Editorial
How Benfield ATT help you create
The Low Energy Buildings you’ve always wanted…
Intrigued by the claims of this ‘full service’ company we decided to investigate their approach a little more.
Value Engineering: First, we wanted to know what was meant by ‘Value Engineering’ (VE). Professor Dr. Michael
Benfield, their CEO, explained: “By focusing on the various ‘functions’ of a client’s building and its components, we
aim to identify and remove unnecessary costs while at the same time maintaining - even enhancing - its performance.”
Comprehensive Knowledge: This approach blends their
extensive and rather unique knowledge of all forms of timber
structure, building science, regulations, and state of the art
products with individual client’s design concepts. “For us,
value engineering starts with environmental planning and
regulatory impositions as part of our analytical and technical
design processes.” he explained. “These feed our drive for,
and commitment to, sustainable development through into
waste reduction, recycling and lean manufacture. It embraces
a ‘Pride in the Job’ and a ‘Right First Time’ mentality that is
applied to all our Design & Build (D&B) operations.”
Focus on End User: Paying attention to end user demands is
central to Benfield ATT’s approach (the ATT stands for
Advanced Timber Technologies, by the way). They believe it
enables them to deliver highly effective, quality buildings for
projects large & small. This includes providing solutions for
difficult to develop sites, like soft ground, steeply sloping land
and potential flood plain areas.
BACA Architects - UK's 1st Amphibious House - Grand Designs – Benfield ATT
Product Selection: Self-evidently, to value engineer design & build solutions, the selection , of the most appropriate
products needs the services and methods used to be an integral part of the process. Working closely with architects,
building designers, engineers and quantity surveyors, Benfield ATT helps select and specify those which are most
functionally appropriate and cost effective. In turn this encourages the delivery of high quality products to be protected,
and results in saving time for on-site build operations. All of this, they claim, reduces costs, enhances client’s projects
and helps to make them one of the most competitive full service timber engineering design and build firms in the UK.
Fabric First: In the curren