It was only by challenging the brief and focusing instead on value, and the barriers to value, that we were able to achieve the best possible outcome for our clients.. Our involvement in two recent FOYA award-winning projects is testament to both the commitment of our team and the transformational impacts that Design to Value can bring..
The released value of scientists being freed up to spend more time analysing, discussing, collaborating and thinking is not well quantified.Islands of automation may be seen as investable to allow new science.. Added to this there is not a joined-up ecosystem that looks at today’s smallscale testing as tomorrow’s large-scale roll-out, meaning that testing protocols are often developed in ways that inhibit or slow future automation.. Change, adaptation and flexibility.
A combination of emerging factors drive change in the activities and operations in a laboratory function..In research laboratories, the work and team can change rapidly as new discoveries are made, equipment and technologies change, and there is the need to reduce or cease some operations while others are expanded..The people and skills change and there are changes in social and environmental demands.
This uncertainty drives a need for a combination of flexibility and adaptability..The laboratory estate needs to be adaptable in order to be expanded, contracted, and/or repurposed without significant planning issues, cost, time and impact to ongoing operations.
The spaces within the estate need to allow for flexibility in the location of people, processes and equipment, with changes, wherever possible, carried out without the need for engineering and construction.
Finding the right balance is a critical factor..Her initial computational design work for Foster + Partners saw her involved with major international projects, including the New International Airport of Mexico City, a role she says allowed her to ‘experiment with the algorithmic approach to architecture, focusing on complex geometries for large scale projects,’ and which, ‘involved automation of design processes through the whole project lifespan from concept to detailing.’.
Maria says that currently, working at Bryden Wood has allowed her to ‘focus on the core of her interest,’ where she is actively engaged in pushing the boundaries of data-driven design.. For the past twelve months, Mamoura has led the development of the company’s ‘Rapid Engineering Model’ (REM), which Board Director Phil Langley describes as ‘a radical and disruptive new approach to automated design for Highways England, developed by Bryden Wood Technology Ltd. for the Smart Motorways Programme (SMP).’.Assembled from a range of different technologies, rather than a single piece of software, REM is ‘digitally driven and collaboratively enabled,’ comments Langley, which means that ‘SMP schemes can be designed automatically - in a much smarter and faster way.’.
Langley commends Maria’s role at the helm of the multidisciplinary project team, comprising a diverse range of specialists from architects, engineers and computational designers, to GIS specialists and other software developers.‘This requires not only a deep understanding of many different design disciplines and digital platforms,’ he says, ‘but also a considerate approach to organising and managing diverse team members, who all benefit from Maria’s technical rigour and creative outlook, which has helped build a unique, rich and inspiring project.’.