The Importance of System Design Flexibility
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Buildings today perform exceptionally well and, as a result, are generally more complex in their construction. No longer does the ‘one size fit all’ approach work, with many building products now being available with various options, often with ‘off the shelf’ availability. Where a solution is currently not available, a bespoke solution is designed and this can often become a stock solution. This is what drives our current construction processes and we have become accustomed to a constant process of change.
Window designs and their interfaces with the building structure is a good example of this constant state of flux. No longer does the interface with the building structure conform to any standard. Designers now freely develop high thermal performance interfaces which reduce cold bridging, whilst keeping the whole assembly weathertight. The key here is the importance of ‘system design flexibility’.
One good example of this flexibility is that of the Atlas Building in Stratford, originally designed as the East Village for the 2012 Olympics, the building.
