How technology provides options for developers

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In the UK land for development is limited. Developers, specifically in logistics and supply chain, are keen on optimising all the space they have. Technology could help speed up the process and provide much needed efficiency. ‘As a developer you need to be squeezing every centimetre from the space in order to optimise the economic return,’ says Luke Buchholtz, supply chain and real estate professional.

For Buchholtz, the main benefit of using technology when developing sites is the speed. His words are echoed by Adrian Short, Project Lead at the architectural firm GeblerTooth. Short looks at how technology can help when changes are made at the very last minute. GeblerTooth has developed software that can help developers and supply chain organisations to better understand how each change in the design will affect the overall project. ‘There is a tangible benefit for the developer to use a software tool when they have already gone quite a long way down the road with the architect,’ Short explains.

Controlling market changes

Mosaic-i has developed the ability to process data quickly so developers can quickly respond to market changes. Site dynamics can change quickly, depending on economic conditions and individual company preferences. As such developers can often find themselves in a position where things are not up to what is expected. GeblerTooth’s tool can generate thousands of options in minutes and even some that have not been considered. ‘We can search for every possible combination that gives you the best coverage for a particular site,’ Short continues.

Developers can also choose the minimum and maximum characteristics they would consider before running the simulation. This gives additional ability to remove scenarios that would obviously not work. ‘This frees up architects’ time to do what they do best,’ Short believes. ‘The machine creates the results and the architect can curate them, using their knowledge and recognition skills as a human.’

Augmentation to design

The tool is not designed to remove the architect from the development process. Short thinks its role is to add value and provide options. Architects and developers are free to ask ‘what if’ questions and quickly receive answers for a decreased cost. ‘Even adding 3% to 4% to a building can make a big difference,’ Short adds.✷

Parameters

The tool developed by GeblerTooth uses three main parameters. The first is the building’s size, followed by the coverage. ‘You can input that you want nothing less than a 30% coverage,’ explains Buchholtz. It can also provide information about parking spaces and the yard. The tool is able to consider changes in all areas as the rest change.

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