Facing and accepting where you are today, with hope and certainty that you will find a solution, a way out at some point equipped people advantageously..

The level of the bespoke design in traditional projects makes it difficult to properly design every interface, leading to variability between interfaces on-site and the need for ad hoc changes.However, trades at different points in the process don’t necessarily have access to the early decision-making rationale, so there can be unanticipated consequences of these forced ad hoc changes.. For example, façade installers have reported that they spent 40% of their time undertaking site surveys and using shims and packers to fill in the gaps between their manufactured unitised systems and traditionally built superstructures.

This example is particularly pertinent given the crucial role façades play in fire stopping and compartmentation..If the BSA onus is on ensuring the design doesn’t change from specification to delivery, then the exactness of the design and the tolerances is crucial..The higher degree of accuracy and innovation in platform components ensures that what was designed and modelled is much more likely to be what is installed on site, with no need for site based problem-solving/adaptions vs. what has been designed and tested..

Platform components create superstructures, which, while a relatively small proportion of the cost, are critical in maximising the accuracy of the installation.The superstructure is highly dimensionally accurate, with fixings designed in to enable high levels of accuracy in the complementary elements that attach to it.

This accuracy reduces the need for tolerance between interfaces, which is where issues often occur.

On The Forge, the tolerance was reduced to.We could design these for a 100-year total life span, while the use of standardised components would make an interior refit possible every five to ten years.

In its initial configuration a building might function as an office block, but components could be taken out and the building changed into a residential building or school.At the end of its life, the various standardised components would be recycled, reused or redeployed, creating a circular economy.

As the Internet of Things evolves and built assets become smarter, gathering increasing amounts of data, they could become self-optimising, intelligent buildings – recognising the need for a change in air or lighting levels.Ultimately, this type of data would then feed back into the design process itself, creating an open-ended process of continual improvement, and contributing to the next generation of components.. Our sustainable future.