And given the nature of data centres, they lend themselves particularly well to this approach, where standardisation of the end-user product is paramount.. DfMA brings precisely the reliability, predictability and speed to market that our data centre clients want and benefit from..

The Construction Innovation Hub is interested in how we can use data more effectively, and how it can be interoperable, reused in different ways by different parties, and throughout the life of an asset.The Hub will continue to explore how to develop platform construction (P-DfMA), and how people can benefit from it, with an aim of developing guides and rule books, but it’s also now looking beyond modern methods of construction (whether you call that platform construction, offsite, or DfMA), at traditional construction as well.

It’s viewing things at an ecosystem level and bringing them all together with elements like the Value Toolkit, which is there to help everyone, but will specifically help clients make better, value based decisions using consistent processes and approaches..The act of combining that with all of the different approaches to delivering buildings means we’re able to progress delivery, while looking towards the long-term as well.The Construction Innovation Hub has a year left, during which time it will need to create impact and get the necessary information to prove value.

However, realistically, it’s going to take a decade or more to really embed these approaches, and for parallel developments to share data and information that really demonstrates value.This will in turn enable clients to make better choices and achieve better delivery of buildings.. Progressing the future of construction.

The progress we’ve seen in just the last five years has been significant, and it’s important to acknowledge that we’ve come a long way in a short period of time because we’ve been able to capitalise on the experience of others.

The journey began with the original work with the MOJ, but carried on through to the Autumn Statement, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority beginning to talk about Platforms, and the creation of the Construction Innovation Hub itself.. It’s useful to reflect on how far we’ve come in terms of the significant policy changes and the fact that government departments, who have long been delivering massive infrastructure projects in diverse ways, are now starting to realise the benefits of alignment, harmonisation and rationalisation.These ambitions, translated to the built environment, can only be achieved via the implementation of measures to reduce operational and embodied carbon of new buildings, upgrading existing buildings, the use of ambitious policies and crucially via a decarbonised grid..

The built environment contributes to around 40% of the UK's total carbon footprint.Based on UKGBC’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings “A framework definition", a typical Cat A office’s building embodied carbon, after the first year of use, would be 75% of the total carbon, whilst the operational carbon would be around 25%.

Although the operational carbon will accumulate overtime, a decarbonised grid will mean that the growth rate will flatten, and after 60 years the embodied carbon will still remain higher than operational carbon, as shown in Figure 2.This means that the focus and the priority should shift from operational to embodied carbon during the design..