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Building Design 2020
About Arup
Arup is an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, consultants and technical
Contents
specialists offering a broad range of professional services. Through our work, we
aim to make a positive difference to different communities. We shape a better world.
Introduction 5
Founded in 1946 with an initial focus on structural engineering, Arup first came to the world’s
attention with the structural design of the Sydney Opera House, followed by i
ts work on the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Arup has since grown into a multi-disciplinary People 7
organisation. Its work, such as the National Aquatics Center for the 2008 Olympics
in Beijing has reaffirmed its reputation for delivering innovative and sustainable designs that
reinvent the built environment. Technologies 15
Arup Foresight + Research + Innovation
Foresight + Research + Innovation is Arup’s internal think-tank and consultancy which deals Systems 35
with the future of the built environment and society at large. We serve Arup’s global business
as well as external clients from a broad range of regions and sectors. We help our organisations Conclusion 55
understand trends, explore new ideas, and radically rethink the future of their businesses.
We developed the concept of ‘foresight by design’, which uses innovative design tools and
techniques to bring new ideas to life and engage clients and stakeholders in meaningful Interviewees 56
conversations about change.
Acknowledgements 59
Contacts
Tristam Carfrae
Arup Fellow and Deputy Chairman
tristram.carfrae@arup.com
Chris Luebkeman
Arup Fellow and Global Director, Foresight + Research + Innovation
chris.luebkeman@arup.com
Released December 2014
Cover Image: © KPF
13 Fitzroy Street
London W1T 4BQ
arup.com
© Arup 2014 Click on section title to navigate
Introduction
In the past half century, Arup has process to identify the biggest trends in the
accomplished astounding feats. Through our sector and to develop an understanding
partnerships, fortitude and innovative spirit, of how these trends will impact Arup’s daily
we have dotted the earth with iconic beauty, practice.
pushed the boundaries of physics to touch In the following pages, you will find a
the sky, and provided unparalleled value to distillation of the insights that emerged from
clients around the globe. We take pride in our this research. These findings around the
commitment to shape a better world. Each future of building design indicate areas of
year, Arup invests in a wide range of research particular interest to Arup and our partners,
to ensure the continued success of this as well as highlighting some of the most
mission. exciting new ideas from our investigation.
Part of that research is the document you We hope that this report will serve as a
are currently reading, the Arup Foresight, starting point for deep, regionally-specific
Research & Innovation team’s global study conversations on how to best leverage trends
on the future of Building Design. Funded relevant to the future of building design in
by the Buildings Practice Executive, this order to improve our work, deliver more
investigation took the form of a series of over value for our clients, and remain a leading
300 conversations across Arup’s five regions, provider of cutting-edge solutions.
aimed at identifying vectors of change
affecting building design over the next Welcome to Building Design 2020.
half-decade. We interviewed internal subject
matter experts and external stakeholders
involved at every stage of the building design
© Hufton+Crow
Left: Guangdong Museum, Guangzhou, China 5
People
“When I joined Arup I was brand new, I didn’t know anybody –
but I could walk into a room in a joint venture and pick out who
the Arup people were, because the Arup people were saying ‘Let’s
try this,’ and the other people would be saying ‘No, no, we didn’t
do it that way on the last project, so why do it that way now?’ ”
—Jim Quiter, Principle, Fire Engineering
Building design starts with building Integrating across disciplines and between
designers. Both day-to-day and over the project phases is increasingly necessary to
long term, people are where changes in ensure consistent project management from
the industry will be felt first. Over the next inception to completion. Identifying and
decade, changing skillsets, new approaches leveraging opportunities for ongoing formal
to relationships and a shifting recruitment and informal learning are critical for AEC
landscape will all transform the traditional firms to retain well-rounded skill portfolios
roles of people in building design. across generations of staff into the
near future.
1.1 Skills
Specialisation & Fragmentation
Building designers at all stages of their Trends of skill specialisation and
careers are increasingly required to master fragmentation continue across the
specialised skills. engineering and building professions.
A basic suite of technology-focused skills Programming and software development
are considered a fundamental component are critical areas for skill growth across
of new building designers’ toolsets; the field, and can provide meaningful
ensuring that these skills are effectively advantages for prototyping, visualisation
disseminated to veteran staff as well can help and collaboration. Materials science, design
build organisational resiliency. Similarly, integration, and client interface skills are
specialism-related skills and certifications in all important components of the modern
areas such as sustainability, product design building designer’s toolkit, as is fluency
and advanced manufacturing techniques add with recent developments in fabrication and
© Arup
considerable value across teams. construction technologies.
Left: Penguin Pool, Arup New York, 2012 7
Case Study: Massive Open Online Courses Case Study: Interactive Learning
MOOCs represent a transformative Codecademy has grown to millions of
© Noah Sheldon / Julian Richards
© Arup
development in skill-building and cross- registered members in under five years,
specialism for the AEC industry, allowing with meet-ups held in 360 cities worldwide
workers to acquire new skills and prepare for and over 100,000 lessons created. The
heavily specialised or culturally-dependent service’s popularity reflects the reality of
projects with minimal overhead compared to coding becoming a critical skill set across a
traditional learning approaches. The ‘open’ wide variety of professions, AEC included.
aspects of MOOCs are a double-edged sword Codecademy’s platform increasingly serves
for the industry, as the same technologies not merely as an educational resource
that enable rapid skill acquisition for staff also but also as a repository for open source
enable fiercer competition from designers and code modules, allowing students to build
firms in developing markets without previous on one another’s knowledge to execute
Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, access to similar educational resources. Codecademy offers free online courses in increasingly complex projects.
allow anyone with an internet connection programming languages such as Javascript,
to take university courses over the internet Location / Business: Mountain View, CA. Python and Ruby. The site is modeled on a Location / Business: New York, NY.
for free, watching lectures onx streaming Coursera for public use. social network, and users are encouraged to Codecademy for commercial use.
video, using interactive online materials and support one another, create their own courses
cooperatively marking assignments via and organise meet-ups.
social networks.
