http://bit.ly/BWNewsUpdatesDespite its vast size, the construction industry is well known to be one of the least digitalised sectors in the world.
The project aims to become Net Zero Carbon in line with the UKGBC Framework definition to Net Zero, achieve BREEAM Excellent and WELL Gold.As a result of the adoption of strategies in line with WELL, the building will create a truly healthy working environment where the air quality, water, daylight, thermal and acoustic experiences will be of the highest design for wellbeing standards.. As part of the aspiration to design a healthy workspace, the design team has paid special attention to the selection of sustainable materials, looking at sustainability credentials and identifying products which are not detrimental to air quality..
In line with the client’s ambitions to use sustainable materials, building elements have been chosen to avoid products that come from areas of high risk for modern slavery and, where possible, they have been procured locally and specified with responsible sourcing certificates (all permanent timber will be FSC certified)..The sustainably focused design promotes the use of healthy materials, avoiding products identified in the client’s prohibited materials list, which includes materials labelled as acutely toxic, serious health hazard, Persistent Bio-Accumulative (PBA), and the use of Chromium VI, PVC, Rayon, Asbestos, Mercury, Lead, Cadmium or other heavy metals.Finishes, paints and adhesives have been selected to meet the formaldehyde, Benzene and VOC thresholds from the WELL Standard..
The future of wellbeing in architectural design.The impact of the pandemic has highlighted the importance of designing for wellbeing.
While this is positive for building occupants, the lessons learned from COVID have shown that some of the design decisions taken to make buildings healthier, have implications for energy efficiency that can affect the aspiration to deliver low-carbon buildings.. Our response to the challenge is a holistic approach to sustainable design and wellbeing, with a strong focus on the use of passive design measures.
We aim to give such a response to all different challenges, looking for synergies and using building physics and analytical tools to support our decisions..And while many people had an understanding of parts of the process, no-one had a complete understanding of the whole picture.. We gathered, consolidated and agreed enormous amounts of site and process data with the client and then assessed, in a variety of ways, each of their laboratories.
We gave each laboratory a consolidated, weighted score based on their effectiveness and considering any known issues (always using visualisations and the agreed common language).. We produced visual analytics of the entire web of processes on site in a way that was clear and, as a result, very powerful: it gave the client the tools to be able not just to see and understand their complex processes in their relative context, but also to discuss them with each other (regardless of specialism and teams) and senior management.. We could then map this analysis against a range of desired objectives and value drivers, to describe dependencies, adjacencies and requirements, and how to be able to measure outputs.We presented a wide range of variables, for example: density of operations in laboratories by m2; activity in terms of people per m2; test time by laboratory and category of test; laboratory capacity by time taken per test, and by number of tests carried out per year; and so on..
This gave the client a clear way to see the most pressing requirements, and an initial indication of how to prioritise and plan the way ahead.. We carried out further analysis of the full scope of what is covered by ‘Quality Assurance’ – from the routine to the exceptional – and what impact this activity has on value in the client’s manufacturing process (cost, speed, quality and flexibility, for example)..Finally, we offered options for strategic direction for improvement, combined with comprehensive and highly detailed potential improvements (using the 5S method).
(Editor: Affordable Stabilizers)