building components and assemblies we ’ ve seen in other industries such as aviation and transport . “ Once we know how something can be made , it tells us what composite materials we can exploit with our bespoke approach to make panels , for example , and understand the capabilities of the way we ’ re making it and how it can be installed ,” says Watts . “ We design from scratch with façade systems alongside connections for structures which are going to be exposed inside the building that need to look good . Most of our energy goes into the envelope systems as those are the most technically complex in the range
KAFD Metro blueprints of performances they need to achieve for water-tightness , wind resistance , seismic loads etc . Part of what we do is to develop technologies where each component can do two jobs .”
This approach has its genesis in Formula 1 – in the 1960s Graham Chapman ’ s Lotus was famous for using the engine as the structure at the back of the car so there was no frame or chassis and the wheels were fixed directly to the engine . “ Those are the kinds of economies we ’ re looking to find to reduce the amount of time it takes to make something ,” explains Watts . “ We ’ re also looking to adjust the installation sequence to reduce the time it takes to assemble a structure on site and address a major cost component . We don ’ t want to develop something to be technically superior for its own sake , but to reduce cost and add quality – the ‘ less is more ’ aesthetic .”
Newtecnic ’ s on-site construction labs are responding to the shift in construction from the current trend of everything being factory based , and 3D printing is a big part of that . “ On complex projects of high ambition , large scale and even
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