The natural environment is a complex and interrelated system of systems. Digital technology can provide the crucial information needed to make better decisions for development, writes Dan Rossiter of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists
Recently, the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT) were a proud co-signatory of an open letter to the prime minister asking for the government to change its perspective on having to choose between homes or nature. The letter argued for a more cohesive narrative where nature is treated as a fundamental asset to our economy and society.
While there is plenty of evidence for this within HM Treasury’s own Dasgupta Review, the importance of nature and biodiversity has been understood by built environment professionals for decades. In fact, the Roman architect Vitruvius saw a close relationship between our built and natural environments over 2,000 years ago; stating architecture as an imitation of nature.
In truth, our built and natural environment is a complex and interrelated system of systems. All too often have we seen isolated and short-term thinking have a larger detrimental impact on the overall system itself.
In fact, this was the key vision of the CDBB work Flourishing Systems: to consider economic, social and environmental outcomes as the objectives our built environment should aim to deliver.
To deliver such objectives, myriad decisions need to be made. To make such decisions, information is needed. This is one of the key tenets of information management, the ability to provide “the right information, at the right time, to the right person, in the right format” to enable such decision making.
Transactionally, we have been collecting information to enable decisions about nature and biodiversity in several ways. Some examples of note include:
BREEAM, BRE’s Environmental Assessment Method includes specific module on ecology and land use.
Value Toolkit, the (now) Constructing Excellence procurement tool, which uses a scorecard approach built upon the Four Capitals Model, one of which being nature.
However, while useful tools in their own right, they do not address their interrelationship with the overall system of systems. For this, we need to extend beyond “buildings” and “projects” to look at national infrastructure. This is where we find work such as:
IPA’s National Metrics Library (as cited within the TIP Roadmap).
DBT’s National Digital Twin Programme.
(now) Connect Places Catapult’s National Cyber-Physical Infrastructure Ecosystem.
MHCLG’s Planning Application Data Specification.
While distinct in scope, these works share two things in common.
1. They each relate to the exchange of information between organisations to gain insights beyond the “building” or “project” itself.
2. They rely on the capture of information within a digital form.
As we look to understand and model our built (and natural) environment to better understand the interventions we place upon it, we will never fully capture its complexity.
However, we do not necessarily need to. As statistician George Box said: “All models are wrong; some models are useful.”
What is important is that we adequately collate pertinent information about our natural environment to factor it into decision making. Some standards which may help include those curated by B/558 (Sustainability of construction works):
BS ISO 21931-1 (Framework for methods of assessment of the environmental, social and economic performance [buildings]).
BS ISO 21931-2 (Framework for methods of assessment of the environmental, social and economic performance [civil engineering works]).
Therefore, through the establishment of robust indicators we can collate information to create a useful model of our complex system of systems. In doing so, we appear to be making digital nature’s newest champion.
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