Designing with the supply chain in mind

Design choices can either unlock or block the supply chain’s ability to deliver. A scheme drawn without regard for how its parts are made, moved and fitted may look strong at concept stage and then fail under procurement, logistics and site work. Architecture that ignores the supply chain is rarely good architecture.

What designing in isolation costs

A detail that needs a bespoke window extrusion from a single supplier adds risk and delay. A layout that ignores transport dimensions can leave a modular system unable to leave the factory. A material specified without checking local availability adds carbon miles and cost.

Treat the supply chain as an afterthought and the design becomes fragile. Every later stage of the project pays for it.

Questions to ask of every design

• Manufacturers: can the components be produced efficiently at scale?
• Installers: can the details be built safely and repeatably within normal site tolerances?
• Suppliers: are the materials available locally and in volume, or does the project depend on a fragile source?

When the answers line up, the design is resilient. When they don’t, the problems surface in procurement and on site.

Bring the supply chain in early

Procurement is moving towards early supply chain involvement (ESI), and for good reason. Bringing manufacturers and fabricators into design discussions gives architects information that makes a scheme both more inventive and more buildable. For example:

• Refining a façade with the cladding supplier can open up prefabrication options and save weeks on site.
• Aligning the structure with the steel fabricator’s standard sections cuts waste and cost without reducing performance.
• Fitting a modular housing layout within standard transport limits avoids a redesign late in the process.

Design choices can either unlock or block the supply chain’s ability to deliver.

What it saved on one project

On one recent project, our early work with the supply chain brought above-ground construction cost down substantially. Quality was not cut to get there. The saving came from designing around what the supply chain could make and deliver, which focused the design work instead of limiting it.

The architect as conductor

The old picture of the architect as a lone artist, handing sketches to others to work out, does not fit this work. A conductor is a better comparison: setting the vision and making sure every section of the orchestra, in this case the supply chain, can play its part. Architecture by Design works this way, with design ideas grounded in a working knowledge of how buildings are made, so that schemes get built rather than admired on paper.