The full PETP programme was retired and superseded by a new programme, but, at the time, it provided an opportunity to develop a new type of prison environment using a platform based Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) approach – one whose core purpose was to increase the likelihood of rehabilitation and reduce re-offending rates.
The third reason for hope came to me in maybe the most unexpected place: a two-hour stand in the toilet on a train with five others, due to huge overcrowding.Of course, there was griping, anger, and frustration about the situation.
There was also a humble reflection that our plight was nothing like those stuck in conflict and humanitarian disasters.What struck me most, though, was the very human and humane way people came together - caring about those wishing to catch their flight to New York, caring about one of the passengers who started to feel ill, finding space where there seemed to be none; and the humour, sharing stories, and keeping each other’s spirits up.. My sense is that we can always see the future as dark and full of threat.It can feel like walking into a cave, where, given the darkness, our imagination takes over to ready us for all the potential threats.
We listen for the fall of rocks, we see flashes of images that may or may not be there, we feel the air around us, and we search for odours which could point to pending doom.Indigenous Americans used to describe each of these fears as friends who helped us to stay safe.
The fear of falling is a friend who reminds you to stay away from the edge and to keep hold of something.
The sorts of friends who I met on the train were concerned about those around them.. Of course, when we start to shine a light into the cave, then we can see where there may be danger, but also where there may be richness and treasure..There may be parallels with what happened with BIM.
The UK was the first to mandate Building Information Modelling and our standards became quite widely adopted, or were at least used as a starting point, globally.It will be interesting to see if construction Platform design has a similar global appeal, once people have understood the limitations of modular.. COVID-19: accelerating the shift to construction Platforms?.
COVID-19 has simply accelerated this journey, or accentuated the need to move forwards at speed.As a result, the UK government is now looking to double down on the current plan to develop construction Platforms and to make things happen even more quickly.
(Editor: Elegant Tables)