A series of regional, national and international workshops are helping
to develop a business case for a £50m Newcastle-based International Centre
for Connected Construction (IC3).
Northumbria University has been commissioned and funded by the
North East Local Enterprise Partnership (NELEP) to develop the IC3 business
case and the workshops are helping to shape a vision for IC3 that will
attract large-scale investment.
The workshops are being held in Newcastle, London, Amsterdam,
Beijing and Mumbai. The local workshops have been led and facilitated by
regional IT network Dynamo North East in collaboration with the University.
They have explored the current challenges and strengths of the sector in the
region; the national and international audience of IC3 and services tools and
resources that IC3 should offer.
Anne Macdonald, Head of Engagement at Dynamo, said:
“IC3 will be a hub for the global construction sector, researching and developing digital technologies and
smarter working practices and applying them to the construction industry. It
will also enable industry, academics and the public to work together on the
next generation of technological innovation in the built environment.
“IC3 will enable the region to build on its impressive digital
construction expertise and become a global leader in the field. The local
workshops have brought together key sector leaders from across the region all
of whom have given valuable insight and intelligence.
“The first two workshops mapped and audited what is already going
on while the last workshop delved deeper into the proposition including
exploring research completed by academics at Northumbria University who have
looked at similar centres around the world.”
IC3 will also be designed to deliver the Government’s Industrial
Strategy challenges of clean growth, future mobility, ageing society and
artificial intelligence and data economy. It will a link into the
Construction Sector Deal by helping to transform productivity, procuring best
value, promoting innovation and advancing skills for the future.
Speaking at the House of Lords launch of the IC3
vision last year, Professor Andrew
Wathey CBE, Northumbria University's Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, said:
“We are very excited about the plans for IC3 and its
potential to be a world-leading centre for the digital transformation of the
built environment.
“Building on core research
strengths at Northumbria University, in association with Dynamo and other
partners, IC3 will help establish the North East’s role in the global
leadership and application of BIM as it evolves from its construction base to the wider idea of Digital Built
Britain and beyond to international smart cities and data analytics.
“Northumbria’s role is leading edge, with our
expertise coming from the departments of Architecture and Built Environment,
Mechanical and Construction Engineering, and Computer and Information
Sciences as well as the Digital Living research group.”
Speaking after the recent completion of
the local IC3 workshops, Charlie Hoult, co-founder of Dynamo, said: “IC3 is just one example of how our Dynamo clusters can
forge powerful collaborations for future economic success - and to change the
trajectory of our region. For IC3 to
become a reality, the Holy Trinity of business, academia and Government must
work together and to date, that’s exactly what’s been happening.”
Professor Stephen Kyffin, Pro Vice-Chancellor for
Business and Enterprise at Northumbria University, said: “The North East has
built up an impressive community in digital construction, but these workshops
have been a key element in the preparation of the business case for IC3,
showing there is a real need for an ambassador who can develop the future agenda
for the industry and drive the change on a national scale.
“It’s no secret that there is resistance to doing
things differently in construction. It will be IC3’s mission to work with the
region’s trailblazers to break down those barriers by demonstrating the value
of applying digital technologies to the built environment.
“Beyond that though, the centre also needs to be
helping shape policy, legislation and standards to ensure trust in new
processes. Through our research, our education and our start-up programme of
work, these experimental initiatives will help us to push beyond the
boundaries that construction is used to working in, in order to achieve
something better.
“The University’s credibility, neutral position and
convening power puts us in a perfect place to achieve what is needed from an
International Centre for Connected Construction. Our goal is to galvanise the
community to build a better, bolder future for the sector, regionally,
nationally and internationally.”
IC3’s project board also includes Ryder
Architecture, NELEP, Space Group, NBS, BIM Academy and Newcastle City Council.
Dynamo has more than 150 members made up of IT organisations and
employers, technology hubs, universities, colleges and local government. It
works to grow the region’s IT economy through promoting the region as a hub
for the enterprise IT sector and has a mission to increase collaboration,
innovation, skills and ‘noise’ to grow the region’s IT economy.
Dynamo is part-funded by the ERDF.
