Due to changing demographics, the UK faces a significant shortage of school places. The UK government aims to build large numbers of new schools to meet this demand. However, legally binding carbon emissions mitigation commitments might limit the ability of the government to adequately meet this demand on-time, on-budget, and within sustainability targets. This paper assesses the opportunity for prefabricated engineered timber construction methods to help meet the demand for new primary and secondary school buildings in the UK within these constraints. Building on a study of past government-led school building programmes and the state-of-the-art developments in engineered timber construction, this paper outlines the benefits that an engineered timber school building programme could have on a sustainability and procurement level. A strategy is then proposed for the wider adoption of engineered timber for the construction of school buildings in the UK, including detailed guidelines for designers and policymakers. The study concludes with recommendations for the adaptation of this strategy in different countries, depending on context-specific requirements, therefore promoting a generalised adoption of sustainable and efficient construction processes.
In recent years, the application of space-frame structures on large-scale freeform designs has significantly increased due to their lightweight configuration and the freedom of design they offer. However, this has introduced a level of complexity into their construction, as doubly curved designs require non-uniform configurations. This article proposes a novel computational workflow that reduces the construction complexity of freeform space-frame structures, by minimizing variability in their joints. Space-frame joints are evaluated according to their geometry and clustered for production in compliance with the tolerance requirements of the selected fabrication process. This provides a direct insight into the level of customization required and the associated construction complexity. A subsequent geometry optimization of the space-frame’s depth minimizes the number of different joint groups required. The variables of the optimization are defined in relation to the structure’s curvature, providing a direct link between the structure’s geometry and the optimization process. Through the application of a control surface, the dimensionality of the design space is drastically reduced, rendering this method applicable to large-scale projects. A case study of an existing structure of complex geometry is presented, and this method achieves a significant reduction in the construction complexity in a robust and computationally efficient way.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created enormous global demand for personal protective equipment (PPE). Face shields are an important component of PPE for front-line workers in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, providing protection of the face from splashes and sprays of virus-containing fluids. Existing face shield designs and manufacturing procedures may not allow for production and distribution of face shields in sufficient volume to meet global demand, particularly in Low and Middle-Income countries. This paper presents a simple, fast, and cost-effective curved-crease origami technique for transforming flat sheets of flexible plastic material into face shields for infection control. It is further shown that the design could be produced using a variety of manufacturing methods, ranging from manual techniques to high-volume die-cutting and creasing. This demonstrates the potential for the design to be applied in a variety of contexts depending on available materials, manufacturing capabilities and labour. An easily implemented and flexible physical-digital parametric design methodology for rapidly exploring and refining variations on the design is presented, potentially allowing others to adapt the design to accommodate a wide range of ergonomic and protection requirements.
This research aims to evaluate a realistic timber adoption scenario as a way of reducing carbon emissions of construction in Chile and the UK for the period 2020-2050. The study finds that a gradual increase of timber construction could complement the emission reduction targets set by traditional materials, providing the needed carbon storage. This analysis shows the urgency to define the criteria that will allow to account for carbon storage in timber construction as a natural contribution to the Paris agreement. Finally, it is worth highlighting that the construction sector also faces several economic and social problems that need to be addressed urgently. Timber adoption would reduce emissions and at the same time improve health, security, gender gap, precision, speed and working conditions in construction.
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