• Prioritise construction of critical production areas.. • Install site-wide utility systems in parallel with critical process areas.. • Design control systems to enable phased commissioning of interconnected sections.. Planning for the Future.
In addition to developing passive design solutions for our clients, she is also a tutor to 5th year MArch students at the Manchester School of Architecture.I caught up with her to find out why, for best effect, architects should be incorporating M&E and Sustainability strategies as part of their initial design.. IP: Tell us about your work with Manchester School of Architecture.. HH: I’m tutoring 5th year students who are doing their Part 2, MArch.
It’s through one of the ateliers called PRAXXIS, which is focused on inclusivity in design.A lot of the briefs the students are given involve getting different parts of society to live and work together.At the moment, they are working on an existing building in Hulme that hasn’t been used in quite a few years.
They’ve got to retain part of the facade and completely build a new building inside it.It needs to have a cafe and offices — it’s a mixed use type building aimed at supporting the community.
I do group work with them and help them work out how to incorporate all the M&E services into their building, but also give them a focus on sustainable design.
Mostly, it’s trying to get them to think about getting adequate daylight in, which is quite interesting with the facade they’ve got because they have to reuse it, so they don’t have many options to make the windows bigger.Although the construction industry often objects to such comparisons on the basis of being different, the fact is there are tremendous similarities.
In reality, we have much to learn from the other sectors who have progressed successfully down this path ahead of us.. Sully recalls that work on the MOJ project included a certain amount of culture shock, and says there was a chasm that needed bridging in order to bring together the fantastic capabilities of both the manufacturing and construction industries.Now that this new model of working is finally becoming a reality, we need to push forward, focusing our efforts on proving the benefits, propagating the methodology, and enabling it to spread across the sector.
In order to fully drive the change we’re seeking, we need to start delivering real projects.That’s when we’ll really start getting the level of information we can use and build upon for best effect..