Exploring the effectiveness of Building for Life in improving suburban residential design quality Stefan L. Kruczkowski A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Nottingham Trent University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2018 Exploring the effectiveness of Building for Life in improving suburban residential design quality Stefan L. Kruczkowski, PhD thesis (May 2018) Opening statement a. Copyright statement This work is the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed to the owner of the Intellectual Property Rights. Unless otherwise stated, photographs were taken by and are copyright of the author. 1 Exploring the effectiveness of Building for Life in raising residential suburban design quality Stefan L. Kruczkowski, PhD thesis (May 2018) b. Dedication I dedicate this thesis to my grandparents: Stanisława Trojanowska Stanisław Trojanowski Janina Kruczkowska Jan Kruczkowski Forced out of their home at the dead of night and transported in cattle trucks for days into the depths of Siberia. Working and living in Africa. Fighting alongside the Allies at Monte Casino. Serving in the Royal Air Force. Becoming ‘aliens’ in England. Finding jobs in a foreign land. Building homes and families through years of hard work with nothing but their own, hard earned money. Cycling for miles and through all weathers to get to work. Working day after day in a draughty factory. Never claiming anything from the State to put food on the table, buy or furnish their homes. Thousands of miles from the places and people they loved and never asked to leave, never once complaining and always full of appreciation and kindness. This thesis is the culmination of ten years of research. Yet, none of this would have been possible without the strength and determination of my grandparents. The submission of this thesis represents more than my work but the work, effort and sacrifices of grandparents and my parents without whom I would never had the opportunity to study at the University of Nottingham in 1997 and begin my urban design journey. The true foundations of this thesis were therefore not laid by me, but by my grandparents who never gave up. I can only imagine that when compared to their life experiences, the challenges they faced and overcame, this thesis has not only been easy - but a privilege. I cannot begin to comprehend how hard their lives were and from where they found such admirable strength and formidable spirit. 10 March 2016 San Diego, California. 2 Exploring the effectiveness of Building for Life in improving suburban residential design quality Stefan L. Kruczkowski, PhD thesis (May 2018) c. Acknowledgements This thesis represents an academic, professional and personal journey that would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of family, friends, professional colleagues. I have been difficult to live with particularly over the last few months as the submission deadline has crept nearer and wish to thank Damo Eyre for being incredibly patient and supportive. As the challenges associated with building my business from a part-time to a full-time source of income and trying to complete the thesis have mounted he has done everything to keep other parts of my life running. My mother, brother Alex, my sister Helenka, Ciocia Marysia and Wujek Andy have all been very supportive during my studies offering words of wisdom, encouragement and calm. Alex has offered much appreciate technical support. My mother has listened to my ‘thesis woes’ and happily changed the subject of telephone conversations when “I don’t want to talk about it [the thesis] anymore.” She has been great. I have fulfilled a promise to my dad that I would get this thesis done and wish that he could be around to read and critique it. I know he would have been of a few people to read this from cover to cover and would have had a list of questions to ask me. I am grateful to Nottingham Trent University for their support. My Director of Studies, Paul Collins has encouraged and supported me since the start. Paul has taught me to always try to look at things from a different perspective - both academically and personally. Paul has also made me realise that a nudge can be more effective than a shove. Professor John Chilton (University of Nottingham) kindly offered his time to advise and guide me as my thesis approached a critical stage. His calming influence gave me the confidence to weather a particularly challenging storm as another (and final) thesis extension deadline hurtled towards me. My supervisor - Alan Crisp offered a new and enlightening perspective drawing from his experience and knowledge in product design. Over the course of a coffee he sparked what became a turning point in my studies – thank you Alan. I am also grateful to Professor Souymen Bandyophadhay, the late Professor Dino Boughlaghem, Dr. Michelle Pepin, Dr. Ana Souto, Una McAteer, Lisa McKay, Hilary Ainley, Bhavna Solanki and Richard Wood for their encouragement. 3 Exploring the effectiveness of Building for Life in raising residential suburban design quality Stefan L. Kruczkowski, PhD thesis (May 2018) Dr. Laura Alvarez has become a wonderful friend over the years. As someone who has ‘ran’ alongside me as she has completed her own PhD journey, Laura has been someone who has been able to offer support and share ideas – understanding the dilemmas faced when the word count is far exceeded and when you begin to question if there is any value in what you have produced. I appreciate and value the support and friendship of colleagues at North West Leicestershire District Council. Christine Fisher (former Chief Executive) offered great support and encouragement over the years we worked together. Christine’s challenging and insightful discussions strengthened the rationale of what we wanted to achieve and how we were going to do it. Christine helped me to understand how we could embed design into the world of corporate and political workings and priorities. I am pleased we have remained good friends but miss our regular ‘Grand Design’ discussions in her office. I have been pleased and inspired to work with Councillor Richard Blunt (Leader of the Council) who has continually emphasised the importance of creating buildings, streets and spaces that leave behind a positive legacy for future generations. Political leadership is critical to improving design quality. Steve Bambrick (former Deputy Chief Executive) and Chris Elston (Planning and Development Team Manager) have been excellent line managers, always supportive (professionally and personally) and helping to share frustrations with advice and often a light hearted take on life. Without all of their support it would not have been possible to achieve what we have done across the District. Colleagues at the Council have had the confidence and patience to work with me (even when I have used pen and not pencil on file plans). Together we improved design quality when many doubted whether we could achieve what we set out to do: Councillor John Bridges, Sarah Booth, Jenny Davies, Rob Duckworth, Anna Edwards, Chris English, Hannah Exley, Peter Gothard, Kay Last, Ebbony Mattley, James Mattley, Adam Mellor, Rob Mc.Killop, Alison Murby, Ian Nelson, Jim Newton, Councillor Trevor Pendleton, Ruth Robinson, Julian Simpson, Elizabeth Warhurst and Sarah Worrall. I am particularly grateful to James Knightley for his friendship and with whom I have enjoyed in depth conversations over the years and learnt a great deal about the intricacies of the planning system (and why “you just can’t do that”). James has provided extremely valuable insights into the operational side of the Total Design Model for BfL12. 4 Exploring the effectiveness of Building for Life in improving suburban residential design quality Stefan L. Kruczkowski, PhD thesis (May 2018) Sue McGlynn has been very supportive over the years, I have valued our discussions about urban design and mechanisms of regulatory control. In 1997, Sue’s book ‘Responsive Environments’ inspired me to pursue urban design as a career path and I have been very fortunate to work with Sue over the last few years. Not only has it been a privilege to work with Sue but she has become a good friend. I wish to express my gratitude to David Birkbeck (Chief Executive, Design for Homes) whose detailed knowledge of the house building industry across the south east of England, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden has broadened my professional insight. By inviting me to join him in re- writing BfL12 I have been afforded opportunities and experiences that have brought enriched my personal and professional life. I hope he has enjoyed working with me as much I have enjoyed working with him. Many professionals working within the industry have contributed their time to this research by participating in workshops, completing surveys or taking the time to talk with me – thank you. I appreciate the time and encouragement offered throughout this research by James Wilson (MD, Davidsons Group). Our discussions over the years have been enjoyable, insightful and thought provoking. James has also been a kind personal mentor and good friend as I made a transition to full time self-employment in 2017. I am grateful to David Wilson CBE DL (Chairman, Davidsons Group) for taking the time to share his thoughts and experiences with me. Dipty Raja kindly organised diary time giving me the opportunity to have time with David and James.