The role that infrastructure projects play in urban regeneration and the creation of new public spaces will be discussed today (14 July) at a talk hosted by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London as part of its engineering season.

World leaders in the fields of architecture, engineering and economics will debate how new roads, bridges and tunnels can bring life to communities and become leisure destinations in their own right.

The discussion will focus on the Hassan II Bridge, designed by architect Marc Mimram, which links the cities of Rabat and Salé in Morocco. The project is a past winner of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. As well as providing transport connections and limiting pollution in the two cities, the bridge also covers a protected public space for markets and leisure activities.

Architect Martin Knight, who designed a bridge at the RIBA Award-winning Merchant Square in London and is speaking at the event, told CLAD that architects should build with “legacy in mind”, creating infrastructure that can survive the changing needs of the environments around them to best serve future generations.

He added: “Although there will always be the need for landmark structures, it is equally the creation of design which celebrates the modest, everyday and understated qualities of good design – the ‘beautiful ordinary’ – that will generate lasting benefit.”

The free V&A event, titled Beyond the Bridge, will take place from 6pm BST at the Lydia & Manfred Gorvy Lecture Theatre. Advance booking is required.