The objective of this commission was to create a new ‘Peabody Strategic Design and Concept Design Requirements’. The guide is predominantly used by appointed design teams engaged on development projects; providing them with general and specific guidance on topic areas (e.g. place-making, building and home design).

The commission followed the merger between Peabody and Catalyst Housing Group, offering a rare opportunity to reflect on their past ways of working. Both legacy organisations have published generic design resources for new developments. This commission brings together these resources and develops them into a new vision for the quality of new development going forward.

Peabody’s five design priorities for a thriving place are: Safe, Sustainable, Inclusive, Desirable, Viable. These are defined by a series of core principles. They are further supported by design questions and requirements, which demonstrate how these principles can be achieved for all development projects, whether in London or the Home Counties regions.

Design questions frame the design requirements, with the intention of inspiring broader aspirational thinking beyond the specific functional requirements. The design requirements are structured according to scale: Neighbourhood, Building and Home.

This reflects the journeys of residents from the city to the room, and also that of design teams from the macro to the micro. Throughout all three scales, designers are encouraged to consider how the principles of the design priorities can be delivered through exemplary design.