Generation Gap fundamental level of technical currency and help mitigate
The increasing specialisation of building designers’ skillsets the effects of increasing specialisation while encouraging
raises the risk of established designers falling behind a independent pursuit of new skillsets.
technological adaptation curve. The implications of this
generation gap were particularly apparent during the recent 1.2 Relationships
global recession; the downsizing of medium- and larger-sised
firms to core, often senior designers meant losing a generation Building design teams are undergoing a shift in traditional
of new skills and talent. Ensuring that mastery of both the understandings of both structure and leadership. In contrast to
theoretical and technical aspects of building design is evenly the traditional model of a designer employed by a single firm
distributed across all generations of staff will be critical to the over the duration of a career, talent is increasingly nimble.
competitiveness and resiliency of the profession. Changes in project procurement and a shift toward
methodologies such as Public-Private Partnerships, Private
Continuing Education Finance Initiatives and Design-Build project delivery all
The pace of technological and regulatory advancement require contractors to assume a greater share of project risk,
within building design as a field underlines the necessity of and therefore a greater role in design team leadership.
continuing education. A flexible, relevant and competitive Academic-Industrial and business-to-business
design team will encompass material, technological and partnerships will play an increasingly important role in
process specialties, possess some degree of interoperability the development, delivery and commercialisation of new
and be able to synthesise data from multiple collaborative technologies and processes.
platforms. Emphasizing holistic programs of continuing
education can both ensure that designers maintain a
8 Building Design 2020 9
Case Study: Co-Working Spaces Case Study: Digital Networks of Licensed Professionals
As more and more companies move to choosing on the fly between several
© Hufton+Crow
© Noah Sheldon / Julian Richards
cloud-based remote file access, portable service tiers.
hardware and distributed communications, Uber (and similar ridesharing firms) stand
workers need no longer be tethered to one to substantively alter the transportation
office location. Co-working spaces provide an landscape, with serious implications for
office environment for a monthly fee, including both design and construction of new urban
workspace, wifi, storage, and discounts on infrastructure and the development of
shared tool platforms. Co-working spaces can urban mobility regulation. The company’s
function as informal R&D or incubator labs, business model is emblematic of the value
allowing staff to discover and engage with being created in cities by a new crop of
fresh ideas they might not encounter in an technological innovators enabled by mobile,
industry-specific office. digital networks utilizing and generating nearly
Co-working spaces such as PARISOMA are Uber is a ridesharing service that connects limitless data.
shared office facilities, providing productive, Location / Business: San Francisco, CA. registered drivers with passengers in need
creative workspace and amenities to PARISOMA for commercial use. of a ride. Drivers are insured and certified by Location / Business: San Francisco, CA.
corporations or individuals for a monthly fee. the organizing network; riders request, track Uber for commercial use.
and pay for rides using a smartphone app,
Networks of Affiliation New Kinds of Partnerships
As the traditional model of “one designer, one firm, one Partnerships between businesses, and between academia and
career” is increasingly replaced by a generation of less industry, will increasingly define the practice of building
allegiant, more mobile specialists, the near future of design. Academic-industrial collaboration will continue as a
building design is one of increasing ad-hoc project-by- critical research stream, developing innovative new tools and
project collaboration involving teams of highly specialised processes and refining them into commercial feasibility.
consultants. The design firm, rather than serving as a top-
to-bottom clearinghouse for an entire project, assumes the 1.3 Talent
role of a management hub, linking and facilitating a web of
fluid connections between specialists. Firms must consider As the skill sets relevant to building design continue to
adapting strategies for employee recruitment, development evolve, and as the relationships between designers, firms,
and investment to accommodate this new, highly mobile and and non-commercial partners become increasingly complex,
specialised workforce. the development and retention of talent is of increasing
importance in the practice of design.
New Kinds of Clients Talent recruitment is undergoing seismic shifts, from
Shifts in market, spatial and environmental contexts will come changing employee expectations of work-life balance to the
to define new types of client. A growing trend of public-private the inception of innovative methods such as team-based
partnerships in certain regions will cause shifts not only in hires, which carefully consider the dynamics of a group of
design team makeup by also client type. Simultaneously, the collaborators beyond traditional skill sets. Efforts to improve
growing popularity and feasibility of crowd-funded projects the diversity of the design workforce are successful only
will require consideration of contracting and management when attention is also applied to the retention and professional
strategies for this new client base.
10 Building Design 2020 11
Case Study: Competiton-Sourced Talent Case Study: Self-Selected Teams
Competitive crowdsourcing allows a Salesforce’s all-day “Build Your Own Dream
© Arup
© Arup
vastly broader number of approaches to Team” recruiting event was designed to
be applied to modelling and analysis tasks, identify top-performing self-selected teams
leveraging the collective brainpower of rather than single job candidates, betting on
Kaggle’s 200,000 member data scientists. collaboration over individual experience.
