Camilla Siggaard Andersen, Practice Leader at Hassell, summarises the NLA's charette event on the fifth pillar from the New London Agenda, Leverage Innovation.

The New London Agenda comprises six pillars of placemaking, set out to guide the development of the capital’s built environment. On Monday 17 June, the NLA hosted a charette focused on the fifth pillar: ‘Leverage Innovation’, which brought together 40 representatives from across the 15 expert panels.

 

As the chair of the Built Environment Technology Expert Panel, I had the privilege of kick-starting the discussion with a 10-minute presentation designed to stimulate thought. Drawing on the insights and knowledge accumulated by the panel over the past three years, I encouraged the participants to consider innovation through the prisms of technology, society, and environment. This approach aims to promote holistic outcomes that prioritise both human and planetary health. It presents a challenge to the conventional technology-driven approach to innovation, which frequently overlooks societal and environmental needs.

 

The following insights summarise the key points of the presentation and ensuing group discussions.

 

 

In today’s market, the design, construction and trade of buildings frequently mirror product transactions, marked by high stakes and slim profit margins. Given this reality, there is scant room for failure, resulting in a prevailing culture of risk aversion.

 

Risk aversion in the industry is a formidable barrier to unlocking innovation in the built environment. Over the past century, a host of systems, including stringent insurance policies, rigid building regulations, cautious financial models, narrow data feeds, and linear project management tools, have been established to curtail the perceived risks tied to the design and construction of buildings and places. However, in their failure to accommodate experimentation with new materials, technologies, and design strategies, these systems are now stifling the industry’s ability to advance in step with other sectors. 

 

 

To unlock innovation in the built environment, a culture of experimentation must be fostered that permeates all aspects of the industry, from design and finance to construction, engagement, and regulation.

 

The public sector has a pivotal role in devising a planning system that equitably distributes risks and rewards across the supply chain, thereby encouraging risk-taking in areas most ripe for innovation. Concurrently, the private sector could take cues from other industries that systematically allocate resources towards employee-driven experimentation and cross-sector collaboration.

 

At its core, innovation flourishes at the intersection of diverse perspectives. The built environment industry can stimulate innovation by fostering environments that promote interactions among individuals with varied experiences and backgrounds—be it on the project, in the office, or in the buildings and places we create.