To move towards a component-based model, we must look at procurement and a holistic change in how we deliver construction projects.

This video is an invitation to explore the power of integrated design and to see firsthand how Bryden Wood is turning the challenges of today into the opportunities of tomorrow.Over the last few years I have spent much of my time working on and thinking about projects in the very front end.Working to try and ensure that the purpose, value proposition and mission of companies is clearly expressed in the projects they decide to commission.

Trying to do this well requires a different engagement with a client organisation.Not one of waiting for a specification or brief, but one of asking searching questions, being curious, and, at times, challenging.There is a great deal of evidence that demonstrates that these approaches lead to projects which conceive of value well beyond normal experience..

The working assumption generally held in the pharmaceutical industry is that beyond the formulation of an accepted project concept, iterative and questioning approaches offer less value and maybe pose risks in later design stages.Therefore, the approach is to decide on a single concept to integrate the engineering structurally in an EPCM type contract and to focus purely on deliverables..

This idea does not match reality and undermines the ability to both hold on to and even augment the delivered value.

As described by Henry Mintzberg about business strategy, engineering design will always include a combination of deliberate and emergent components.. Pretending a high level of fixation at best is counterproductive and at worst destructive to the project’s ability to deliver value.The Hub will continue to explore how to develop platform construction (P-DfMA), and how people can benefit from it, with an aim of developing guides and rule books, but it’s also now looking beyond modern methods of construction (whether you call that platform construction, offsite, or DfMA), at traditional construction as well.

It’s viewing things at an ecosystem level and bringing them all together with elements like the Value Toolkit, which is there to help everyone, but will specifically help clients make better, value based decisions using consistent processes and approaches..The act of combining that with all of the different approaches to delivering buildings means we’re able to progress delivery, while looking towards the long-term as well.

The Construction Innovation Hub has a year left, during which time it will need to create impact and get the necessary information to prove value.However, realistically, it’s going to take a decade or more to really embed these approaches, and for parallel developments to share data and information that really demonstrates value.