Watch the AT webinar, in partnership with Inevidesk, Total Synergy, and Vectorworks, which explores the opportunities, benefits and challenges of adopting the latest digital technologies in practice.
How are digital technologies aiding collaboration, supporting new ways of working and improving competitiveness, productivity and efficiency in practice? These questions were explored in this AT webinar, supported by Inevidesk, Total Synergy and Vectorworks. Chaired by AT Editor Isabel Allen, the speakers comprised Dale Sinclair, Director, Head of Digital Innovation at WSP; Damiaan van Zanen, Head of Partnerships at Total Synergy, Luka Stefanovic, Senior Architecture Industry Specialist, Vectorworks, Tim Whiteley, Director at Inevidesk and Jack Stewart, Associate, Digital Design at HawkinsBrown.
Speakers (from left to right) Damiaan van Zanen, Dale Sinclair, Luka Stefanovic, Tim Whiteley, and Jack Stewart
Dale Sinclair looked at the way low-carbon economies are driving a paradigm shift in the way we design and make our buildings. He explained how WSP is working with Mace to develop a kit of parts for the aviation sector, producing pre-developed solutions for structures, such as airport piers. Using Lego as an analogy, he argued that digitisation and standardisation are appropriate even for highly bespoke buildings, pointing out that Lego designers refer to the same catalogue ‘whether they’re designing the Taj Mahal or the Whitehouse’ but have the option of designing additional elements as required. The key challenge is to unlock the full potential of data, digital checklists, decision engines and other digital tools to free up design time where it’s needed most.
WSP is working with Mace to develop a ‘kit of parts’ approach to construction for the aviation sector
Damiaan van Zanen agreed, drilling into the ways technology can drive business performance and enable practices to focus on design. He explained how Total Synergy can streamline and coordinate CRM and contract management, HR and resource management, project accounting, project management, marketing, document and information management, performance reporting, and continuous improvement using case studies, such as John Coward Architects – a 12-person practice where efficient digital processes have resulted in technical staff saving at least two days of administration per week.
Total Synergy is a cloud business and project management software used by architects and engineers to deliver projects and make business life easier
Luka Stefanovic demonstrated the tools Vectorworks has developed to help architects measure the carbon impact of design and specification decisions. Energos, an evaluation tool based on Passivhaus methodology, measures a project’s energy performance from the earliest design stages, where it can assess different options, through to construction documentation.
The Vectorworks Embodied Carbon Calculator (VECC) tracks the embodied carbon impact of decisions taken throughout the lifecycle of a project, including specification, transportation, construction, replacement, reconstruction and demolition, recovery and recycling, and finally, the disposal stage. A key advantage is that practices who didn’t previously have the resources to carry out whole lifecycle carbon assessments are no longer dependent on specialist consultants and can readily generate verified data in an intuitive and graphically appealing way.
Screenshot showing Vectorworks’ Embodied Carbon Calculator (VECC)
Tim Whiteley showed how Inevidesk can help practices of different sizes reduce their carbon footprint, revitalise practice culture, and transform the way they work. As an example, Cullinan Studio was an early adopter of Inevidesk and one of the first practices to migrate to its fully hosted platform, effectively moving its entire server infrastructure and workstation resource into the cloud. High-performing remote desktop technology uses a fraction of the energy required to run traditional physical workstations, enables smooth remote working and has allowed the Midlands’ office to function as effectively as the main London office, without any local equipment other than laptops and monitors.
Stills from an Inevidesk animation, which illustrates how the company’s high-performance platform supports architects and engineers wherever they are working from
The move to hybrid working and the decrease in cables and technical equipment has also allowed the practice to make better use of its premises, a Victorian former industrial building on the canalside in London’s Islington, reducing the amount of space required from two floors to one. This has freed space to sublet to tenants creating a community of complementary professionals, including wayfinding experts, environmental and sustainability consultants and Inevidesk itself.
Developing automation tools like BIMView helps HawkinsBrown to produce and validate design information more efficiently and robustly
The final speaker, Jack Stewart, used the term guerrilla tactics to describe the process of embedding digital transformations within HawkinsBrown, a 300-strong architectural practice. This offered invaluable insight for anyone daunted by the prospect of implementing a step change in digital know-how within a large, established team. Successful strategies include mentoring a network of computational designers embedded in studios across the practice, engaging with universities that offer training in computational design or technology, recruiting graduates with relevant expertise, and ensuring that all members of staff understand how technology could benefit their projects and are provided with the requisite training.
Computational techniques enabled HawkinsBrown to design and deliver 8 million fritted dots across the Broadcast Centre façade at Here East in London (ph: Rory Gardiner)
The digital design team also exists as a standalone team creating and customising systems and tools, as well as developing new services, such as estates data analysis and representation. A live example is Harwell Immersive Campus, where HawkinsBrown teamed up with VU.CITY to create a dynamic digital representation of the physical campus allowing the client to better understand, identify, visualise and analyse opportunities for the campus.
Source: Architecture Today