At the same time, our environment demands change, with the building and construction industry contributing a staggering 39% of global carbon emissions.
Construction Platforms will be familiar to anyone who has been following Bryden Wood’s work over the last few years.What is interesting here, though, is the strong link being made between standard components and digital libraries, and the need to create a market which supports the approach.. As we’ll see in the following examples, the combination of standard components and digital tools is exactly what we need to facilitate a digital marketplace.
and improve construction procurement methods.The Platform construction ecosystem - beyond standard components.This is where we start to see how we get to an open and transparent marketplace..
The diagram below is one we often use to explain Platform construction.In the centre are the physical elements: superstructure, envelope, fit out and MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing).
Surrounding these are the supporting activities and tools which inform and leverage the physical components: spatial analysis, digital tools, and delivery.. ‘Spatial Analysis’.
uses data from projects or programmes to create insight into what should be included in the physical ‘kit of parts’.Across the entire project, we have minimised the variety of types and sizes of equipment and distribution modules.
This is to ensure repeatability, without compromising the performance of the building, both in terms of energy consumption and user comfort.Doing this allows us to combine efficiency of performance with economies of scale on buying, for example, larger quantities of single gauge of pipe.. For ease of installation, we use pre-wired electrical products wherever possible.
Fan and pipe modules are fabricated off-site, designed for simple connection on site.. We pre-cast a pattern of fixing points into the soffit, so that there would be no drilling into the soffit onsite – avoiding working at height, dirt, noise and the risk of drilling into the steel rebar within the concrete.The pattern of the fixing points caters to full range of M&E service elements, according to size and purpose: some are attached to unistrut, some are on frames or drop rods, and some are fixed directly to the soffit.
(Editor: Heavy-Duty Treadmills)