London-based design firm Bryden Wood, with offices in Singapore, Barcelona, and Milan, will bolster its presence in the United States when it opens new headquarters in Boston this summer.
Founded in 1995, the firm now specializes in a value-oriented kit-of-parts “Platform” approach to design for manufacturing and assembly (DfMA). Bryden Wood’s North American expansion is being led by directors Jaimie Johnstone and Phil Langley, its head of global systems and creative technologies, respectively.
In an interview with BD+C last week, Johnston said that Bryden Wood’s plans to expand into the U.S. in 2020 were postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to its moving into Boston, Bryden Wood had done some work in the U.S. for the pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline. Among the AEC and service-provider firms currently teaming with Bryden Wood on industrial projects in the U.S. are The Boldt Company, Amazon Web Services, and DPR Construction.
The timing of its expansion, said Johnston, was motivated by the slow-moving pace in the U.K. toward adopting offsite manufacturing as an element of commercial construction. “There have been pockets of excellence, but also more of a focus on volumetric modular for homebuilding.” The opposite is occurring in the U.S., he observed, where nonresidential developers and their AEC have been embracing prefabrication. Bryden Wood’s goal is to establish a North American supply network for industrial components.
Johnston noted that while “a lot of people” in the U.S. are prefabricating MEP components, that competitive advantage “can be diluted over time.” What Bryden Wood offers, he explained, is a merging of volumetric design with manufacturing for better and quicker results.
Bryden Wood’s Platform approach standardizes manufactured components that are made offsite and assembled onsite, thereby assuring greater certainty about schedules and budgets. Platforms also embed materials reuse and reductions in carbon into early stages of design.
The firm works with tech clients to develop design technologies such as “digital configurators” that rely on genetic algorithms to generate thousands of design and engineering solutions for sites around the world. By developing solutions that allow appropriate levels of repeatability in such building types as data centers, without sacrificing quality, “we’re helping [clients] transform their businesses,” said Johnston in a prepared statement.
THE FORGE SHOWCASES PLATFORM-DRIVEN SAVINGS
The first major commercial project being delivered using the Platform approach to DfMA is The Forge, which topped out last December, and is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of this year. The Forge is comprised of two sustainably focused nine-story commercial buildings—90,000 and 49,000 sf, respectively—in central London, built around an accessible courtyard. Its projected efficiencies include a nearly 20 percent reduction in embodied carbon per square meter, a 36.4 percent reduction in the substructure, and a 20.2 reduction in superstructure and façade materials. Johnston said that the buildings’ façade panels could be installed in just 7½ minutes each, and with greater accuracy.
The Forge’s developer, Landsea, anticipates a 9.5 percent reduction in capital costs from this platform kit-of-parts approach. The Forge is also the U.K’s first net-zero energy project. The building team includes a joint venture between the construction firms Sir Robert McAlpine and Mace, and NG Bailey as the MEP engineer.
Johnston expected Bryden Wood to focus its attention in North American on projects for healthcare, data centers, pharma, and industrial, “wherever there’s a high degree of complexity and repetition.” On its website, Bryden Wood said it has been designing data centers since 1999, and has been delivering 30-40 percent reductions in capital build costs per kilowatt, and an average 40 percent increase in IT yield per square meter.
Scalability via industrialized construction for these building types is where clients are most likely to benefit from improvements in design and delivery, the firm contended. Johnston also foresaw Bryden Wood doing a bit more multifamily design in the U.S. than it does within its home market.
A few years ago, the firm launched a free-to-use and open-source housing design application called PRiSM that, it claims, brings together central and regional government, investors, developers, and manufacturers, with the goal of driving improved productivity and quality. The updated version of PRiSM incorporates Bryden Wood’s Platforms approach to DfMA.
Related Stories
| May 20, 2013
4 emerging trends in parking structure design
Survey of parking professionals reveals how technology is transforming the parking industry.
| May 20, 2013
Jones Lang LaSalle: All U.S. real estate sectors to post gains in 2013—even retail
With healthier job growth numbers and construction volumes at near-historic lows, real estate experts at Jones Lang LaSalle see a rosy year for U.S. commercial construction.
| May 17, 2013
First look: HKS' multipurpose stadium for Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority (MSFA), the Minnesota Vikings and HKS Sports & Entertainment Group have unveiled the design of the State’s new multi? purpose stadium in Minneapolis, a major milestone in getting the $975 million stadium built on time and on budget.
| May 17, 2013
40 Under 40 winners: Meet the architects
Of the up-and-coming AEC professionals to be named 40 Under 40 winners by the editors of Building Design+Construction, 18 make their living in the architecture profession.
| May 17, 2013
5 things AEC pros need to know about low-e glass
Low-emissivity glasses are critical to making today’s buildings brighter, more energy-efficient, and more sustainable. Here are five tips to help AEC professionals understand the differences among low-e glasses and their impact on building performance.
| May 17, 2013
University labs double as K-12 learning environments
Increasingly, college and university research buildings are doing double duty as homes for K-12 STEM programs. Here’s how to create facilities that captivate budding scientists while keeping faculty happy.
| May 17, 2013
LEED v4 has provision to reduce water use in cooling towers
The next version of the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system will expand water-savings targets to appliances, cooling towers, commercial kitchen equipment, and other areas.
| May 16, 2013
Chicago unveils $1.1 billion plan for DePaul arena, Navy Pier upgrades
Hoping to send a loud message that Chicago is serious about luring tourism and entertainment spending, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has released details of two initiatives that have been developing for more than a year and that it says will mean $1.1 billion in investment in the McCormick Place and Navy Pier areas.
| May 16, 2013
Michael R. Bohn named Executive VP at Gilbane
Gilbane has promoted Michael R. Bohn to executive vice president. With over 28 years of service to the company and leadership roles on such high-profile projects as the University of Michigan Biomedical Science Building and the University of Chicago Medical Center, Bohn will now have responsibility for Gilbane’s New York and Midwest business units.