The building industry continually grapples with how to prove the value of design. When it comes to infrastructure projects of national importance, good design is about much more than aesthetics.

Just look at Oslo’s new airport with its high sustainability credentials and great user experience, or Rotterdam Centraal station which stitches the centre of the city back together while integrating complex modal interfaces.

With Judith Sykes, director of Expedition Engineering, my practice Marko & Placemakers was commissioned by the National Infrastructure Commission’s Design Task Force to research case studies from the UK and abroad. The plan was to start mapping evidence that challenges the myth that design adds cost and complexity with steering support from our colleagues from the VeloCity team.

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