‘You just wouldn’t get this type of inspiration if you were working out of a shed in your garden,’ McLane says, and as if to substantiate her claim, there’s a gruff bark from Wilma, a minuscule, wire-haired dachshund and GWS favourite who has entered the central area.

They all have fully glazed facades on the south facing, so it’s trying to get them to think about the fact it’s going to overheat and they have to look at solar shading and passive design measures.The overarching premise is getting them to think from an architectural perspective about how they can influence the environmental design of the building.

If they do it now whilst they’re still at uni, when they get into practice they can apply the principles more easily, which not only makes the M&E teams’ jobs better, but also, ultimately, delivers a better, more efficient, building to their client.. IP: In general, are architects as focused on this area as they could be?.HH: In general, no.It’s taught a lot more than it used to be and it’s very much dependent on which university you go to.

In Manchester, for example, students now have to incorporate technical design elements such as, Structures, M&E and Sustainability into their projects, so the course is teaching them a more integrated approach, which is how it is in real life.. IP: What are the benefits of incorporating technical design into their project at an early stage?.HH: If we come along at a later date and try to apply a sustainable strategy or passive design measures to a building, it’s likely to impact on the architecture quite significantly.

If, however, they incorporate it at the start, they can make it part of their building design and it can be a lot more effective and a lot more cost effective as well.. IP: How does the focus on sustainability manifest at Bryden Wood?.

HH: Sustainability is a broad term and I think you can separate it up quite a lot.Instead, he thinks it’s because the industry is oversubscribed to the idea of finding a silver bullet to solve all the ills of a construction site.

asBuilt believes that the solutions needed by the sector are already available, and that by unlocking sites via technological empowerment of the workforce, the use of construction technologies like spatial mapping and IoT, and a shift in thinking toward humanity and long-term value, we have the power to truly advance the industry for the betterment of everyone involved..Using construction tech to enhance processes on-site.

To begin, we can use digital technology to offer more advanced ways to conduct onsite processes which aren’t normally digitalised, such as counting rebar.Using construction technology in this way facilitates benefits like on the day sign-off, with confirmation that the correct tonnage has been installed.