Kaggle competitions have resulted in This unique approach to corporate
significant advancements in HIV research, recruitment emphasises the value of agile,
traffic forecasting and game theory; the creative team-based solution finding when
implications for the AEC industry of this combined with traditional foundational
sort of crowdsourcing are enormous. In training and deep professional skillsets.
addition to promoting thinking “outside the The generative capabilities of a smoothly
box”, competitive modelling invites project functioning team, and the attendant cross-
Kaggle is a predictive modelling and solutions from subject area experts and local pollenisation across specialisms and
analytics platform, allowing companies and specialists inaccessible through traditional interests, can be a powerful asset in the near
individuals to host “modelling competitions”, team-building methods. future of the building design landscape.
submitting project datasets for competitive
crowd-sourced analysis; winning analyses Location / Business: San Francisco, CA. Location / Business: Portland, OR.
become the perpetual intellectual property of Kaggle for commercial use. Salesforce for internal use.
the competition host.
development of future senior leaders for the duration of their Talent Retention
professional career. Specification of talent is evolving alongside Design firms are redefining their expectations and processes
new paradigms for performance measurement; mechanisms for talent retention, as an industry-wide shift towards
such as value-driven design put a heightened emphasis on project-based talent curation continues. As individual
product rather than process, potentially altering the mix of designers’ skillsets become more specialised and career-
working styles involved in successful design projects. long institutional allegiance becomes rarer, an opportunity
space arises in the AEC industry for the rapid assembly
Team-Based Hires of purpose-built teams. Advocating for diversity among
Advancements in cloud-based file storage and real-time incoming talent will ensure that future building design teams
communications technologies make it easier than ever for possess the breadth of experience necessary to engage the
personnel with complementary skills and personalities to broadest possible range of clients; with regard to outgoing
form highly functional teams regardless of disciplinary talent, alumni networks have become increasingly relevant
or geographic separation. Companies are leveraging these for maximizing value of departed employees.
abilities with the adoption of team-based hiring, a process
where staff are either acquired as a team or identified as a Value-Driven Design
potential team via group interviews and activities designed Design processes that foreground performance, rather
to assess group cohesion. Team-based hiring is particularly than the mechanisms for achieving said performance, are
relevant for the AEC industry, due to the intensively increasingly commonplace within the AEC industry. Value-
collaborative nature of our work. driven design of this sort encourages firms to both explore
progressive team-building and recruitment processes and
incorporate both talent and design solutions from historically
unrelated industries.
12 Building Design 2020 13
Technologies
“Look at the number of people the banking industry used to have just
typing numbers in computers. They’ve all gone, because what they
were doing is a very automatable thing. The architect has now got a
computer model, with everything he wants in it, and it’s not a huge leap
for someone to say, add a button that can do the structural design.”
—Michael Willford, Arup Fellow, Advanced Technology and Research
Dynamic, capable design tools requiring This emerging integration of high-
complex skillsets; smart, sustainable performance and low-impact materials is
materials facilitating concepts as bold as enabling increasingly complex and highly
they are efficient; construction processes functional structural, mechanical and façade
increasingly enabled by automation and solutions, where ambitious aesthetic aims
novel fabrication methods. The near future go hand in hand with smarter, safer, more
of building design technologies is full of sustainable projects.
opportunities and potentially transformative
innovation. High-Performance Materials
“High-Performance” as relates to material
2.1 Materials science is coming to be understood as a
description of a material’s ability to increase
Materials science involved in building operational performance, reduce energy
design is responding to two sets of market expenditure, and contribute new potential
pressures. Materials are increasingly functionalities to building design. A growing
considered as component elements of smart, trend is the development of materials that
interactive, self-regulating systems, where couple traditional structural and aesthetic
the ability to support embedded information functions with a growing range of dynamic,
and track lifetime usage statistics are of responsive physical and environmental
considerable value; simultaneously, there behaviours enabled by embedded sensing
© Darren Soh for Arup
is more demand than ever for materials technologies.
whose simplicity, reusability and low carbon
intensity are manifest through their entire
cycle of manufacture and use.
Left: Marina Bay Sands, Singapore 15
Case Study: Phase Change Materials from Automotive Industry Case Study: Low Emissivity Insulation
PCMs are used throughout the building Aerogels are a synthetic porous material
© NASA / JPL-Caltech
© Fraunhofer UMSICHT
industry for effective passive reduction of which replace the liquid components of a gel
heating and cooling loads. Their ductile and with an inert gas. The resulting solid, 96% air,
reconfigurable nature make them a natural is among the lightest, most soundproof, least
fit for building design applications, allowing thermally conductive materials in existence.
designers to create structures where waste Windows present a problem for building
heat management is built into the fundamental designers; they provide critical natural light
elements of a design. PCM technology is but can be the weak link with regards to
starting to appear in a number of products heat loss, solar gain and acoustics. Aerogel-
marketed to the AEC industry, among insulated glazing could be a transformative
them BioPCM mats, GlassX glazing, and technology for building design, allowing
ThermalCORE drywall. unprecedented façade and window
Phase Change Materials store and release arrangements and significant improvements in
waste heat when changing state from liquid to Location / Business: Oberhausen, Germany. emissions control.
solid at certain temperatures; used extensively Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental,
to enhance the performance of automotive Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT for Location / Business: Richmond, CA.
batteries, the technology has significant commercial use. Thermalux for commercial use.
implications for the AEC industry.
