Resilient. Sustainable. Endearing.
Anchored by these three pillars, the Design Playbook by SAA Architects is a toolkit to equip designers to respond to a complex and rapidly evolving world.
Download the abstractA Wicked Problem
Our communities are being pushed to the brink.
- By 2050, 7 in 10 people are likely to live in cities.
- Urban land consumption is outpacing population growth by 50%.
- 1 in 4 older people experience social isolation.
In the face of the climate crisis, explosive urban growth, and seismic population shifts, our communities face a 'wicked problem'. Against the backdrop of an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world — our urban environments, now ageing epicentres of isolation, require a radical rethinking.
These challenges affect every aspect of our lives, from well-being to socioeconomic stability, demanding responses that are not only robust but also adaptive and empathetic.
Our Response
The Design Playbook is our way of empowering our designers as architects of change.
Anchored by three pillars, the playbook provides a framework for creating Resilient, Sustainable, and Endearing spaces — solutions that address our most pressing issues and enhance quality of life.
Resilient
The capacity of a city’s systems, businesses, institutions, communities, and individuals to survive, adapt, and grow, regardless of chronic stresses and acute shocks.
Sustainable
The ability to meet our own needs without compromising the potential of future generations to meet their own need.
Endearing
A quality that ties communities together, inspiring feelings of delight, joy, and affection, even in times of crises, into the future.
Who is the Playbook for?
Who is the Playbook for?
For those who are shaping tomorrow’s environments
Designed for architects, urban designers, master planners, engineers, and other built environment consultants, this playbook offers an inter-disciplinary framework to collaboratively provide a comprehensive and holistic design response. It equips those deeply involved in crafting our environments to address complex, multi-dimensional challenges effectively.
Why Use This Playbook?
Why Use This Playbook?
Navigate complexity with a whole systems approach
In our increasingly complex world, characterised by its multi-layered challenges and interconnected problems, traditional singular approaches fall short. This playbook introduces a whole systems approach, enabling designers and planners to maintain a clear oversight of all moving parts. It facilitates an asynchronous, iterative method of refining and evaluating solutions.
The Framework
This playbook’s framework features an interconnected system of design prompts in a honeycomb of hexagons — a structure inspired by nature.
3 Values
Underpinning why cities need to be planned and designed to be liveable, lovable, and futureproofed
6 Qualities
Defining what characteristics great cities possess that attract talent and enable communities to thrive
25 Enablers
Demonstrating how these qualities can be achieved, by focusing on diverse aspects that empower cities and people
Design Playbook
By SAA Architects
Our design process is deeply anchored in the principles outlined in this playbook. It underpins our approach to co-creating resilient, sustainable, and endearing spaces, providing a directional framework for integrated and holistic design innovations.
This playbook not only helps us understand and observe but also ideate and build our responses to diverse design challenges.
We are excited to share this toolkit with you. Download the abstract of our Design Playbook now and dive into our design process.
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