As a result, we need to look at broadening out the outcomes we expect to get from construction projects, both now and in the future.
Merging Manufacturing and Construction The Forge is a key moment in construction..It is the world’s first major commercial development to be designed and built using a platform approach to Design for Manufacture and Assembly (P-DfMA).
Bryden Wood has developed P-DfMA over many years..It takes lessons from the manufacturing industry and applies them to construction.It is based on the understanding that comparable built assets share many common characteristics in the dimensions and requirements of their core elements – floor-to-ceiling heights, for example, or how to connect vertical and horizontal structural elements..
Similar to how flat-pack furniture uses standard parts and assembly techniques as integral elements in a wide range of products, P-DfMA designs buildings using a standardised ‘kit of parts’ that can be efficiently combined, while still producing highly customised structures.. By liberating architects from the mechanics of construction, it allows them to invest more of their time to where they can really add value – in creativity.. Optimisation as with other systems that use standardised elements, P-DfMA focused on the optimisation of each one, knowing that the multiple applications of each element will repay massively.. Optimising a standard beam so that it requires the minimum amount of steel, or reducing the depth of the floor slab to minimise the amount of concrete required, delivers substantial reductions in both carbon and cost when applied across entire sites, and even more so over multiple sites..In the true spirit of.
Design to Value.
, optimisation of elements (not just beams and floor slabs) includes as many value drivers as possible, from environmental sustainability to the health and safety of the workforce (and indeed to the shortage of numbers in that workforce) to cost.. As a result of optimisation, automation and standardisation, the P-DfMA approach increases productivity, while reducing carbon (both embodied and in operation), construction time and cost.. Against Landsec’s typical benchmarks, the Forge is forecast to achieve significant gains in all of those areas..Embracing new nuclear, advanced heat solutions as part of our climate crisis toolkit presents a similarly transformative opportunity.. Bryden Wood is delighted to be part of the Repowering Coal project, and to be providing the MMC design solution that will enable the work to be delivered at the necessary scale.
The project represents the biggest problem statement we’ve ever faced, and holds the potential for a tremendous social value impact.Hopefully, in another twenty years, humanity will look back at this moment, feeling confident that the climate crisis has been brought under control, with people and industry taking a significantly cleaner and greener approach worldwide.
We agree with Terra Praxis, that in order to succeed, it’s essential we work together, bringing all of our individual talents, insights and capabilities to the table.Collaboration is the key to making it through this incredible challenge, and Repowering Coal presents a fantastic opportunity to be harnessed.