One area of particular innovation is façade design, where Processes and technologies from other industries
electrochromic and thermochromic glass, building-integrated continue to drive innovation in building design. One example
photovoltaics and specialised coatings are enabling innovative is phase-change material, first developed for the automotive
solutions for the generation, storage and transfer of energy. industry, which stands to revolutionise thermal energy
The growing prevalence of microelectronics and synthetic handling in buildings. As ‘smart’ technologies become
composites indicates a shift in the way the industry conceives ubiquitous, data-driven intelligence and high physical
of materials and their function; increasingly, ‘materials’ performance will align in the development of increasingly
are highly complex systems of miniaturised or responsive connected, information-rich, and efficient materials.
elements, functioning at ever smaller scales and with an ever-
increasing degree of seamlessness.
16 Building Design 2020 17
Case Study: Microalgae Façade Case Study: Timber Tower Research
continuously generated biomass from the construction materials take on added
© Hufton+Crowe
© Arup
panels is harvested, converted into a biofuel importance as contributors to a building’s
and used to heat embodied carbon footprint. SOM’s Timber
BIQ’s microalgae façade is an important Tower has a carbon footprint 60-75% smaller
pilot project, demonstrating the feasibility than a comparably sised building constructed
of such living-system façades and pointing from traditional reinforced concrete and steel
the way to a future in which the contained structural elements.
biomass could be used for C02 sequestration
and air quality monitoring as well as heat Location / Business: Chicago, IL. Skidmore,
production. BIQ’s designers anticipate a Owings and Merrill LLP and Softwood Lumber
day when the biomass generated in such Board for private use.
structures can provide 100% of a building’s
The 200 square metre façade of this power requirements. Timber Tower Research Project is an initiative
residential apartment tower is composed of to develop a safe, structurally viable, 42-story
glass “bioreactor” panels, each containing Location / Business: Hamburg, Germany. building framed with mass timber, employing
microalgae plants, continuously supplied Splitterwerk/Arup for International Building reinforced concrete only in high-stress areas.
with liquid nutrients and carbon dioxide via Exhibition. As environmental impact measurements
a water circuit. Catalyzed by sunlight, the shift from energy intensity to carbon intensity,
Sustainable Materials The ability to track the material content (and by
Current areas of sustainable material development include extension, projected performance) of recyclable materials has
low-carbon materials, materials from renewable sources, greatly expanded their potential for commercial applications.
and products that are recyclable at both the material and Materials continue to become smarter, with embedded
component level. Façade design continues to play a critical indicators of content makeup and lifetime strain enabling
role in sustainable building, with strides being made both new categories of reuse. Resource scarcity continues to place
in façade materials and control systems, allowing dynamic, significance on designing for reusability at the material,
responsive designs that can help mitigate solar gain and component, and building scale. Upfront investments in
emissions at the systemic level. designing more adaptable materials, structural and façade
Structural materials are another area of innovation, in elements, and building systems will need to be incentivised in
both the development of new material categories and the order to attain the longer-term benefit of resilience
innovative application of existing materials via projects that and flexibility.
push the boundaries of engineering science. The development
of low-C02 cement-free concrete and the popularity of timber
construction points to an ongoing renaissance of low-tech
sustainability solutions.
18 Building Design 2020 19Case Study: Liquid Desiccant Air Conditioning Case Study: Dynamic Shading
LDAC systems can provide meaningful of triangular PTFE panels pre-programmed
© Arup
© NASA
improvements in indoor air quality, resulting to fold open and closed as the sun moves
in improved worker productivity and reduced around the buildings. The geometric screen
mold and mildew remediation costs. Given calls to mind a futuristic mashrabiya, a
that 75% of the world has a humid climate, traditional element of Arab architecture
affordable, durable liquid desiccants can intended to provide both cooling and privacy.
potentially have a large-scale impact The 1,000 mobile elements of each façade
on operational energy savings versus allow a solar gain reductions 50% over a
conventional air conditioning technologies. comparable structure, saving 1750 tons of
CO2 emissions annually. Sensors integrated
Location / Business: North Miami Beach, FL. into the façade allow it to close autonomously
Advantix for commercial use. to shield the building from winds and
Liquid desiccant air conditioning (LDAC) The dynamic adaptive façade of the Al Bahar sandstorm activity, and a percentage of the
systems pass air through a brine solution, towers opens and closes in response to solar façades’ own power is derived from roof-
removing particulates and odors along with movement, dramatically reducing solar gain, integrated solar cells.
heat and moisture with similar upfront costs cooling load and carbon emissions.
to traditional technologies and a 30-50% The twin 29-story Al Bahar towers share a Location / Business: Abu Dhabi, UAE.
reduction in energy expenditure. common lobby area and a unique innovation: Aedas / Arup for Abu Dhabi Investment
a computer-controlled dynamic curtain wall Council.
Materials in Systems As a growing number of cities establish plans for reduced
Constructability, adaptability, and flexibility continue to be and zero carbon schemes, smart and sustainable materials
the key criteria for sustainable building design. The ability of and systems will come to define the future of building design.
buildings to respond to real-time environmental data through Building technology will become increasingly integrated
systems designed into both the façade and the interior will into design at the systemic level, driven by advances in data
become increasingly important. Innovative mechanical analysis and automated adaptation functions.
shading systems relying on high-performing materials will
grow in significance in extreme and temperate climates alike. 2.2 Tools
Resilient building technology will be essential to
ensuring longer-term relevance of structures under The tools and technologies that will define building design
development today. Drivers for innovation include lower in the near future will be characterised by the collective
energy intensity, resource management, and increasingly improvement of building and system performance,
sophisticated building management systems. minimisation of waste and environmental impact, and
Pressure for increased building performance, alongside the presence of increasingly streamlined mechanisms for
reduced operational and embodied carbon, will continue to collaboration and integration of information across platforms,
drive systems innovation and technology adoption trends disciplines, and projects.
