Research and development

Willmott Dixon have spent nearly £1 million in the last three years alone on low carbon research at the British Research Establishment in Watford. In 2007 we developed the Re-Thinking school of the future, followed in 2009 by a prototype zero carbon healthcare facility.

The new technology used in these projects are being adopted on our current sites across the UK, such as the Eurban timber build system which eliminates site waste. We also developed new design ideas such as the ‘window chimney’ that we use on schools.

To embed R&D in the business, all our trainee managers spend at least two weeks at the BRE to learn about new technology and systems.

It’s not just site based. Last year we invested a considerable sum developing the unique Thinkspace software for our social housing projects. This literally designs out waste by automatically checking housing layouts for compliance against more than 600 rules and regulations governing the interior specification of UK social housing. It identifies non-compliance issues at design stage, cutting out costly errors and waste, and improving overall efficiency of the design process.

Our in-house Re-Thinking team are looking at new technology such as Passivhaus, and have made several trips to Germany in the past 12 months with clients, and the aim is to introduce Passivhaus on our projects from next year.

R&D is essential to the success of our industry, and we aim to be at the forefront with investing and developing the use of new technologies. 

The Willmott Dixon Community Healthcare Centre at the BRE, which demonstrates the concept of assisted living in a low carbon healthcare environment.

Willmott Dixon staff and clients in Germany to find out more on Passivhaus technology.