Have you wondered why some design ideas soar and others crash? Why clients embrace or reject a design concept? Whether your firm’s designs are trendsetters or followers?
To get answers to those and other design-related questions, Building Design+Construction polled the industry earlier this year, and received responses from 342 companies, most of which were architects, engineers, and contractors. The result of that survey is BD+C’s 2021 Design Innovations Report, whose 22 pages explore the complexities behind creating, pitching, and executing new ideas.
The purpose of this report is to:
- Uncover where AEC firms focus their efforts and how they stimulate new ideas;
- Gauge how receptive owners and developers are to project ideas, and why;
- Reveal which design trends—such as modularity, or the use of mass timber—are (or aren’t) catching on
- Examine whether firms’ idea machines are keeping pace with the rate of change in business, lifestyle, and society.
Some takeaways from the report include:
- The biggest factors that result in an innovation’s success or failure are cost, client buy-in, and communication;
- Several typologies—offices, education, multifamily, healthcare—are glaring in their need for innovation, even as these same building types have been cited as design leaders in the past;
- Contractors are often their clients’ gatekeepers when it comes to deciding which design innovations fly;
- Mentoring and training are the primary catalysts within AEC firms for nurturing new ideas;
- The coronavirus pandemic accelerated the need for design innovations, especially for indoor air quality and wellness.
The report makes clear that there’s no shortage of ideas or new products, and that “innovation” and “technology” are often thought of together.
Download BD+C’s 2021 Design Innovation Report (short registration required)
Related Stories
Office Buildings | Jun 10, 2021
The future of the workplace is social clubs
Office design experts from NELSON Worldwide propose a new concept for the workplace, one that resembles the social clubs of the past.
Multifamily Housing | Jun 3, 2021
Student Housing Trends 2021-2022
In this exclusive video interview for HorizonTV, Fred Pierce, CEO of Pierce Education Properties, developer and manager of off-campus student residences, chats with Rob Cassidy, Editor, MULTIFAMILY Design + Construction about student housing during the pandemic and what to expect for on-campus and off-campus housing in Fall 2021 and into 2022.
Architects | Jun 2, 2021
Two new practice leaders appointed at FGM Architects
FGM Architects appoints Jan Behounek to lead Higher Education and Scott Nall to lead Federal Practice.
Building Technology | Jun 1, 2021
Orro Announces Google Nest Integration for the Orro Switch
Orro, creators of the professional-grade top-of-the-line Orro Smart Living System, today announced the integration of Nest products to Orro. As a certified partner in Google’s Device Access program, this latest Orro integration allows homeowners to have seamless control and access to Nest thermostats and doorbells from any Orro Switch throughout the home – creating a single unified smart home system with advanced, intelligent ambient control.
High-rise Construction | May 27, 2021
The anti-high rise: Seattle's The Net by NBBJ
In this exclusive video interview for HorizonTV, Ryan Mullenix, Design Partner with NBBJ, talks with BD+C's John Caulfield about a new building in Seattle called The Net that promotes wellness and connectivity.
Digital Twin | May 24, 2021
Digital twin’s value propositions for the built environment, explained
Ernst & Young’s white paper makes its cases for the technology’s myriad benefits.
Senior Living Design | May 19, 2021
Senior living design: Post-COVID trends and innovations
Two senior living design experts discuss the latest trends and innovations in the senior living building sector.
Multifamily Housing | May 18, 2021
Multifamily housing sector sees near record proposal activity in early 2021
The multifamily sector led all housing submarkets, and was third among all 58 submarkets tracked by PSMJ in the first quarter of 2021.
Wood | May 14, 2021
What's next for mass timber design?
An architect who has worked on some of the nation's largest and most significant mass timber construction projects shares his thoughts on the latest design trends and innovations in mass timber.
Architects | May 10, 2021
Industry icon Art Gensler dead at 85
He was credited with creating a model for the modern, growth-oriented professional services organization.