Year 1-3

Hardware:

Computers:

Computers will be leased over a three-year period to limit the upfront cost of a high-powered computer tower, Windows is the selected operating system due to the greater compatibility with more software than Mac OS. The system must have high processing power to carry out day to day operations while handling intense workloads such as an image or video rendering.

 

The selected Computer is the HP Z4 G4 Tower; this is due to its 16gb ram, 2.9Ghz quad-core

And its significant internal storage which allows for higher processor storage. Five computer towers will be used in the office to provide computational power to all five staff.

 

Monitors:

The computer monitor will be bought outright due to the comparatively low cost and extended usability period, the technology within screens does not progress at a similar pace to computers, there for screen technology stays compatible for more extended periods. The selected screen model is the LENOVO L27i-28 Full HD 27", this was selected due to its low cost, Hd screen and a 4ms refresh rate. Ten monitors will be purchase, so each staff member has two each, this is, so they have ample workspace for various workloads.

 

Mice, Keyboards and Graphic tablets:

The mice will be bought upfront due to cheap cost; the specific model is the Microsoft Basic Optical Mouse, a basic model is being bought as it is only meant for providing employees with a mouse before they buy their own suited to, they can position and shape, five will be purchased. The keyboard will also be purchased outright as they are expected to have more extended periods of use as keyboard technology has reached a point of stagnation, so no new technology will make them inadequate for the foreseeable future, the selected model is the Microsoft Surface Wireless Keyboard, due to its inclusion of a number pad, high customer satisfaction and 12 month battery life , 5 will be purchased. Finally, graphic tablets will be bought to enable a more significant creative input than a mouse which will be used during visual creation or image manipulation. The specific model will be the Wacom Intuos CTL – 4100k-N 5”, this was chosen due to id low price point and High input sensitivity, five will be purchased.

 

Mortar/ earth-based FDM 3D printer:

This printer will be used primarily to print newly built additions on to pre-existing primary structures; it will be able to print custom blends created form local materials or building waste. Printing will take place on and off-site depending on multiple factors. The model selected for the job is the CyBe RC 3DP, this is due to it being a robotic arm on a Crawler track, the small form factor and the ability to be mobile far out benefit clunky gantry configurations, which have to be assembled and dissembled every time they are used. The print size is a 3200mm radius, but the fact that it can move means the printing size is practically limitless. It will be leased as the high cost would be too much of a financial cost to the company.

 

Metal-based BJ 3D printer:

This printer will primarily be used for printing primary structural elements and detailing; it will print mainly in stainless steel. Printing will take place within the company warehouse as the printer is not mobile or suitable for outside use. The selected model is the HP Metal Jet; it is a leader in its printing type with far faster print times due to the lack of curing needed. The print size is strictly limited to 430mm x 320mm x 200mm. The cost will be spread through a lease plan as a single payment purchase is not affordable for the company within the first three years.

​

Software:

Adobe Creative Cloud:

• Selected due to its vast software Library, essential software’s for commercial use are; Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign

Licences:

• Two licences will be purchased as the multi workflow nature of the office will mean there is a low probability of more than two users using the same software at once.

Revit:

• Selected due to it being an industry-standard BIM platform, capable of creating plans, elevations, sections, details and 3d Models. The analytical tools also enable building analysis form environmental factors to Clash detection for any plotting errors. This software can host almost all of the practice's workflow from design, drafting, 3d printable modelling and rendering compatibility.

Licences:

• Three licences will be purchased as not all staff will utilise the software at the same time, however the cruciality of the software in the workflow means a higher demand must be met.

Vray for Revit:

• This has been selected due to its compatibility with Revit, and its ability to generate high quality renders for use methods of visual communications to public and client.

Licences:

• Two licences will be purchased to cover the possibility of two staff needing to render at the same time

 

Microsoft Office 365 Business Premium:

• This has been selected due to its world-renowned administrative software suite and access to a cloud storage system that would act as the companies file network.

Licences:

• Five licenses will be purchased as the windows suite and cloud storage are crucial to the operation of the practice and if this was inhibited by license limitations, time and money would be lost.

Norton 360 Premium:

• Provides digital protection on all fronts protecting business assets from hacking, viruses and IP tracking.

Licences:

• One licence will be bought that cover ten computers, no computer or connected object will be left unprotected as it is our duty to protect our data and our client's data under regulations like GDPR.

​

​

Use of technology within different packages:

Design, manufacturing and installation:

 

Initial client consultation

 As part of the initial consultation, Vikas Parekh our Public Relations Associate will visit clients at the site or a preferred location. He will establish an initial brief with the client and record it all within Microsoft word, Initial site observations will also be noted in word and Visual media also captured. All documents and media will be uploaded into the company’s cloud storage system under a dedicated project file.

