As soon as you start to model and gain understanding, opportunities and outcomes become apparent, even in times of great uncertainty.

Build Clever: specify low carbon materials with a focus on the recycled content of steel and concrete and the use of timber; maximise the recycled content of finishes, use reclaimed floors and explore system’s rental; where possible use low GWP refrigerants and avoid VRF systems..Build Efficiently: implement innovative construction strategies such as Modern methods of Construction (MMC) and use a DfMA approach to reduce waste onsite..

Offset: Any remaining carbon should be offset via recognised carbon offset schemes.Offsets used should be publicly disclosed.. An example of design strategies that follow the proposed embodied carbon hierarchy is shown in Figure 5..Step-by-step hierarchy for net zero embodied carbon.

Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA).As identified above, DfMA is an essential part of the strategy to achieve net zero embodied and operational carbon.

Bryden Wood’s Platform approach to Design for Manufacture and Assembly (P-DfMA) is a system that delivers efficiencies across the entire construction process by applying the principles of manufacturing.. Bryden Wood have taken the P-DfMA approach for the design of multiple projects, like Landsec’s The Forge office development in London, where we have followed the hierarchies described above..

The Forge.. Its lean design, using a standardised ’kit-of-parts’ and the better control on the specification and procurement of materials has shown the following benefits:.The goal here is to design things with lean construction principles: using the least amount of material, handled the fewest number of times, delivered quickly, with the right information, and without waste.. Aiming to realise these lean construction goals, regardless of whether that occurs on-site or off-site, is the real objective.

Once this level of understanding is in place, informed decisions can be made about the most effective ways to go about making things happen.. Johnston says this includes decisions about the level of granularity of component standardisation which is required, as well as whether work is best done on-site or off-site.It’s really about individual value drivers and these vary from client to client depending on their needs.. “Construction too easily gets into the solutions mode,” he says, “and starts thinking of the solution before answering the question.”.

Amy Marks says she worked with a technology client earlier in her career, who wasn’t at all interested in having his project finish sooner.However, certainty surrounding the duration of the schedule was very important to him..