Design Principles for National Infrastructure
Good design supports more effective infrastructure
The Commission's Design Group has identified four principles to guide the planning and delivery of major infrastructure projects: climate, people, places and value.
These principles, developed by the Commission’s Design Group in consultation with all infrastructure sectors, were created to guide the future projects which will upgrade and renew the UK’s infrastructure system. They should be applied to all economic infrastructure: digital communications, energy, transport, flood management, water and waste.
As part of its work developing the principles, the Design Group commissioned supporting research from Frame Projects – a literature review and primary research – which can be found in the Supporting Evidence tab.
As part of its work developing the Design Principles, the Design Group commissioned two lots of supporting research from Frame Projects.
This work by Frame Projects consisted of both primary research and a literature review.
Frame’s primary research summarises the interviews and roundtables the firm carried out on behalf of the Design Group to gather views from a wide range of people on how good design can best influence future major national infrastructure projects. The literature review provided background application on the application, scope and nature of existing design principles.
Design Principles for National Infrastructure
The Commission’s Design Group has developed four principles to guide future projects which will upgrade and renew the UK’s infrastructure system.
Latest Updates
Principles before particulars secures project success, say NIC design experts
The National Infrastructure Commission’s Design Group has published guidance on developing and implementing design principles for major infrastructure projects. Building on the Group’s high level design principles – climate, people, places and value – the new guidance sets out a structured process for applying tailored principles at every stage of a project life cycle. The...
Views sought on project level design principles
Infrastructure professionals are being invited to share their views and experiences of working with project-specific design principles to help inform new national guidance. The National Infrastructure Commission’s Design Group, chaired by Sadie Morgan, is seeking input on how such principles can work in practice and examples of the difference they can make at different stages...
Letter to Planning Minister from Design Group Chair: Design excellence & National Policy Statements
Commission Design Group Chair Sadie Morgan has written to Lucy Frazer, the Minister of State for Housing and Planning at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, setting out the value of including clear guidance on the value of design in all of the National Policy Statements which set the strategic priorities for the...
What makes good design? Commission’s Principles help frame civil engineers’ approach
The National Infrastructure Commission’s Design Group has collaborated with the Institution of Civil Engineers on a major report examining the barriers to embedding good design at every stage of infrastructure projects. In September 2020, the ICE, in collaboration with the Commission’s Design Group, surveyed ICE members to establish how relevant they believed the Commission’s four...
Commission backs virtual pavilion at climate summit
The National Infrastructure Commission is supporting the creation of a Built Environment Virtual Pavilion at this November’s COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow. The pavilion – developed by the UK Green Building Council – will act as a smart virtual presence at the summit, providing a platform for a range of bodies involved in infrastructure and...