 Formal documents such as fee agreements will also be signed and stored within the Cloud

for all members of staff to access and clearly understand the work to completed and what has been agreed upon.

 

Design team consultation

 To further understand the client’s needs, they are invited into the office and are presented initial ideas, sample materials and concept images, all of which are prepared or created through the Adobe Cloud or Windows office Suite

 

Site survey

 The site survey is a crucial element of the design process as data on the pre-existing is necessary for appropriate intervention to be designed with accuracy. Traditionally a Chartered Surveyor is required for the required scale of inspection for the repurpose of aged Concrete or steel-framed structures. Instead of using Chartered Surveyors, the Business will utilise Drones instead, specifically the DJI Phantom 4 RTK parred with the DJI Terra cloud platform.

Two Drones will be utilised in tandem to survey structures and map them in 2d and 3d models to provide dimensional data along with visual and material. Two drones are used not only to decrease data collection periods but also allow for multiple sources of data collection to ensure further accuracy. The two drones will be autonomously piloted throughout the structure, this is possible through the DJI Terra platform as it allows for either routes to be set or site perimeters to be established for the drones, the platform can also compile all data collected into ready to use 3d models, which would benefit the design process by limiting time spent analysing data or construction site models.

Material samples from the pre-existing structures will be collected to aide In substantial decisions of the project but also allow for analysis of materials for possible use in 3d printing built additions.

The automated drones require little input from humans, so person hour expenses are limited. The simplicity of the systems also means any member of the office staff are capable of carrying out the task.

All data collected will be added to the project file on the company cloud.

 

Design

During the iterative design process, staff members will utilise a plethora of software’s made available to them;

• Abobe Creative Cloud – To allow the creation, manipulation and rendering of visual media to visual media, to help realise ideas and analyse them. The production of High-quality presentational documents is also supported through software such as InDesign.

• Microsoft Office 365 – The software is provided under this platform, are used primarily for administrative software and note-taking, throughout the design process, research will be recorded and uploaded to the project file within the company cloud to track design progression.

• Revit – Will be used in the design stage to provide a platform to draft building form and initial plans, sections and elevations

 

​

Design Consultation:

Clients will be invited to the office once again to be shown project progression and been shown design concept images created through Photoshop. Vray renders through Revit may also be used depending on project progression. Draft Revit plans will be presented to show proposed building form, spaces and size. Any changes desired by the client will be noted and uploaded to the company Cloud.  

 

Drafting:

Plans, elevations, sections and detailing will all be created within Revit, which is the company’s chosen drafting software due to its intuitive interface and a vast array of tools that aide and improve the design.

 

Modelling:

Following the Completion of drafting a digital 3d model is formed from 2d data. This model is then used to analyse the design and its environmental factors and lead to corrections or design alterations. The model also allows for Vray rendering, which is used to show the customer and public a photo-realistic render, depicting its visual presence and impact contextually.

 

BIM:

Is become increasingly more crucial to the architectural design process as it offers many benefits to use. Revit is the companies selected BIM Platform, due to its ease of use and vast array of tools and benefits. It will be used to make active models that specialists can update with relevant information that is transferred across plan, sections, elevations and 3d form, this will prevent any mistakes from taking place regarded misplaced information of elements. The Clash detection will also help avoid any errors in work from or physical form that will cause delays or problems.

 

Final consultation

Clients will be invited into the office for a final time and be presented with the finalised design and associated documentation. The Design will primarily be communicated through visuals such as renders as plan can often be confusing to the untrained eye, an AR model of the project would be presented, with the client seeing their project imposed on to the real world, this technology would be similar to a Microsoft HoloLens. Models and visuals would be generated through a V-ray processed Revit model, the Autodesk platform also supports AR through a included application. Any presentational material would be assembled using InDesign, illustrator and photoshop to create professional clear and precise documents.

Any mild changes would be noted and saved to the cloud system.

​

Selective Demolition

Selective demolition of secondary and tertiary from the persisting structure, Primary structure will remain relatively untouched as it is the Company’s aim to limit the production of carbon released during the setting of concrete of the forging of steal. To find out which elements to rid of, data from the drone survey will be used to identify structural composition, any element that are not primary will only be kept if integrated into the new design.

