ONE goes beyond the role of a traditional design consultancy, undertakes R&D projects and maximises the benefits of BIM to de-risk projects for clients who are responsible for some of the U.K.’s most prestigious buildings.
ONE was commissioned by St George City, London to work with Simplicity Finishes to turn a wonderful organic free-form digital concept, into a physical GRC internal cladding system within the stunning Penthouse Suite of One Blackfriars Tower, London.
The unusual geometry involved posed a very high risk to St George City that high quality bespoke panels could arrive to site and not fit in the intended space available. This could potentially result in expensive material wastage, reduction in quality of the finish and lost time. The challenge saw ONE appointed to implement a BIM workflow to aid the 3D construction coordination process. Tight time constraints, and with only a Rhino concept model to define the general shape and no ‘as-built’ information, was ONE’s starting point! To add further complication, the complex shape had to be split into over 300 individual panels so that they fitted into the goods lift to be taken to the penthouse levels and constructed.
Three Winning Facts:
- In solving the logistical and technical issues within the digital workspace, the installation was simplified and significantly de-risked. ONE took the most complex of challenges and literally pressed “print to CNC” from our coordinated BIM model! This is a huge step forward for the future use of DfMA.
- This approach provides a genuine case study in bespoke DfMA, showing how an extremely complex shape can be delivered to a high quality, and at the same time also lowering the skill levels needed for site assembly in a safer methodology.
- This project could pave the way for development in new materials, more creative geometry, less wastage and lower carbon emissions needed to deliver very high levels of accuracy and quality on-site – the principles of Lean Construction.