at all scales, including lighting, HVAC implementation and Ideation and process management software developed
water management. for other design-centric industries holds the potential to
meaningfully improve the workflow of future building
projects. Advancements in these related sectors include the
20 Building Design 2020 21Case Study: Augmented Reality Case Study: Academic-Industrial Design Hubs
Augmented reality, immersive connections between pure research projects
© Arup
© Arup
environments, and visualisation techniques and commercial implementation.
adapted from gaming all have an increasing As technological innovation continues to
role to play in building design, particularly be a critical competitive differentiator among
in how spatial information is communicated AEC industry firms, collaborative research
to stakeholders and clients. As systems programmes and spaces like RMIT’s Design
integration and performance metrics assume Hub provide a valuable forum for working
more and more critical roles within the design engineers and designers to invigorate their
and construction process, comprehensive practice with fresh ideas from a range of
visualisation platforms will be a competitive generations and disciplines. Industrial-
advantage for AEC industry firms. academic partnerships of this sort can allow
for unparalleled cross-pollination of ideas,
Meta’s Spaceglasses add a third dimension Location / Business: Portola, CA. The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology provide rigorous technical critique, and serve
to the Augmented Reality interface made Meta for commercial use. (RMIT) Design hub is a purpose-built space as a valuable recruitment pool for talent.
popular by Google Glass, enabling users where students, researchers and industry
wearing proprietary goggles to view and to experts can collaborate on discussions, Location / Business: Melbourne, Australia.
manipulate virtual 3D objects in real time presentations and events aimed at promoting RMIT for public use.
using simple gestures. industry-specific exploration and enabling
use of sophisticated forms of data visualisation and digital The continued development and standardisation of
mockup in the aerospace industry, and the iterative, process- Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology will
driven design paradigms of the automotive industry. Design enable designers from different disciplines and phases of
and construction of buildings, as well as communications involvement in the design process to work together in an
and management of those processes, will continue to benefit increasingly seamless manner. Hard datasets and lessons
from cross-pollination from related industries and an influx of learned from successful projects will be increasingly
data-driven tools from nontraditional sources. available for adaptation to future work through these trends in
digital workflow and collaboration.
Integrated Design The modeling capacity of BIM will be supplemented
Over the past decade, Building Design-related software by a greater degree of integration amongst disciplines and
products have focussed on leveraging increased design phases in the next ten years. Cloud-based information
computational power for the purpose of analysis and storage and subscription-based software will transform the
simulation. In the near future, with the centre of gravity in way that design teams work across geographies and project
area-specific software development will shift to integration; phases. Distributed, near-realtime communication between
highly mobile, easily accessible, clearly visualised data will design team members, clients and stakeholders, as well as the
be available to more building project stakeholders, across prevalence of comprehensive data visualisation technologies
more platforms and devices, than ever before, allowing new and highly portable system models will streamline the design,
efficiencies from design to operation. construction and operation stages of future projects.
22 Building Design 2020 23Case Study: Innovation Model: Design for Business Case Study: Multi-Stakeholder Cloud Collaboration
Why it’s important: While the building Collaboration and centralisation has
© woodleywonderworks
© Arup
design industry is focusing on BIM and been the weak link in many current BIM
software at large as the primary tool for implementations. The OneCloud suite of
streamlining and advancing the design data-access tools allows every participant
process, LEGO has rethought the design on a given project, from owners to designers
process itself, with impressive results. LEGO’s to contractors, to view and comment on
Design For Business (D4B) has cut the blueprints, schedules and revisions from
company’s design cycle in half and allowed any mobile device. The partnership between
the firm to concentrate on projects likely Gehry Technologies and Box points the way
to generate the most impact. The initiative to a near future where all stakeholders across
includes developing an innovation model, the breadth of a project will have real-time,
a foundation overview, and a roadmap that device and software-independent access to
LEGO’s Design for Business (D4B) together help articulate objectives, Box OneCloud integrates a building design drawings, photos and models at any phase of
management process tightly couples anticipate required skills and resources, content platform with a suite of mobile apps, construction.
innovation, creativity and business goals, and assess results. centralizing project information and allowing
ensuring that marketing, product development designers, contractors and clients to interact Location / Business: Los Altos, CA.
and production are mutually-supporting Location / Business: Billund, Denmark. with BIM data without specialised tools. Box / Gehry Technologies for internal use.
endeavors. Lego Group for internal use.
Cross-Industry Technologies In addition to the expanding prevalence of cross-industry
A trend that became apparent in the last decade was the software, cross-platform workflow and most particularly
increasing utility of computational technologies from other communication technologies will be vitally important to
industries to enable an ever-expanding degree of design building design in the coming decade. While designers can be
complexity in buildings. Tools from related industries will expected to use many of the same design techniques as they
continue to alter the landscape of building design, and have in years past, workflow will be impacted by expanded
different disciplines’ toolsets will become less segregated. capabilities of communications platforms, design software
This will be due in large part to the increasing necessity of and fabrication hardware. Software applications from related
integration between design phases as designers are required industries will increasingly support designers in visualizing
to communicate and collaborate across specialisms in a and communicating ideas at each stage of the design process.
digital and real-time design environment.