​

Site survey of remaining structure

Following the completion of selective demolition, the site will be revisited for a secondary drone survey. This is to ensure the accuracy of any designed adaptations to the structure, a new 3d model will be formed to identify any design clashes created by the changing of the pre-existing structure. Once any adaptations are completed the 3d printing files are finalised, they are then ran through a slicing software ready to be printed

 

3D printing 

For the mortar/ earth based FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) 3D printer the CyBe RC 3DP has been selected for use within the business as our primary building printer. The system can be used on site or at our office in our warehouse, this would be dependent on varied factors. If the print job involved printing directly onto the primary structure the system would be transported to site, however if the additions to the structure were modular then can be printed in the warehouse and shipped to site to ensure prime printing conditions. Printing on site would also be dependent on rain, wind and temperature conditions and certain print material mixture process different properties. The standard print mixture will consist primarily of broken-down building rubble, to recycle material and reduce carbon production.

 Metal BJ (Binder jet) 3d printing is mainly utilised for small structural additions and fixture, the specific model being the HP Metal Jet. This system can only be used indoors so all printing will be done at the company office and warehouse. The print material is primarily stainless steel.

 

Installation

If printing is done on site, no further installation is required, however if printed off site, printed elements will be craned into position or hoisted. The Printed elements will be installed following plans on the Project BIM model and installation instructions will also be attached to the models document. Contracted builders would undertake the manual labour as office members are not adequately qualified.

 

Completion

Upon completion of all construction and primary fit out, the site is visited with the client for the final site visit to check satisfaction with overall process and project so that future client experiences can be improved by feedback, this would be noted by Word and stored as a closing statement for the project file. While visiting the site, drones will be used once again to survey and scan the structure, so that a final model of the site is available of the client requires additional work in the future.

 

 

Design only

Initial client consultation

As part of initial consultation Vikas Parekh our Public Relations Associate, will visit clients at the site or a preferred location. He will establish an initial brief with the client and record it all within Microsoft word, Initial site observations will also be noted in word and Visual media also captured. All documents and media will be uploaded into the company’s cloud storage system under a dedicated project file.

Formal documents such as fee agreements will also be signed and stored within the Cloud

for all members of staff to access and clearly understand the work to completed and what has been agreed upon.

 

Design team consultation

To further understand the client’s needs, they are invited into the office and are presented initial ideas, sample materials and concept images, all of which are prepared or created through the Adobe Cloud or Windows office Suite

 

Site survey

The site survey is a crucial element of the design process as data on the pre-existing is necessary for appropriate intervention to be designed with accuracy. Traditionally a Chartered Surveyor is required for the scale of inspection required for the repurpose of aged Concrete or steel-framed structures. Instead of using Chartered Surveyors, the Business will utilise Drones instead, specifically the DJI Phantom 4 RTK parred with the DJI Terra cloud platform.

Two Drones will be utilised in tandem to survey structures and map them in 2d and 3d models to provide dimensional data along with visual and material. Two drones are used not only to decrease data collection periods but also allow for multiple sources of data collection to ensure further accuracy. The two drones will be autonomously piloted throughout the structure, this is possible through the DJI Terra platform as it allows for either routes to be set or site perimeters to be established for the drones, the platform can also compile all data collected into ready to use 3d models, which would benefit the design process by limiting time spent analysing data or construction site models.

Material samples from the pre-existing structures will be collected to aide In substantial decisions of the project but also allow for analysis of materials for possible use in 3d printing built additions.

The automated drones require little input from humans, so person hour expenses are limited. The simplicity of the systems also means any member of the office staff are capable of carrying out the task

All data collected will be added to the project file on the company cloud.

 

Design

During the iterative design process, staff members will utilise a plethora of software’s made available to them;

• Abobe Creative Cloud – To allow the creation, manipulation and rendering of visual media to visual media, to help realise ideas and analyse them. The creation of High-quality presentational documents is also supported through software such as InDesign.

• Microsoft Office 365 – The software’s provided under this platform, are used primarily for administrative software and note-taking, throughout the design process, research will be recorded and uploaded to the project file within the company cloud to track design progression.

• Revit – Will be used in the design stage to provide a platform to draft building form and initial plans, sections and elevations

 

Design Consultation:

Clients will be invited to the office once again to be shown project progression and been shown design concept images created through Photoshop. Vray renders through Revit may also be used depending on project progression. Draft Revit plans will be presented to show proposed building form, spaces and size. Any changes desired by the client will be noted and uploaded to the company Cloud. 

 

Drafting:

Plans, elevations, sections and detailing will all be created within Revit, which is the company’s chosen drafting software due to its intuitive interface and vast array of tools that aide and improve design.

