Bryden Wood launch P-DfMA solution for offices with Landsec

This is an important component of sustainable architectural design..

Newly adopted habits also affect residential design.In many cases, domestic buildings used to be empty during the central hours of the day, but with the more frequent adoption of homeworking, daylight, thermal comfort and air quality will become more important.

The standards for daylight in residential buildings, for instance, have always been lower than in workspaces, and overheating is a growing phenomenon in new homes in the UK.With the changes in working patterns, it is possible that post-pandemic size, layouts, daylight and thermal requirements of residential buildings evolve to accommodate spaces better suited to work..Improving indoor air quality and hygiene.

The impact of the pandemic and the interest in wellbeing, combined with higher pollution levels in urban areas, have increased the importance of improving indoor and outdoor air quality..In order to improve outdoor pollution, local planning policies in some areas of the UK are requesting that buildings become air quality neutral and even air quality positive.

This can be achieved via the adoption of fully electric HVAC systems that do not pollute the local environment, the use of green infrastructure and vegetation, and facilitating the use of sustainable modes of transport..

It is widely reported that indoor air pollution is 3.5 times higher than outdoors.Equally, we must recognise just how crucial construction standards are, particularly as the industry modernises and transforms.

UK construction companies have been slow to enable staff to be part of committees where standards are created.This is a missed opportunity, as all parties should be working together to advance the whole industry in this regard.

Regulations should have a significant and authoritative amount of input as they are developed, particularly given the long-term nature of the work, with buildings expected to last between 60-100 years.Equally, spending more time in the design phase of a project would enable us to truly understand the brief and open up the problem statement, ultimately preventing projects beset with difficulties as a result of a lack of planning.. One challenge we’ll face going forward is that, as innovation increases and we begin to iterate more quickly, the lag between innovation happening and standards struggling to keep up, will begin to get in the way.