Expanded relationships between software developers
and cloud computing providers will enable a more advanced
integration of computation and BIM workflow into building
design and related disciplines. The growing prevalence of
cloud-based data storage, increasing industry engagement
with open-source design strategies, and availability of rich
and extensive data sets are fueling an awareness of the
potential for the commoditisation of design information.
24 Building Design 2020 25Case Study: Building Information Management (BIM) in the UK Case Study: BIM in Singapore
The use of BIM techniques in the of a national fund for training and
© BCA
© Ian Simpson Architects
Manchester Town Hall Complex project is consultancy assistance.
credited with reducing construction timelines The Singapore government has thrown
by nine months. As the UK e Government its full weight behind standardizing BIM
scales up to mandatory BIM use, this pilot adoption across all of the nation’s building
project will provide crucial data regarding the projects. The establishment of a $6M fund to
utility of BIM-based processes in Facilities help Singaporean design firms transition to
Management (FM) tasks beyond basic design BIM from CAD and the unilateral promotion of
and construction. BIM as a specialty in Singaporean universities
speak to the seriousness of the nationwide
Location / Business: Manchester, UK. effort. The government expects as much as a
Ian Simpson Architects for Manchester City 25% improvement in construction productivity
BIM implementation in the Manchester Council for private use. The Singapore Building and Construction as a result of the initiative.
Town Hall Complex refurbishment project Authority has developed a roadmap designed
enhanced communication between to encourage and enable full BIM adoption Location / Business: Singapore. Singapore
stakeholders, improved approvals turnaround across all Singaporean construction projects Building and Construction Authority for
and identified crucial workflows in simulated by 2015, including collaboration guidelines, public use.
works and demolition processes. submission templates, and the establishment
Governmental Uptake 2.3 Construction
Building Information Modeling (BIM) has been the subject
of widespread discussion in the building design industry over New construction methodologies and requirements for
the past decade. To date, however, the benefits of BIM have regulatory compliance are transforming building design at
been limited, as adoption of the standard has been scattershot. the material, component and systemic levels. Building design
This is changing, as BIM uptake by public authorities professionals’ workflow will increasingly require a familiarity
both at the local and national level is expected to accelerate with both sophisticated materials and newly developed
considerably over the next decade. At present, BIM is processes of automated and digital fabrication. Process
mandated at the national level in various countries around optimisation and prefabrication will offer the possibility of
the world, including the Australia, Singapore and the reducing both project timelines and environmental impact
United Kingdom. during the construction phase.
HM Government Report of the United Kingdom notes Unconventional and crossover skills, such as computer
that “by 2016 all [UK] Government construction projects science, industrial design and robotics will become as
will be using BIM at level 2, irrespective of project size,” important to construction projects as traditional architecture
and that “between 2016 and 2025 it is expected that the UK and engineering experience. Construction, like all components
Government and industry will move to Level 3 BIM.” of building design, will benefit from open data programmes
Australia’s National BIM Initiative forecasts a $7.6b and advanced collaboration tools. Ultimately, new construction
improvement in the national economy over the next decade, approaches will not only impact the processes and skills
and stipulates that remaining at the forefront of BIM involved in building design, but may enable entirely new types
development is a critical component of the nation’s continued of projects.
strategic competitiveness in the built environment sector.
26 Building Design 2020 27Case Study: Reduced Construction Schedules in China Case Study: Specialty Robotics
Broad Group’s demonstration of the for robotic technology for highly complex
© Steve Jurvetson
© Forgemind Archimedia
advantages of modular construction for specialty applications is advancing.
reducing development time and costs sent Baxter represents a new generation
waves through the building design world. of working robots that prioritise intuition,
Despite claims that the group’s 15-story flexibility and ease of training over raw speed,
Ark Hotel is thermally efficient, sustainably strength or precision; SynTouch’s technology
powered and designed to resist damage indicates a quantum leap in machine handling
from severe earthquakes, the construction sensitivity. The combination of the two
technique raises questions regarding quality robotics technologies has the potential to
assurance, long-term operations and meaningfully transform automation in a variety
the culture of disposability surrounding of AEC industry applications, from design
such projects. through construction to operations and
Broad Group, a Chinese contractor Rethink Robotics’ Baxter is a safe, maintenance tasks.
specialising in modular construction, has built Location / Business: Changsha, China. economical, intuitive factory robot designed
a 30-story hotel in 15 days and a 15-story in Broad Group for commercial use. to collaborate with rather than replace human Location / Business: Boston, MA and Los
only 6 days, and has announced plans to build workers; SynTouch’s BioTac robot hand Angeles, CA. Rethink Robotics & SynTouch for
a 220-floor tower of modular components in mimcs the sensory capbilities of a human commerical use.
90 days. fingertip. At the large and fine scales, potential
Off-Site and Modular Over the next decade, modular construction will continue
Advancements in both software design and construction to evolve, integrating new fabrication techniques such as CNC
technologies have transformed our understanding of machining and additive manufacturing. As modular units
prefabrication. A process that once conjured images of boxy, become more sophisticated, a greater emphasis will be placed
unimaginative building units has become an area of critical on the inclusion of plug-and-play systems and services.
design innovation, where material and cost efficiencies can be The building design process will demand equal attention
realised in complex, striking aesthetic and structural forms. paid to fabrication and construction, requiring extensive
Production of highly complex building components in a collaboration amongst a varied project team within virtual
controlled factory environment can produce considerable gains construction models.
in worker safety and unit quality while compressing production
schedules, reducing construction traffic and eliminating
worksite waste streams.