 

Modelling:

Following the Completion of drafting a digital 3d model is formed from 2d data. This model is then used to analyse the design and its environmental factors and lead to corrections or design alterations. The model also allows for Vray rendering, which is used to show the customer and public a photo-realistic render, depicting its visual presence and impact contextually.

 

BIM:

Is become increasingly more crucial to the architectural design process as it offers many benefits to use. Revit is the companies selected BIM Platform, due to its ease of use and vast array of tools and bonuses. It will be used to make active models that specialists can update with relevant information that is transferred across plan, sections, elevations and 3d form; this will prevent any mistakes from taking place regarded misplaced information of elements. The Clash detection will also help avoid any errors in work from or physical form that will cause delays or problems.

 

Final consultation:

Clients will be invited into the office for the last time and be presented with the finalised design and associated documentation. The Design will primarily be communicated through visuals such as renders as the plan can often be confusing to the untrained eye, an AR model of the project would be presented, with the client seeing their project imposed on to the real world, this technology would be like a Microsoft HoloLens. Models and visuals would be generated through a Vray processed Revit model, the Autodesk platform also supports AR through an included application. Any presentational material would be assembled using InDesign, Illustrator and photoshop to create professional clear and precise documents.

 

Any mild changes would be noted and saved to the cloud system.

 

Project Hand Off:

Due to the client not wanting to use our Manufacturing package, the construction material is prepared and placed onto a Cloud storage folder accessible to the client upon final payment. Only Plans, elevations, sections and detailing will be made available to the client, development drawings will be held by the practise as they are not relevant to construction and were only meant for internal use. A BIM model and its associated specifications will also be provided to ensure a smooth transition between the Architect and Contractor.

All project files will be retained by the company If any issues arise or if the client decides to proceed with using us as their manufacturers instead of departing from our care. All files will be stored within the company cloud drive meaning it is safe from being lost or corrupted.

 

 

Manufacturing

Plans/Files supplied by client:

The client will provide files for printing on the Businesses HP Metal Jet printer, it will be supplied in a Revit or AutoCAD format, the print file must not exceed the limits of 430mm x 320mm x 200mm print bed size. If print size exceeds capacity, it will be rejected. If the Client requires mortar or earth-based printing, they must contact the office for a consultancy.

 

Print file fixing:

When loaded if the file reports errors or conflict in form, it will be corrected to provide a high-quality print quality, if the file requires large scale correction it will be rejected as this work compromise the businesses capability to handle large workloads. If the file is fixed or required no fixing, it is then digitally sliced using AutoCAD slicer; the data is then ready for export. Any member of staff is fully trained to fix and manage Revit or AutoCAD files, so the member of the team carries out said task depends on workplace availability.

 

Printing:

The file is then loaded into the HP Metal Jet and initiated, if the job sizes are small enough, multiple models will be printed at once to increase time efficiency. The Print time is comparatively rapid, so it will be checked on mid-way through the print cycle to ensure no errors have occurred. Once completed the Print jobs are cleaned off and prepared for collection or shipping.

 

Shipping or collection:

Depending on the print size the client will be able to select whether they want to collect or have their order posted, posting will incur a further cost, increasing with shipment size and weight. Collection orders will be supplied with a QR code to provide proof of purchase when collecting. 1 week hold time is allowed, if this is exceeded late pick up fees will be implemented.

 

 

Expandability:

All aspects of this technology strategy are scalable, meaning if demand increase along with income, certain elements can be multiplied to the same success. If additional staff are hired, they will receive identical computer equipment to ensure compatibility, they will also be trained to be able to carry out any task in the office

 

Year 4-6:

 

Due to the distance until this period-accurate prediction can’t be made so no exact figures will not be provided.

 

Due to the possibility of the business expanding during this period, additional staff may be hired, but instead of having employees as multifaceted members of the team they may have to specialise in a specific technical job role, i.e. a dedicated 3d printing operator or a dedicated BIM modeller.

 

During this period, all technology in possession of the business will likely be replaced due to the benefits that newer models possess. The extensive use of equipment may lead to excessive ware by this point, requiring replacement. Large scale purchases make in 2026 will be reaching the end of their three-year lease periods meaning new agreements on new equipment will have to be agreed.

 

Any capabilities of future computing power cannot be predicted as the Usability of Moores law is reaching its end as modern computers are currently reaching the physical limits of transistors before quantum tunnelling occurs. This means a new higher form of computing will be invented far exceeding the capabilities of anything imaginable today.

 

3D printing by this point will be entirely different, with material and technological developments allowing for print times of minutes or seconds with microscopic resolution. I also expect its use to be widespread in construction so the company must stay on the bleeding edge to hold a market share.