Felicity McKane (she/her)

However, we need bravery.

The clue is in the name.“Design for Manufacture and Assembly” is a design approach.

Conventional design either has a presumption towards conventional construction or is agnostic regarding the construction method.Conversely, a DfMA design is developed to be constructed in a particular way..When designing for manufacture and assembly, the designer must find the best way to meet the client’s requirements by considering the most efficient way to manufacture elements of the building and the most efficient way to assemble them on site.

Manufacturing and assembly processes can be carried out in off-site or near-site factories and consolidation centres and also within the site itself.. DfMA means the designer needs to consider the construction methods that will be used from early in a project.Furthermore, to construct a building that has been designed using DfMA the builder needs to understand the basis of the design and how it has informed the construction approach.

This means DfMA can be much more collaborative than conventional design, bringing the designer and builder closer together to pursue a common goal..

There are many different methods of constructing a building.Offset: Any remaining carbon should be offset via recognised carbon offset schemes.

Offsets used should be publicly disclosed.. An example of design strategies that follow the proposed embodied carbon hierarchy is shown in Figure 5..Step-by-step hierarchy for net zero embodied carbon.

Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA).As identified above, DfMA is an essential part of the strategy to achieve net zero embodied and operational carbon.