Design

Sustainability principles to consider

The Design Principles for National Infrastructure published by the National Infrastructure Commission Design Group (NICDG, 2020) were introduced in Chapter 3 (also see the Appendix). They identify some important key themes relating to the value of design in infrastructure delivery, including leadership, integration, collaboration, early engagement, sustainability and a user focus. The NIC's Design Task Force (NICDTF, 2020) recognises design as an iterative process, occurring at different stages through project delivery, and sees the value of design in several ways

Yet the NIC also acknowledges some of the barriers to good design, including

The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), in collaboration with the NICDG, have published a review of civil engineers’ experiences of design, based on the NIC's design principles (NICDG, 2020). The main findings are summarised in Box 6.1. These concerns in relation to achieving sustainable outcomes are addressed in the remainder of this chapter.