Improving productivity in construction, Built Environment Matters podcast with Josh Johnson, Expert - Engineering Construction & Building Materials at McKinsey & Company. Part 1 of 2.

Working as part of a team her key focus was to coordinate the cross discipline information to clarify the best options to take forward into design.

Although they used some very advanced modelling techniques, this was done only to support and inform a big conversation.They largely got rid of the traditional processes of city planning, keeping only those things that seemed immovable.

Instead they used a process of discussion.They brought together those already living in the city, those who would need to provide services and through agencies heard the voices of refugees themselves.They allowed worries, concerns and aspirations to be voiced, using the modelling to inform debate and to regulate emotional catastrophising.

No process like this can be perfect but it can be good: constructive, educational and democratising.Research suggested that many of these values had been achieved..

There is no doubt that there is complexity in the world.

There are competing beliefs, experiences, traditions and thus there are no perfect designs, no perfect solutions, however there is always the opportunity for great processes and great outcomes.We adapted and optimised the factory size and construction techniques in order to substantially and successfully reduce the cost.. Something even more interesting happened in the process, however.

As we began to evaluate the facility, we began to ask different types of questions.This led to some interesting realisations.

One of the primary products to be manufactured in the factory was bottled water.The team discovered two important things: the first was that the energy costs to manufacture the product would be high; the second was that the sale price for bottled water in Africa is low.