Design and the design process may be difficult terms to define but they clearly involve ‘thinking’, and apart from the most mundane, mechanical problems, creative thoughts which sometimes lead to changes in the way those things have been done before. The design and construction of buildings has continually evolved as ‘new’ materials and processes have enabled the creation of ‘new’ structures. Even vernacular styles of architecture include useful developments when they become generally accepted. Such advances can be described as innovative, considered at the following different levels:
• Firstly, a gradual or developmental process can introduce improvement, based on previously tried and tested solutions, following set patterns but adding ‘extras’ or additional quality.
• Secondly, innovation in design can be enterprising, using something in a different way than its original design intension, seeing a fresh use for something existing already.
• Finally, radical innovation proposes something completely new which has not been thought of previously, or introduces leading-edge inventions which have not been previously available.
It can be argued that the very act of designing or creative problem-solving is inherently innovative, but with regard to building design, there are external pressures to encourage designers and the UK construction industry generally to improve its efficiency and the quality of its services and products. The Egan and Latham reports referred to elsewhere have challenged the industry to re-examine every aspect of its performance for the benefit of its customers and in line with demands for greater sustainability in the building sector.
Consequently, innovation is being promoted in the use of materials and systems, in areas of energy conservation, procurement and management, all of which require the building designer to keep up-to-date with advances in technology and developments in manufacturing practice. Incentives and penalties are part of the process of changing attitudes in the construction industry, as for example, with the demand for inclusion of a percentage of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) for new residential development.
• Finally, radical innovation proposes something completely new which has not been thought of previously, or introduces leading-edge inventions which have not been previously available.
It can be argued that the very act of designing or creative problem-solving is inherently innovative, but with regard to building design, there are external pressures to encourage designers and the UK construction industry generally to improve its efficiency and the quality of its services and products. The Egan and Latham reports referred to elsewhere have challenged the industry to re-examine every aspect of its performance for the benefit of its customers and in line with demands for greater sustainability in the building sector.
Consequently, innovation is being promoted in the use of materials and systems, in areas of energy conservation, procurement and management, all of which require the building designer to keep up-to-date with advances in technology and developments in manufacturing practice. Incentives and penalties are part of the process of changing attitudes in the construction industry, as for example, with the demand for inclusion of a percentage of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) for new residential development.
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