28 Building Design 2020 29Case Study: Contour Crafting Case Study: Digital Timber Construction
material waste and construction process The combination of cutting-edge
© Gramazio & Kohler, ETH Zurich
© Contour Crafting
emissions. digital fabrication technology with a local,
Koshnevis’ adaptation of computer- sustainable resource points the way to a near
controlled mold printing has significant future where simple, renewable materials
implications for the AEC industry as a are given new aesthetic and structural
whole, particularly with regard to climate possibilities through intricate assembly
resilience, as the technology could be methods. The project showcases an end-
used for affordable housing or automated to-end digital planning process, connecting
rebuilding in the wake of natural disasters. design, structural analysis and construction
Early evaluations by NASA indicate potential processes.
applications for contour crafting in lunar or
exoplanetary base construction. Location / Business: Gramazio & Kohler,
Contour Crafting is a rapid prototyping This wooden roof structure for a university Architecture and Digital Fabrication,
technology which uses a quick-setting Location / Business: Behrokh Koshnevis / architecture lab would be impossible to ETH Zurich. The Sequential Roof, Zurich,
concrete-like material to rapidly build University of Southern California for build by hand. Gramazio & Kohler’s design 2010-2015 Client: ETH Zurich Building and
structures with included structural public use. consists of more than 45,000 individual timber Constructions Infrastructure Division
components, plumbing, wiring and fixtures, elements, woven into a complex, free-form
achieving significant reductions in both design via automated digital fabrication.
New methods of fabrication A combination of smart and sustainable materials,
The trend of design for digital fabrication presents new software and advanced tooling techniques will allow
opportunities not to merely execute traditional designs more construction methodologies such as prefabrication to become
efficiently, but to experiment with new design paradigms and an increasingly interesting design possibility. As off-site
structural forms unimaginable using traditional approaches. construction is engaged in a larger proportion of projects,
Design for digital fabrication has natural affinities for design paradigms will evolve to enable this process, reducing
BIM and parametric design methods, allowing advanced waste and increasing efficiency. Building-scale fabrication
geometries to be explored and modified to suit a given will come to be characterised by an increasing departure
project. Novel methods of additive and subtractive fabrication from traditional, labor-intensive on-site processes.
unlock the potential for new geometries impossible with
traditional methods of design and fabrication.
30 Building Design 2020 31Case Study: Aerospace Industry Use of Digital Mock Up Case Study: Ergonomic Optimisation Through Selective Laser Sintering
the DMU throughout the project and on into Demonstrated reliability of structural strength
© Airbus
© Nike
the product’s lifecycle. in new rapid-fabrication technologies such
As the specialisms required of building as laser sintering stands to add powerful new
design increasingly overlap with those capabilities to the building designer’s toolkit.
involved in creating high-performance Rapid prototyping of ideas can generate
systems such as aircraft, the concept of startling efficiencies in the planning and
integrated, comprehensive digital mockups ideation process, allowing stakeholders to
is of obvious vlaue. The integrated lifecycle quickly and clearly understand design and
model reflected in the DMU points the way assembly solutions. The technology holds
to advanced applications of BIM (Building the promise of one day including additive
Information Model) approaches currently manufacturing as an integral part of building
gaining traction in the industry, where construction, yielding previously unimaginable
During new product development at each specialist can access and modify Nike’s new Vapor Laser Talon cleats make combinations of structural efficiency and
Airbus, a digital mockup (DMU) not only performance data relevant to their specialty extensive use of 3D printing through the aesthetic freedom.
models every physical component of new across the project’s entire scope. product’s entire development cycle, from rapid
airframes, but also contains comprehensive 3D prototyping during design to the selective Location / Business: Beaverton, OR. Nike for
information regarding assembly, operation Location / Business: Blagnac, France. laser sintering used to fabricate complex internal use.
and maintenance of the aircraft. All engineers, Airbus for internal use. part geometries impossible to achieve via
suppliers and project partners have access to traditional manufacturing methods.
Construction Methodologies from Other Industries User customisation at a variety of scales will become a
Construction methodologies will continue to incorporate fundamental element of building design in the near future.
product and process advancements from related industries. Groundbreaking fabrication and assembly technologies
Prime candidates for best practice transfer include the hold the potential to refine and streamline construction. As
automotive and aerospace industries, whose understanding the field of building design incorporates greater numbers
of physical machining and digital tooling for complex of cutting-edge fabrication and construction techniques,
geometries have natural potential for the AEC sector. academic-industry partnerships will be particularly valuable
Building design can also benefit from examination of the in developing commercially viable applications for cutting-
iterative process design, widespread application of digital edge processes.
mockup tools and integrated, collaborative workflow common
in automotive and aerospace projects.
32 Building Design 2020 33Systems
“At the moment there’s an enthusiasm for all things smart, how we’re
going to capture all this data… but to what end? In several years you’ll
have a lot of sites where no systems are talking, and then you’ll have
the exemplars of data collection shining out, where the data is open and
operable in as many systems as possible.”
—Damien McCloud, IT & Comms Systems
3.1 Growth Emerging economies will come to
represent a greater proportion of global
Current drivers in building design include design work, both in terms of design and
urbanisation at the global scale, and an labor capacity as well as in terms of the
expanding constellation of resources quantity, scale, and type of building projects
for collecting and processing design and taking place in countries with growing
performance data at the building and populations, rising middle classes, and
systemic levels. expanding connectivity to the developed
Urbanisation in the developed and world.
developing world alike will pose design
challenges requiring unprecedented levels
of cross-project integration, as well as
heightening pressure for resource efficiency
in construction and operation.
