We inhabit a small and geographically diverse nation that proudly embraces its own language, culture and institutions. We should certainly look at other countries that have developed distinctive and culturally rich built environments - Finland or Slovenia, Denmark or Holland. And at the same time we should not be seduced into thinking that design is a purely visual experience. Our overriding goal as designers should be to improve peoples' quality of life and their opportunities for good and healthy living. Design is not a stand-alone quality, and what makes good or bad design remains a subjective opinion unless there has been a clear statement of what a design is trying to achieve, why it is necessary and how these criteria are to be fulfilled.
Performance needs to be measured against objectives.
The public duty of design professionals is to develop the skills and techniques that engage the end user in meaningful debate. Paul Vanner is chief executive of the Burgess Partnership and a trustee of the Civic Trust for Wales .