Good design
Sustainability and climate change are central to our future road design
The purpose of good design
Good design helps us achieve a higher quality of life, greater economic vitality and a more efficient use of resources.
We put people at the heart of our work by designing an inclusive, sustainable and resilient Strategic Road Network.
We want our network to be appreciated for its elegance as well as its usefulness.
Good design should reflect the beauty of the environment surrounding our network and enhance it where possible.
The Strategic Design Panel
The Strategic Design Panel is an independent advisory body which meets at least quarterly to help us ensure that our road projects demonstrate design excellence in landscape, engineering and the built environment.
Panel members come from a range of disciplines, all committed to improving the design and quality of our network. The Panel considers design as a means of adding value and maximising opportunities, not just mitigating adverse effects. It constructively challenges our design approach and gives us advice to improve schemes to the benefit of local communities and the environment. Advice focuses on:
- adopting a context led approach to network development
- designing road improvements, network management and operations
- developing design standards and processes that meet government requirements
In 2024 the Strategic Design Panel membership was refreshed with new expertise from architecture, structural and civil engineering, landscape architecture, social sustainability and sustainable design for natural and built assets.
10 principles of good road design
These principles help us achieve our design vision.
Good road design:
- makes roads safe and useful
- is inclusive
- makes roads understandable
- fits in context
- is restrained
- is environmentally sustainable
- is thorough
- is innovative
- is collaborative
- is long-lasting
To uphold these principles we've established a strategic design panel composed of experts from various fields, to guide our work.
Panel members
Mike Wilson (Chair)
CEng, FICE, FCIHT
Executive Director, Safety Engineering and Standards and Panel Chair
National Highways
Nicola Bacon
MA (Hons)
Founding Director
Social Life Ltd
Martin Knight
FRIBA, FICE, Hon FIStructE, FCIHT, MRIAI
Founder and Managing Director
Knight Architects
Hermes Luli
Civil Engineer
Head of Scheme Delivery Operations and Director South East/M25
National Highways
Wolf Mangelsdorf
Dipl-Ing Architecture, Dipl-Ing Civil Engineering, CEng, MIStructE, FREng
Global Head of Design, Technology and Innovation
Buro Happold
Barry O'Driscoll
CEng, FICE, FCIHT
Founding Director
Odvantage Limited
John Ramsay
CMLI
Technical Director and Landscape Architect
Arcadis
Catherine Ramsden
BSc, MArch (1st)
Founding Director
Useful Studio
Adam Williams
CEng, ChPP
Programme Manager, Major Projects and Regional Investment Programme North West
National Highways
Design guidance
The road to good design (our design principles).
People, places and processes: A guide to good design at National Highways
Learning on the road to good design: Case studies
Scheme specific design reviews
In addition to following advice from the Strategic Design Panel, we also carry out scheme specific reviews. These independent reviews are carried out by design review panels, who give us scheme-specific observations and general recommendations to help us put good design at the heart of network improvements.
On the road to good design: design review at National Highways
Latest updates from the Strategic Design Panel
February 2025
Chaired by Mike Wilson, with representatives from Major Projects and Operations Directorates the Strategic Design Panel meeting started with a ‘Design Moment’ highlighting the importance of great design. This led to discussions about the traits of a design champion, design reviews for renewal projects, and ways to ensure good design is secured.
November 2024
In November, we relaunched the Strategic Design Panel with new members. The panel's main aim is to challenge National Highways' design culture and improve design quality by promoting the 10 principles of good design and encouraging positive change within the organisation.
The panel encouraged National Highways to clearly define the issue any future work seeks to solve. This helps end users and local communities to see the value of our projects. Lastly, the Panel emphasised that design is an inclusive process which everyone should feel able to contribute to.
