Blue Green Solutions

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Blue Green Solutions Guide

Challenges of the Standard Design 

Process

The standard design process ensures that all the 

basic client requirements set out in the Design 

Brief are met. However, when BG solutions are 

proposed, this process inhibits the delivery of 

optimal solutions for the following reasons:

Information gap. City management and 

developers often don’t have access to the 

latest knowledge and expertise to realise 

the potential of BG solutions. 

Silo solutions. BG solutions are often used 

to provide solutions to specific aspects of 

a problem (e.g. utilising a tree for aesthetic 

reasons or SUDS for flood prevention 

only), but the full scope of the interactive 

functions of an NBS (shading, evaporative 

cooling, flood risk reduction, air quality 

improvement etc.) is often overlooked. 

This results in “silo” solutions, in which 

opportunities to exploit the wider benefits 

of a NBS are missed.

Problem solving vs problem pre-emption. 

The standard design methodology is 

oriented towards mono-functional 

problem solving, rather than a holistic, 

horizon scanning approach to pre-empting 

problems that uses single interventions 

to tackle multiple issues. For example, in 

the “silo” approach an intervention will be 

applied to tackle a single identified issue. 

Under the BG Systems approach, the 

holistic perspective will involve assessing 

how the intervention could be used 

to tackle the bulk of, or even all of, the 

potential problems (urban heating island, 

surface water flooding) in the area and 

thus create multiple benefits with lower 

costs.

Fragmented design. Conventionally, 

different branches of the same design 

team will often meet only out of 

necessity. The design process is therefore 

fragmented – solutions do not take 

advantage of synergies that can occur 

when different urban components are 

integrated or different expert disciplines 

work together.

BG Systems Approach

The BG Systems approach deviates from the 

standard approach in that it places a strong 

emphasis on having a highly analytical pre-

planning phase. During this pre-planning phase, 

optimised concept solutions are produced that 

become part of the BG Design Brief. 

The BG Systems planning methodology ensures:

Full scoping of problems and solutions via 

systematic stakeholder involvement. By 

engaging multiple stakeholders across the 

planning process, the quality of the design 

will be better, to the advantage of all involved.

Enhanced resource identification and 

integration. This process makes full use of 

available technological and nature-based 

resources and plans them in an integrated 

manner, thus reducing life-cycle costs and 

increasing operating and resource efficiency 

and sustainability.

Resilience. A key element of BG Solutions is 

resilience to climate change and weather 

extremes.

The BG Design Brief is prepared in three stages 

(Figure 9):

Stage 1.  Definition of project goals, performance 

targets and indicators. Gathering and mapping of 

project requirements and Design Data (e.g. potential 

NBSs, problems, planning opportunities, local 

climatic conditions and available water resources).

Stage 2.  Analysis and optimisation. Development 

of metrics for target indicators.  Analysis of 

potential synergy benefits between urban 

components. Design of candidate solutions. 

Detailed comparative analysis to develop 

optimised integrated solutions.

Stage 3.  

Design brief production. Completion 

of Detailed Design Brief, containing project 

requirements (based on all stakeholders input) 

and agreed optimised concepts and solutions. 

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Level of stakeholder involvement 

in production of design briefs.

Development stages of the BG Design 

Brief and stakeholder involvement

t1

Standard

Design Brief

BG

Design Brief

Strategy Planners

Developers

Evaluators

Users

Asset Managers

Approval Bodies

Full Involvement

Limited Involvement

No Involvement

Project planners

STAGE 2

ANALYSIS AND OPTIMISATION

PROJECT FUNCTIONS, CONCEPTS

STAGE 3

DESIGN BRIEF PRODUCTION

DETAILED BG DESIGN BRIEF

AND CONCEPTS

PROJECT FACILITIES

INDICATORS AND

QUANTIFICATION ANALYSIS

SCENARIO ASSESSMENT

AND OPTIMISATION

STAGE 1

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

AND DATA COLLECTION

PROJECT GOALS AND TARGETS

Project Developers

Planning Team

BG Team

Approval Bodies

Public

Project Developers

BG Team

BG Team

Project Developers

Planning Team

BG Team

Planning Team

BG Team

Project Developers

Planning Team

BG Team

URBAN COMPONENTS:

Urban Solutions

Greenery

Water 

Building Solutions

Energy

Pollution

Climate Variability

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