and host international architects, designers and delegations from other cities. Our work with Urban Design London and organisations such as CABE and the Architecture Foundation promotes the value of good design and support good practice, the sharing of knowledge and effective training.
