Updated DESIGN PROTOCOLS with "Gold Standard"

Here is an updated version of a "Design & Architectural Protocols" slideshow I put together some time ago. The important bits are the "Gold Standard" page and the protocols themselves - too often, things are either replaced with the same or, for new builds, the first design that comes to mind. I'm thinking of everything here, from walls and fences to furniture.

Note: when you start the video it becomes much clearer.
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Cheaper is more expensive

When you are responsible for the repair and maintenance of a huge stock of buildings, many of which are in very bad repair and have limited funds, the impulse and the norm in Hackney is to spread it out as much as possible. - only have the necessary work done, to the minimum standard.

It's a false economy of course, but one that is bought into time and time again.
And it's a false economy that we all pay for with a reduced quality of life.

It seems best to get the cheaper option to get more things done, and it may be, in the short term, but it wont last long because whatever it is, it will be unserviceable in no time at all and have to be replaced.
So you've alienated everyone by giving them the cheapest and in the end it'll cost twice the "cheapest" price - perhaps even twice the "quality" price because the quality item may last five times as long.
On top of that you've gained the enmity of the user and reduced their feeling of self-worth.

Then there's the added cost in time for running around replacing things, the extra paperwork plus the inconvenience to the recipients of waiting for a replacement.

I would argue that the apparently more expensive option is in fact almost always the cheaper, more prudent option in the long run, not just materially but sociologically and psychologically as well.

Good thoughtful design pays for itself many times over in a multitude of ways.
DW