In the UK we still have two gigawatts of coal in operation, and because the global recovery is an energy intensive process, places like China, Asia and Africa are burning coal to stimulate economic recovery.

The focus on meeting standards or gaining accolades has at best stifled major impact and at worst has lulled the industry and society into the idea that we were making great strides and further action was not necessary..The facts are becoming increasingly clear: putting grass on roofs or achieving a gold plaque changes almost nothing; we need ambitious and holistic solutions at every level..

In the past, shifting a project to prioritise the environment was often and easily rejected or written off as something that could be and needed to be sacrificed on the altar of cost.Design to Value naturally seeks wider and synergistic value, leading, supporting and embracing these needs as an opportunity to innovate: the environment is not an encumbrance, but a space for crucial change through design..Thinking beyond standards, Design to Value can look at absolutes and even further can look for redemption.

The most significant and perhaps difficult question needed to be addressed in every project is: how can we not build things we don’t really need even if they have a financial return?A factory in Japan was due for closure and demolition as it no longer met the requirements for withstanding an earthquake after rules were changed following the earthquake and tsunami of 2011.

Studies to look at remediating the buildings had suggested the need to cease operations for 18 months, meaning the solution was unviable.

Although the client was looking for the most efficient replacement factory, the Design to Value approach – combined with clever thinking and seismic modelling – came up with a solution to support the existing building.Designing in flexibility presents lots of interesting challenges.. Master planning and MEP Design for a precious metals refinery.

We started working on this precious metals refinery in 2016.They refine five different types of precious metal.

The precious metals are obtained in raw form from many sources, but most come from catalytic converters in car exhausts.The metals, once purified, don’t look like much – a grey powder – but they are hugely expensive..