Don't let agendas block the view

In 2008, the House of Lords in the UK held a debate on architecture for the first time in four years. The debate was intended to "call to attention the case for encouraging high-quality architecture in the UK and for ensuring that design quality is taken into account by local planning authorities".

Architects should be placed at the heart of all government decision-making when it comes to the built environment. That was the message given by Richard Rogers during the debate. He called for Cabe - the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment - to be strengthened, adding that design review panels should be set up throughout the country.

In evaluating quality in architecture and urban design, Cabe states that "the appearance of our built environment is important but good design is about much more than how things look. It is about uplifting communities and transforming how people feel and behave. It is also about using resources more effectively and imaginatively. In short, good design improves the quality of life for everyone".

Also earlier in the year, Worldarchitecture.com (Wan) had reported that the French President was seeking advice from what was being called the "dream team" to develop a new vision for Paris... The article reported that, in a surprise move, President Nicolas Sarkozy summoned 15 of the world's top architects to the Élysée Palace to discuss his vision for the French capital.

French architect Dominique Perrault met the President and talked to Wan about Mr Sarkozy's vision for Paris. Mr Perrault commented that the President was being both audacious and innovative. The hope was that this would cause the introduction of measures that would improve the quality of the environment as well as the quality of life of its citizens.

Of course, architects need to deserve this privileged relationship with politicians. Architects need to earn their clout through the development and persistent growth of their profession and their contribution to the community and its environment. But only political decisions can help to ensure that there is zero tolerance for poor architecture... and it is only by rewarding quality that this can be achieved.

The architect in Malta is at the heart of the building process but also at the centre of issues like sustainability, energy efficiency, landscape and urban design. His role is much wider than simply obtaining permission to build for his clients... all of you out there. But he too is to blame for the sense of dissatisfaction of the prevailing situation; he should not, however, be carrying that blame on his own.

Consider this excerpt from Architecture And Quality Of Life, a document published by the Architects' Council of Europe: "The built environment records the mood of society more than any other form of cultural expression. Society's economic and social efficiency is made legible through the way it treats its public spaces and through the nature and extent of its construction activities. A fully functional, quality and well-managed built environment has a motivating effect on society; it sustains its identity and propels it to excellence in all undertakings".

The position paper, The Urban Challenge, published by the Chamber of Architects in 2007, tried to identify the issue we are confronted with, namely the failure of the free market and indeed that of the regulatory framework within which we operate.

The construction market has sought profit and economic well-being in the narrow sense, and has ignored the external cost it imposes on society: the dust, congestion, loss of amenity and natural resources. This is market failure, and few will dispute that there is a need to nudge it towards a better course of action through education, guidance, regulation and even self-regulation.

Yet, along with market failure we also live the reality of regulatory failure; governance that could be questioned in terms of timeliness consistency, enforcement and predictability. We need governance in the sector but, above all what we need is good governance. The question is: Why are we talking about this again? Have we not already been here before, in the 1960s, the 1970s and the 1980s? Has Mepa not tried throughout the 1990s till now?

The answer I could hazard is that there has never been a time like the present for action aimed at quality. In our current state of relative economic well-being, the public demand for quality of life - including that achievable through the built environment - has increased.

The challenges raised by our built environment can be overcome through commitment to the development of a vision to work for better quality places that bring dignity, pride and real delight to their users. The role of the media in forming public opinion is critical to raise the overall awareness of good design and to the pursuit of a healthy discussion. The Chamber of Architects is working to promote the establishment of a National Centre for Architecture and the Built Environment, which would support research, education, heritage promotion, advisory and design review services to assist in the delivery of places that respect society's needs for an architecture and an urban and rural environment that truly meet our aspirations.

The author is past president of the Chamber of Architects.