DESIGNING OUT CRIME


move away fromcrime-ridden areas leaving themthese spaces to fall into further deprivation. “The RIBApublication ‘Good


Design – ItAllAdds Up’ promotes themany benefits of good architecture such as building strong communities, creating spacious flexible homes that keep their value and, interestingly, reducing crime,” Lampard continues. “Alongside law enforcement then, there is a passive control for crime thatwe architects can deliver.Quite a responsibility itwould seem. “As the publication states: ‘The


natural surveillance provided by passers-by, or bywindows and balconies overlooking streets and open spaces, is enough to deter most crime and vandalism.Well- designed neighbourhoods promote this casual policing,which can work alongsidemore formal schemes forwatching over one another’s homes. Thoughtfully sited car parking and bicycle storage, aswell aswell-integrated refuse and recycling bins, contribute not only to a sense of order but also reduce litter, vandalismand theft. Police services award Secured byDesign certificates to homes and developmentswhose design deters crime. It considers the materials and design of entry points such as doors andwindows, the deployment of burglar alarms and video entry systems, and the natural surveillance offered by windows to open spaces.’ “Many of usmay remember our


parents’ generation reminiscing that front doors did not need to be locked in their childhood.Asense ofmutual ownership, promoted by well designed environments, encourages us to look out for ourselves by looking out for others. This is the heart of thematter. “As an architectural practice,


Format, Stephen Lampard discusses the responsibilities and aspirationswithin the industry to design safer places that allowa sense of community spirit to thrive.He also explains howthis intuitive newToolkit can be used tomake these aspirations a reality. “Cohesion in society relies on


consensus amongst itsmembers regarding the nature of acceptable behaviour. Laws and their enforcement are one outworking of this consensus, especially in a democratic environment.However,


these are not the only tools at our disposal that can prevent unacceptable behaviour,” Lampard explains. “Architecture and design can


contribute substantially and there aremany studies to support this. One of these is fromProfessor MartinGill of Leicester University who reports that 70 percent less crime is committed on properties with good levels of security than thosewithout.He argues that poor designmakes crime easier and leads thosewho can afford to, to


Re-Format often consults crime prevention design advisors from Hampshire Police at an early stage in the design process.Awhile ago wewere consulting our local adviser, Simon Bottom,whilst simultaneouslymanipulating in real time a 3Dmodel of our proposals. Itwas then that he realised howuseful such a tool could be to communicate the best thinking in anti-crime architectural design.As a resultwewere asked to set about designing an interactive toolkit to illustrate the good practice guidelines of Secured byDesign and to provide a user friendly tool to give the local


advisors examples of design that can really deliver results. “Whilst officers had


photographic images of good and bad schemes, there needed to be a way of communicating howan unsuccessful scheme could be changed relatively easily through thoughtful design,” Lampard says. “Itwas important to showthat these changes could also be sympathetic to current thinking in creating sustainable and attractive urban environments.We set out to visually differentiate good frombad based on an imaginary urban housing design. Supplementing the Secured byDesignNew Homes 2010 publication the Toolkit has taken 18months to develop and refined to the pointwhere it is nowon theirwebsite - www.securedbydesign.com/toolkit “In the processwe have come to


realise the very real value of design in delivering secure places to live. This is something thatmay be lost if compliancewith Secured by Design becomes formulaic and thuswe hope the Toolkit is a starting point for a better understanding of the big issues. Wewant it to be a launch platform for design that influences social behaviour for the better. To achieve thiswe need designers to understand their responsibility. The Toolkit aims to bring clarity and consistency to theway the guidelines can be effective but the subtext is that designers need to own the core objective of designing out crime. “The concept of influencing


behaviour positively has been a heartfelt pursuit of architects throughout the ages and enthusiasmfor the subject could bewhy our profession has been seen as a little arrogant. It is in fact not arrogance, but a social responsibility thatwemust take very seriously. The fact is that great architecture is very popular, remarkably durable and very profitable for its owners. It is sustainable because it is charismatic. It has an extra dimension that draws us in.Cities can be inspiring places: an amalgamof individual buildings and the spaces between them, often conceived by architectswho intuitively understand the big picture - ofwhich designing out crime is a key part. “By developing this Toolkit


we hope to develop the debate for safer environments and move the topic up the design agenda,” Lampard explains.


ArchitectNews.co.uk | Architects Choice | 15


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