Managing risk while translating research outcomes into design and construction innovation

Significant tension can exist between the goals of architectural research and of architectural and building practice. Worthwhile research involves generating risks its benefits are uncertain and require interpretation in practice as new design approaches or construction methods. In contrast, professional practice generally involves managing building procurement risk. This can encourage participants to resist change and enhance solution reliability, even if this delivers less than optimal performance. Practitioners can be innovative but often only through incremental development, nudging participants along the path to increasingly innovative action. As they do, the capability, capacity and confidence risks associated with novel design solutions need identification, assessment and response. These concepts are discussed in relation to a university-based case study, where researchers joined architectural practitioners in a design team for the design and delivery of a 120-unit student accommodation building. Finished in early 2016, the solution included novel timber-rich prefabrication and assembly techniques.