There is a focus on balancing increased ventilation, which is necessary for reducing virus transmission, with energy efficiency.

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.

In terms of what we do here at Bryden Wood, we’re mostly focused on the environmental side of sustainability.

We have a focus on building physics, with the aim of reducing energy costs for occupiers, as well as reducing carbon emissions.He doesn’t believe more BIM is the answer to the industry’s problems, explaining that a drawing numbering system isn’t going to help the worker installing rebar.

Instead, he says, onsite construction technology solutions should revolve around getting workers who are already using technology like mobile phones, to use that same tech in different ways, aiding and improving onsite construction processes via photographing, scanning, etc.Moreover, he also advocates incentivising the use of technology in order to boost worker engagement.

Having everything pre-logged back at the site-shed could mean that workers no longer need to fill out end-of-day paperwork, enabling them to go home earlier instead.. asBuilt believe it’s these types of changes which will ultimately create the necessary unlock with platforms and technology in construction.Suddenly, we’ll be using construction digitalisation all the time, and we’ll start to see platforms emerge which aren’t thinking at the level of the consultant, but are addressing some of the more specific and prevalent construction site issues instead.