The significance of urban design codes

The macro meaning of design specifications is homogeneity, macro unity internally and distinction externally; simplification, optimization, and correction of implementation errors; making management and cooperation easy. Isn’t design supposed to be varied and rich? Unfortunately, many designers fail to understand the meaning of specification probably because of this kind of thinking. Therefore, it is important to think about why we are proposing a design specification.

The impact of urban design on a place is immense, helping to build a place to develop socially and economically. A good urban design will help reduce some urban problems such as traffic efficiency, economic development, and crime rates. Of course, the urban design code is not the determining factor for a good or bad city. Still, it can effectively incorporate economic and social factors, such as the city’s history and regional economic factors. Urban design codes are, therefore, design codes that need to focus on high quality and sustainable development. In addition, the urban design code gives developers or capital companies a code that benefits the general plebeian class. Urban design codes monitor the quality and standard of projects, and a consistent and effective design code facilitates future urban construction and development. Therefore, the reason for using urban design codes is to ensure that all the essential elements for a new start or rebirth of a place are correct and reasonable and to develop the character of the site on this basis. Ensuring that all developers use the design code is necessary because the people in the area are more concerned about what will become of it than the developer, so using a code ensures that the developer is building for the area’s development.

What is the Urban Design Code?

The design code is a means to serve as a guideline for the construction process of buildings and environments. The urban design code is not a design purpose but a response to the design process. It provides a regulation or model, such as the width of the street, the distance between buildings, the choice of landscaping. So, there should be a diversity of urban design codes, but their implementation depends on the enforceability of the supervisory bodies. A good city does not come from a pie-in-the-sky imagination; it comes from being within the constraints of various rules and regulations. In this small area, the designer must consider what to make. Anyone can plan a city in endless open space, but what can you make with such a small amount of space nowadays.

In our case, Design Studio, we wanted to re-energies the fish quay and consider the resilience of the fish quay in the aftermath of a pandemic. So, this site is not a blank slate, and we need to consider the rules of the strip as restricted by the fish quay. Therefore, the urban design code stipulates that the designer cannot look at the city as a mere space. Instead, we must consider the history of the place, the economic make-up of the site. The fish Quay is designed to subvert the existing economic structure and give it a new economic composition or enrich it on top of the existing one. Having done interviews and research on our way to design, the economic structure of the fish quay is the history of the area, which has been remembered as fishing support for as many years as it has ever been. To this day, the fish quay is still economically supported by the fishing industry or fish factories. Therefore, the urban design code is a guide, not a regulation or a rule that must not be broken. Urban design codes can be broken, but we should consider going beyond design codes.

The urban design code should be the minimum design guidelines designers adhere to, and our designs should exist beyond it. The urban design code is not static, and it should be added to or removed from the code as the city develops in a way that is not in keeping with the present.