Digital transformation with Podium.
The more buildings that can be described by technical standards, state-based standards and rule sets ripe for some form of algorithmic design, the more we will be able to design more efficiently, more quickly and to a higher quality.This digital process will then feed all the way down through manufacturing, assembly automation and construction, with the ultimate benefits finding their way onto site..
Lean construction in practice: a virtuous circle of benefits.All of these factors combine to deliver cost and material savings, while using fewer people and increasing productivity.We’re already seeing evidence that it’s possible to build a superstructure with half the number of people in half the time, representing a four-fold increase in productivity, as well as a 25% reduction in overall material and a 20% reduction in embodied carbon.
And there are other benefits, such as the ability to minimise tolerances.In our work with Crossrail we designed to zero tolerance with very good success.
This unlocks vast potential in terms of manufacturing a better quality of building - structures which are more air- and weather-tight, energy efficient and overall better performing.
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%.P-DfMA achieves this goal.
For example, floor-to-floor heights are relatively standard across a variety of different buildings: schools, hospital wards, apartment buildings and certain office types.This is because the heights result from the size of people, rather than being necessitated by the requirements of a particular sector.
We allow for the height of a person, plus headroom, plus a zone for structures, M&E systems and architectural finishes.Recognising this reality, platform construction (P-DfMA) was Bryden Wood’s attempt to identify these types of cross-sector commonalities and develop a kit of parts which could then be used to build a variety of different sector types, but using the same components.
(Editor: Automatic Lamps)