Using tools such as Lanner Witness or AnyLogic, a digital model can be created from the macro to the micro scale, including global supply chain and logistics, down to individual site operations.

These healthy design requirements can have a large impact on energy efficiency and increase pressure on carbon reduction targets and aspirations to design Net Zero Carbon buildings.It is very important to balance these needs and think carefully about our HVAC management and controls.

But most importantly, we need to design buildings which are resilient and adopt the principles of passive design.Buildings that adopt adequate solar control measures, good thermal insulation, good daylight levels and openable windows via narrow plates have the capacity to reduce peak heating and cooling gains and the dependence on mechanical ventilation, where feasible..The growing importance of physical and mental wellbeing in architecture and design.

Due to the side effects of COVID-19, physical and mental wellbeing are becoming a key priority for many building developers, designers and construction companies.. Buildings (residential and commercial) are places to live and work but increasingly also to play and move, with a strong focus on physical activity and active lifestyles.Active buildings include changing facilities and bike storage to foster sustainable and healthier modes of transport, prioritise the use of stairs, and have flexible layouts and spaces to accommodate sports activities..

Mental wellbeing can be promoted through healthy design by improving visual quality (daylight levels, views out and adoption of circadian lighting), thermal comfort (improved envelope performance and equipment efficiency, allowing natural ventilation and enabling adaptive comfort via flexible dress codes) and acoustic quality (reducing noise intrusion, and reverberation times, provision of quiet areas, etc.)..

Additionally, a biophilic design with a strong connection to nature has multiple healing and psychological benefits to building occupants..He says that far too much time was spent fixing the gaps between the manufactured and traditional parts.

Whilst the insides of the pods were identical, the outside utility connections were different every single time.Johnston warns of the knock-on effects of these types of scenarios, where a lack of advanced planning results in a total loss of the intended value.. Marks agrees and says the solution lies in bringing the construction site build portion of projects up to the same accuracy as the modules.. Modular construction.

Bringing up the B2 Atlantic Yards project, Amy Marks explains that the problems caused by the module frames not being reset when needed is an easily fixable issue to learn from, not a reason to write off prefab altogether.. For example, lessons learned from the earlier Victoria Hall project in Wolverhampton (which saw tolerance issues between the modules and core structure of the building), did inspire a shift from concrete to structural steel frames on Atlantic Yards.. Further, while she believes it’s possible to achieve tolerances, she says that not every process (ie.every contract, every scope, every specification) is currently set up for accurate tolerances.