"**Automated Construction Project -- 105 Sumner St, Southwark, London** The project will aim to validate and showcase the benefits that can be delivered using Platform Design for Manufacture and Assembly (P-DfMA) techniques, Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and digital technologies on a large-scale new build commercial office development. It will use a hybrid steel and concrete structural platform that was developed as part of an Innovate UK First Phase Challenge Fund research project on Automated Construction. The structural platform developed as part of the R&D project will provide the chassis for the office floor space and the project will include the development of cladding and building services components to create a reusable 'kit of parts' based solution for offices. The objective is to showcase the development as an innovation led demonstrator project to deliver buildings 'Faster, Better and Cheaper' adopting manufacturing-based techniques and processes. The project team features industry leading organisations including; Landsec, Bryden Wood, Piercy and Company, Gardiner & Theobald, Mace and Sir Robert McAlpine. The scale and ambition of the project will be a catalyst for change and we hope a major step forward in proving the new business and financial metrics, whole life performance, and supply chain adoption needed to accelerate the transformation of the construction sector. We believe this will be the first building of its kind to be designed and constructed on this basis. **Project Details** Project: Two new build commercial office buildings, built around a publicly accessible internal courtyard, in total comprising c135,000 sqft. It will be 9 storeys high with reception and basement areas. The development will be a high quality and sustainable building with a vastly improved streetscape and public realm continuing the transformation of Southwark. Client: Landsec the UK's leading Real Estate Investment Trust. Vacant possession: 21st of October 2019\. The demolition, sub-structure and enabling works have been procured and a contract placed. Main construction works are scheduled to commence 20th April 2020\. Target programme completion is the 7th February 2022\. The design is at Stage 3 and has planning approval. A Section 73 planning application has been submitted for some minor amendments (to be determined by January 2020). Early stage due diligence and market feedback work is underway in advance of procuring the main construction works. **Areas Addressed** * Digital Methods * MMC and Platform based approaches * Whole life performance * Business models, procurement, analytics, benchmarking and metrics * Financial assurance, warranty and lending"

"We will be researching, developing and prototyping a new construction system to aid in the development of automated and continuous construction. We work closely with our pool of UK based manufacturers to help streamline the construction process bringing it more in line with car production techniques which help to deliver a more efficient building process. It is widely recognised that there is a shortage of skilled construction labour and that productivity levels are low in the UK. The solution lies in altering the way in which buildings are built by designing and developing new on-site machines and on site 'fabrication factories' which are run by smaller teams of semi-skilled labour. This concept has been trialled on previous projects, and now we will be working with Landsec who are one of the largest Office developers in the Country. This is a unique combination of a small and innovative engineering Company working with Industry leading sub-contractors to provide new construction solutions to the most respected Developer in the Country who will provide the Industry insight and a clear route to market for the new innovations. The on-site machinery is a combination of new equipment designed from scratch and adaptions of current construction technology to optimise the flow of work. It is important that the batch and silo work style on site is moved towards a continuous flow -- along the lines of a manufacturing site. With automated construction, the refined measured work is carried out at the manufacturing stage in a controlled environment and a kit of parts is delivered to site which is then put together using our bespoke install machines or Sub Assembly Work Stations (SAWS). A level of standard stock items are kept in storage off site and delivered when needed in order to keep the site flowing. BIM will be used to design of the buildings and sequence the construction. A walk through building using virtual reality head sets will be utilised, checking for clashes and potential improvements. Construction tolerances will be tight for all the off-site sub assemblies and therefore the whole building prototype will provide proof of concept that construction accuracy levels can be improved dramatically, using multi-skilled labour teams, opening the door to automated and robotic assembly methods on site."