There’s enormous potential here, but the industry needs to take some time to work out what the terms of such a mandate might be, in order to ensure it manifests as something helpful for everyone..

The multifaceted concept of social value, including social sustainability in architecture, is something Bryden Wood project teams aim to consider at every stage; the most value to the end user and community, the most sustainable solution, the optimum solution for the problem statement.Each project is unique in what will make up its social value, and where emphasis should be placed for the greatest benefit to the wellbeing of the users, the outcome of the project and to individuals’ lives.. Often in our projects, our view on social value in architecture considers not only the use and outcome of the building, but also aspects beyond the initial value of a new built environment.

We look at what makes up that environment, how it’s constructed, and its ability to be reused and adapted over time.We consider the whole lifecycle of the scheme and always aim to maximise social value in construction.. Our Design to Value approach to projects allows us to consider social value in every aspect of the new asset.We analyse and understand the requirements of every project to investigate how the components of the building meet the correct criteria, be that its location, the process it needs to provide for, or the wellbeing of the users.

We maximise the value of the asset by balancing a wide range of criteria.. Design to Value may lead to a solution that is very different to the one initially conceived, but it will be a solution that is fully thought through, appropriate and complete; a built asset that delivers value across the piece.This leads to wide-ranging benefits: cost-savings, increases in speed, quality and safety, and the creation of more sustainable buildings with projects delivering greater social value.. Social value in architecture, focusing on process.

In 2019, our project with GSK in Parma, Italy, won a ‘Facility of the Year Award’ for social impact from the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE).

The project delivered a finished and operational facility in just 15 months, as opposed to the usual three to four years.The focus was not the building and its aesthetic value, but the process it allowed for, and the lifesaving drug it produced.

The social value of this project was the continued development of this drug, and what that brought to the community who relied on it.. We made sure that everyone in the project team understood the importance of the project and felt that they had a personal responsibility to ensure its success.Individuals were involved from start to finish to ensure engagement, and continuity of knowledge.. To better enable understanding of this highly complex manufacturing process, we developed a conceptual model of the project, which is a powerful tool that helps people visualise the design and specify requirements.

We held workshops with key stakeholders to evaluate different layout, facility, and manufacturing options.We developed strategies that we were confident could be delivered locally in Italy.. We made extensive use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and 3D visualisation from the very earliest stages.