With only two metres separating the roof of the building from the A40 Westway and The Grand Union Canal only five meters from the walls of the building, the triangular structure of Great Western Studios is in a unique urban position.

As the Internet of Things evolves and built assets become smarter, gathering increasing amounts of data, they could become self-optimising, intelligent buildings – recognising the need for a change in air or lighting levels.Ultimately, this type of data would then feed back into the design process itself, creating an open-ended process of continual improvement, and contributing to the next generation of components.. Our sustainable future.

Of course, the most pressing, current question is: how do we make a planet which sustainably supports 11.5 billion people?Population growth coupled with the required infrastructure will generate massive amounts of carbon.We must find ways to deliver what we need using much less.

Optimisation of materials, better control of logistics, automation in construction, fewer people on site – all of these factors will help to create an overall lower carbon version of the built environment.We’re already working hard with concrete manufacturers to find the lowest carbon form of concrete we can possibly use.

We’re talking to steel manufacturers about the types of steel which will be made by electric arc furnaces powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

We’re evaluating whether it’s viable to grow enough forests to build buildings using timber.We must embrace modern methods of construction, including P-DfMA, to move ourselves safely and efficiently into the next stage of the modern world.. To learn more about P-DfMA and Modern Methods of Construction, listen to Episode 1 of our podcast, Built Environment Matters: Platform Construction & Design for Manufacture and Assembly (P-DfMA).

https://bit.ly/BrydenWoodPodcast.If you'd also like to continue to learn about our Design to Value approach, DfMA and Modern Methods of Construction, sign up for our monthly newsletter here:.

http://bit.ly/BWNewsUpdatesNecessity is the mother of invention.It’s also the mother of get on with it.