Platform design and the IPA’s Roadmap to 2030, Built Environment Matters podcast with Trudi Sully from The Construction Innovation Hub

Within the lifetime of that programme, we hope to have fundamentally changed the way physical building is done, the way we use MMC, and the way we deliver assets.

Automatically knowing the provenance of a built asset allows us to get into a circular economy.Equally, we could also take components from one asset, and then use them for a different asset type in another part of the world.

This is very appealing, as reusing is even more sustainable than recycling..However, it’s worth stating that this is a huge simplification; that the true meaning of ‘circular economy’ is phenomenally complex (especially when we’re considering a 60-year plus period – how well do we believe someone in 1960 would have predicted the market in 2020?)This is a topic in its own right that we’ll explore another time – but what we can say for now is that construction Platforms seem like a sensible way of facilitating this approach.. What are the challenges to widespread adoption of construction Platform design?.

None of the challenges present in getting the industry to adopt a construction Platforms approach are technical.The majority of objections are linked to cultural mindset factors.

These include issues like insurance warranties, intellectual property, and risk allocation in construction.

We’re not suggesting traditional construction isn’t risky.The reality is that making these changes offers a solution to many of the problems we’re facing as an industry at the moment, including poor productivity, low value, excessive amounts of waste, and carbon emissions.

We need to find a way to facilitate this shift to industrialised construction because almost nothing is coming out in the way we intended it, Marks says, particularly in terms of cost, certainty, and schedule..Still, switching the whole ecosystem to support industrialised construction represents a very difficult challenge..

Starting with DfMA.Marks feels one beneficial change would come from the construction industry committing more broadly to seeking guidance from manufacturing professionals.