We caught up with the team who run the space as well as some of the residents to see why the space works so well for them.... KRISTI MINCHIN, GREAT WESTERN STUDIOS.
Further, standardisation allows us to do a better job of integrating our mechanical and electrical engineering systems, which then has the knock-on effect of reducing the overall volume of a building by 30-40%.As the building gets smaller, so does the air handling plant.
This creates a reduction in running costs - heating and lighting.In other words, we create a virtuous circle of benefit.. What is the future of the construction industry?.Ultimately, we suspect that over time buildings will become flexible configurations of components, rather than large, fixed assets.
We may end up creating loose-fit superstructures.The superstructure contains the majority of the embodied carbon in a building.
We could design these for a 100-year total life span, while the use of standardised components would make an interior refit possible every five to ten years.
In its initial configuration a building might function as an office block, but components could be taken out and the building changed into a residential building or school.Much of the industry’s current difficulty arises from the fact that few people can see the entire process through from end-to-end.
At Bryden Wood we have, over time, developed a cross-disciplinary approach in response to this reality and the need to design towards the process – to rationalise, coordinate and develop a fully integrated design solution.Our team includes technologists, designers, architects, engineers and analysts, because it’s vital that we apply these new principles throughout.
To begin with a traditional design process and then, at a later stage, attempt to retrofit some form of DfMA means compromising the design to make it fit the system, or creating a non-optimised, inefficient system – resulting in a disadvantaged built asset.. Kit-of-parts architecture.In addition, where the design and construction industry tends to focus on the differences between sectors - segmenting itself into deep specialisms and viewing particular elements in isolation, we must instead switch our focus to commonality, anchoring the design and build process in similarities, not differences.