About Agingerrail
4th year Civil Engineering student at Imperial College London

For today's building to be resilient to tomorrows' challengers, we have to increase the adaptability of the buildings we construct. A lot of the buildings constructed today are fixed towards a certain specific design in order to drive down the construction cost and use the minimum amount of material. But that means these buildings will also lack the flexibility to face the changing environments of tomorrow. Though this is alternative to the viewpoint of the competition (where we should design fixed buildings based on our predictions of the challenges of the future), I believe a paradigm shift in the construction mindset is needed in order to most effectively face the challenges of the future. And that mindset is the adaptation of flexibility in the internal constructs of a building. This is because though we have made predictions for many of the challenges for the future, they are still predictions, so while we should be designing buildings today to be congruent with those predictions, we should still include inherent flexibility in the buildings to adapt for any errors in our predictions. This is because the average building lifespan is normally 60 years*, but the rate of technological growth vastly exceeds that timescale. Thus many of the products and potential building techniques have not be dreamed of yet. Therefore, the development of adaptability in buildings should be the ultimate aim for the future of building design.
Featured articles and news
Focussing on the practical implementation of electrification.
Sustainable Urban Drainage and Biodiversity
Awards for champions of these interconnected fields now open.
Microcosm of biodiversity in balconies and containers
Minor design adaptations for considerable biodiversity benefit.
CIOB student competitive construction challenge Ireland
Inspiring a new wave of Irish construction professionals.
Challenges of the net zero transition in Scotland
Skills shortage and ageing workforce hampering Scottish transition to net zero.
Private rental sector, living standards and fuel poverty
Report from the NRH in partnership with Impact on Urban Health.
.Cold chain condensing units market update
Tracking the evolution of commercial refrigeration unit markets.
Attending a conservation training course, personal account
The benefits of further learning for professsionals.
Restoring Alexander Pope's grotto
The only surviving part of his villa in Twickenham.
International Women's Day 8 March, 2025
Accelerating Action for For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.
Lack of construction careers advice threatens housing targets
CIOB warning on Government plans to accelerate housebuilding and development.
Shelter from the storm in Ukraine
Ukraine’s architects paving the path to recovery.
BSRIA market intelligence division key appointment
Lisa Wiltshire to lead rapidly growing Market Intelligence division.
A blueprint for construction’s sustainability efforts
Practical steps to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Timber in Construction Roadmap
Ambitious plans from the Government to increase the use of timber in construction.
ECA digital series unveils road to net-zero.
Retrofit and Decarbonisation framework N9 launched
Aligned with LHCPG social value strategy and the Gold Standard.