Preference 10. Architecture that feels inclusive, just and sustainable
People’s values might align with architectural styles, for example classical architecture for those more traditionally minded. Increasingly linkages are also being made between what is seen and what that says about responses to larger ethical issues and challenges.
Aesthetics are linked with ethics: people support beauty that aligns with their values. Increasingly this includes for sustainable, socially or culturally inclusive development.
Sometimes the ethical stance of architecture is obvious, at other times it is less visible while fundamentally shaping the design philosophy. At the Climate Innovation District in Leeds, the project’s eco-credentials are expressed through its house typologies and technologies, creating an aesthetic quite distinct in the city. Peter Barber’s McGrath Road housing in Stratford is even more visually striking, yet its key innovation is subtler: back-to-back housing that ensures every social housing tenant has direct, equal street access, deliberately eliminating the possibility of ‘poor doors’.
Many people reject the privileging of elite or obviously gentrifying tastes .
St George’s Park in Loddon makes little attempt to present itself as inclusive or mixed. Most of the development comprises neo-Georgian mansions lining generous green public spaces (top). In sharp contrast, the affordable housing is grouped in one corner beside the busy A146 road and around a left-over space (bottom). The difference is stark in every aspect of the architecture and public realm, to such a degree that the development seems to do everything it can to aesthetically express the gulf in affluence.