Blog # 10 - The Future of Evidence Based Design

The construction sector is one of the least innovative industries in the world with an annual research and development budget of only 0.05 percent. 

To create meaningful progress we need to embrace-evidence based research. When we design based on data rather than habit, we stop guessing and start building places that genuinely improve lives.

The need has never been greater. The built environment is responsible for almost 40 percent of global carbon emissions which presents a powerful opportunity for our sector to lead, to innovate, and to rethink the way we design.

Evidence shows that buildings shaped by research outperform traditional approaches in every way. 

Studies reveal that improving indoor air quality can increase cognitive performance by more than sixty percent. 

Nature-rich workplaces can reduce absenteeism by 35 percent and lift productivity by up to 20 percent. The Lancet Planetary Health reports that people with everyday access to green space, experience significantly lower rates of chronic illness. 

These are measurable outcomes, not assumptions.

When we place evidence at the centre of design, collaboration strengthens, creativity expands and communities thrive. We begin to create places that restore ecosystems, enhance wellbeing and lower emissions at scale.

The future of our industry will belong to those courageous enough to build, not based on what is familiar, but on what is proven. 

Evidence is the path forward. The choice is whether we follow it.

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