Buro Happold is committed to developing new technologies and services and maintaining our position at the leading edge of design. As part of this commitment, 1% of our turnover each year is reinvested in Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) activities. This resource enables us to add value to construction projects and deliver solutions that meet our clients’ aspirations for quality and innovation.

Some RDI projects are carried out internally, others in collaboration with partners and experts from industry, universities, research organisations and public bodies such as the DTI. Our research covers all sectors and disciplines, drawing on our engineers’ wide experience of project delivery to identify ways of improving service through improvements in techniques or an innovative use of materials.

Recent ground-breaking research commissions have looked into the development of renewable and low carbon energy systems, computational wind modelling, timber jointing in construction, structural optimisation, fire protection, bridge load management and information and collaboration management. A well-publicised example of our problem-solving in action is Westborough School in Essex, a sustainable building largely constructed from cardboard.

RDI group sponsors and manages our internal research projects, co-ordinating the input of outside specialists and our own engineers and then carrying the project through to completion. As well as initiating new contacts and partnerships, RDI also advises on potential sources for funding and on opportunities for making research findings available to other interested parties in the industry.