There’s no room for finger-pointing because all problems are for everyone to solve.
Inefficiency abounds when every building is a prototype and we start from scratch with the design and build process each and every time.At Bryden Wood, we believe the key to solving both the housing shortage and the wider construction crisis lies in the use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC).. Housing Design with Modern Methods of Construction.
By Modern Methods of Construction, we refer to those transformative and often technologically innovative methodologies which enable rapid, safe and efficient assembly of building parts rather than traditional construction.Tools and processes such as automation in construction, Platform Design for Manufacture and Assembly (P-DfMA), and computational design approaches can help us create a brighter future, both for the built environment and the construction industry as a whole.Our PRiSM housing design app is just one such tool.
PRiSM brings speed and insight to the housing design process by harnessing the benefits of standardisation and automation, whilst promoting creativity and flexibility.. Our primary goal when we developed PRiSM was to help democratise the knowledge around Precision Manufactured Housing (PMH), a term which refers to homes designed and built using MMC principles.PMH homes can be built up to twice as fast and to a higher standard than those built with traditional construction methods.
When we talk about using MMC techniques (platform construction, panelised, volumetric etc.
), what we’re actually referring to is the ability to manufacture significant portions of the building offsite in more controlled factory conditions, using repeatable processes, followed by safe and rehearsed assembly onsite.Cresser-Brown notes that because designs are generated at speed, it allows users to ‘make objective decisions based on far greater exploratory studies than possible using traditional feasibility workflows.’.
Phil Langley points out that ‘the app encodes... ‘best practice’ design guidance from across the manufacturing and systemisation industry and will be made freely available and open source.’.Jami is also currently working on an Innovate UK funded project for the design configuration of primary schools.
The project is also delivered as an open source, web app and as she says, ‘enables architects, teachers and pupils alike to quickly and easily configure early stage design proposals...’.Digital school models feature ‘clusters’ of rooms, which adhere to Department for Education area/adjacency requirements.