COVID-19 facilitated that to a certain extent, with companies forced to transition to digital very quickly and managing to do so successfully.
The beauty of Circle Birmingham hospital – including the spectacular cantilever we achieved over the main entrance – bears witness to that last point.And this is not simply architectural posturing.
We know that the physical environment affects us directly, and it has been shown repeatedly that the patient experience of a beautiful and uplifting hospital environment makes a materially positive difference to clinical outcomes.. Clearly, all of these benefits are critical when healthcare is under such pressure – pressure which shows no signs of abating.When public money is being spent at such scale, the opportunity to increase benefits across the piece while also making the money go further is surely one that we should seize.. A proven approach.Our approach is proven to work.
There is nothing stopping us from doing this other than inertia and reluctance among some parties to change from traditional methods of design and construction.But as recent events have shown, traditional is not good enough.. We need new approaches, and smart solutions.
Fortunately, we have them..
If you'd like to continue to learn about our Design to Value approach and Modern Methods of Construction, sign up for our monthly newsletter here:.Although we do look at traditional building materials, like steel and concrete, it’s also important to evaluate how specifications might be changed and adapted for newer product options, such as low-carbon concrete.
Future proofing is a consideration, because when new materials and improvements in the industry arise, we want to be able to make best use of them without having to substantially change designs.We don’t want to have to rearrange all of our architecture, just because there's a new product available.
We can overcome this issue by designing flexible buildings, offering future use suitability to a number of different architectural typologies..The benefits of kit-of-parts architecture.
(Editor: All-in-One Sunscreen)