Steelwork is playing a significant role at the Forge project in London, where an innovative method is being used that could transform the construction industry into a leaner and greener sector.

The £139m project for Landsec, in partnership with architect and engineer Bryden Wood, is blazing a trail that its backers hope will establish the new method and, as a result, help to ease skill-shortage worries, speed the UK’s path towards net-zero carbon, and bring with it both cost and safety benefits.

What makes The Forge unique?

• The Forge is the UK’s first net zero commercial office development, and is built using the highly efficient and sustainable platform approach to design for manufacture and assembly (P-DfMA). This led Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, to award funding for the innovative design and ground-breaking construction techniques. Using these techniques has contributed to a circa. 25% reduction to date in embodied carbon from the initial design stage. And we saved 178 tonnes in steel by using the platform approach – that’s the equivalent of just under 13.5 London Double Decker buses in weight.
• The site’s historical use was as a bronze foundry, which has been carried through in the naming of the development.
• The development boasts an array of indoor and outdoor spaces to meet the wellbeing needs of today’s workforce, including an improved streetscape and public realm, four terraces, and a cycle ramp from the building’s entrance down to 230 cycle spaces, showers and storage. Other features include LED lighting, which reduce eye strain and fatigue to help boost productivity, and almost 300m2 of green roof promoting local biodiversity.
• 107 solar panels contribute to the developments 100% renewable electricity source.

Neil Pennell will chair a panel discussion at UK Metals Expo 2022 about the construction of The Forge and the deployment of innovative solutions in collaboration with with the metals supply chain.