While the necessity to design buildings
for long-term relevance is becomingly
© Nathan Larkin, Flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0
increasingly apparent, the retrofit of existing
building stock will be an equally critical
workstream for a resource-limited future.
Left: The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) Design Hub 35Case Study: Sustainable Urban Civic Buildings Case Study: Vacant Cities
The 52,000 sqft Bullitt Center is energy collection of vacant buildings and incomplete
© Bob Usselman
© The Miller Hull Partnership
and carbon neutral and includes independent luxury developments.
water and sewage processing facilities, Ordos represents a particular challenge
rainwater collection and geothermal wells. All to the building design industry, namely to
of the building’s lumber is certified to Forest create achievable, scalable masterplans with
Stewardship Council standards, and all of an eye to minimizing waste and maximizing
the sealants, coatings and materials used in utility in emerging economies where growth
construction are certified nontoxic. The project pressure is considerable. A future defined by
raised the bar for the performance of urban rapid urbanisation will require planners and
office buildings through a synthesis of passive building designers who can pair efficiency
design principles and technologies aimed to and enthusiasm with sensitivity and nuance,
reduce loads, recycle waste streams, generate ensuring that designs are truly reflective of
Seattle’s Bullitt Center was touted as the energy, and create a beautiful and healthy In 2007, one hundred invited architects social needs, demographic changes and
“greenest commercial building in the world” work environment. submitted entries to a masterplan project environmental contexts.
upon its opening in 2012. Energy and carbon designed to build a 300,000-resident city from
neutral, the building includes independent Location / Business: Seattle, WA. scratch in Inner Mongolia. After seven years Location / Business: Ordos, China.
water and sewage processing facilities and The Miller Hull Partnership for commercial and $1B of investment, Ordos is a ghost town Government of China for Public Use.
was constructed entirely without the use use. where 28,000 residents wander through a
of toxic substances.
Urbanisation The benefits of big data, such as performance
Urbanisation and development in India and China will analysis at the building and greater systemic level, will be
come to define much of the new-build market, providing increasingly available to influence the design of buildings
opportunities for continued research into masterplanning and urban resource plans. These trends will also highlight
and eco-district schemes. Existing building retrofit, as well the development of eco-districts as progressively more
as the development of sustainable and smart materials and commercially viable design solutions. Simultaneous
components, will take on a heightened priority as resource trends in resource shortages, availability of performance
shortages make themselves felt. The joint implications of data, increasing urban density, and investment in the reuse of
densification as well as project requirements in regions materials will enable a transformation from zero net energy
without established industrial and regulatory paradigms building design to net-positive design.
for formal construction will pose new challenges in terms
of design, construction, and resource usage for building
designers and project stakeholders.
36 Building Design 2020 37Case Study: Whole-Building Retrofit Case Study: Existing Building Performance Legislation
15-20% possible using traditional, system-by- While New York’s efforts to post building
© Jeffrey Zeldman
© Paul Stocker
system methodologies. performance data on an annual basis are
Integrated, systemic planning for building laudable, the utility of such frameworks are
modification can result in significant cost and compromised by a reluctance to match
schedule savings over piecemeal approaches performance legislation of this sort with policy
to such projects. In the case of the Empire efforts designed to facilitate retrofit financing.
State Building retrofit, the project included Building owners lack access to the capital
window replacement, chiller plant retrofit, required for large retrofit projects, causing
more efficient lighting, a radiative barrier, ongoing constraint in the retrofit market.
variable air volume handling units, and tenant
demand-controlled ventilation among other Location / Business: New York, NY.
improvements. These modifications are City of New York for public use.
Whole Building Retrofit is an integrated and credited with lowering annual utility costs per New York City’s Local Laws 84 and 87
systemic approach to building modification square foot from $4.00 to $2.50, a dramatic specifically target existing buildings for
focused on driving greater building efficiency reduction. Energy Star performance reporting, requiring
and larger financial returns. Applied to New disclosure of annual energy use, water use
York City’s iconic 2.1m sqft Empire State Location / Business: New York, NY. and building information; this data represents
Building, a whole building retrofit programme Anthony Malkin for ESBC. a considerable retrofit market, currently
achieved 38% energy savings, well above the constrained due
Existing buildings underwriting. Governments can assist by establishing third-
Any conversation on urban growth, sustainability, and party institutions that provide loan guarantees, discounted
carbon reduction necessarily involves the potential benefits of loans or credit enhancements to minimise risk and establish
retrofitting existing buildings. Given that achievable energy a track record of financial viability. They can incentivise
savings in the world’s existing buildings stock are estimated participation through tax structure, establish industry-specific
between 20% and 40%, national, regional and municipal targets to increase resource efficiency, and establish a cap
energy resilience and carbon reduction initiatives must and trade scheme for trading energy efficiency obligations.
include retrofit as a Changing procurement and project finance structures in favor
core concern. of private funding will enable larger up-front investments
While there are several examples of extensive building in certain contexts. Scaling up energy efficiency building
retrofits that have drastically improved energy performance, retrofits will require leadership from government and
the World Economic Forum has identified the following close collaboration between designers and professionals in
financial barriers preventing such retrofits in commercial the planning and finance sectors. This integration has the
real estate. Firstly, capital costs influence the feasibility capability to catalyze action through policy and new
of obtaining funding for retrofit projects, as financing financing mechanism.
mechanisms do not account for reduced operational cost.
Since financial institutions may lack the information to
determine if an energy efficient retrofit can pay for itself,
they either do not participate or are conservative when
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