5 points of a Newtecnic architecture

1. An architecture of context – use of below ground space to anchor the building structure and environment into the surrounding infrastructure. Context is created by embedding the building into the site – as well as accommodating its massing and forms with that of its neighbours.

2. An architecture of spatial arrangement that reflects the processes within the building, but flexible in responding to change. An expression of processes of contemporary work and cultural patterns in the spatial arrangements.

3. An architecture of envelopes that are independent of spatial arrangement, not an expression of a specific spatial arrangement as would be viewed in section. Internal arrangements and envelope are performing different tasks – the facades are not treated as a map of the interior, but instead complementing the interior.

4. An architecture of a visual layering of both floors and walls, cut away to create links between floors and a sense of the ‘whole’ experienced from the interior rather than the exterior. The exterior is viewed by the passer-by, and belongs to the experience of the city dweller, worker or visitor.

5. An architecture of landscape. Nature is introduced into every project – as terraces or interior landscaped spaces; both create connections between space used in common and space which is programmed for specific uses.

1. 25 years’ experience as multidisciplinary engineers and designers

The firm has 25 years’ experience as multidisciplinary engineers and designers on high-profile, large-scale projects around the world, following the founders’ experience of 10 years each in senior roles in world-leading architecture practices in Paris. The firm has been ranked in third place in the NCE list of Top 100 companies in this field.

2. Combining architectural arrangement of spaces and engineering of built form

The method used by Newtecnic is the combination of principles of architectural arrangement of spaces and the engineering of their built form, in equal measure, as set out at Modern Construction Online.

3. Real-time solutions via interaction with project stakeholders at design workshops

Newtecnic conduct renowned design workshops, providing solutions in real-time through interaction with project stakeholders. Newtecnic bring in-house expertise to all workshops, combining technical authority, built project experience, and Newtecnic’s own library of typologies, technologies and testing. In 2020, Newtecnic were shortlisted for the NCE Awards’ Leader in Collaboration.

4. Near-future design language

The visually striking design language is described in its highly detailed outputs of drawings and specifications, serving as a user manual for project stakeholders.

5. Technical authority

Technical authority comes from the Modern Construction series of textbooks written by Newtecnic and published by leading publisher Birkhauser. The books are used in the architecture and engineering departments of most universities around the world.

6. Commitment to the evolving art of engineered construction

The firm demonstrated commitment to the evolving art of engineered construction through publication of its articles and papers in the technical press, authored by Newtecnic. The social value of the significance of the art of construction is central to the firm’s method of working.

The architectural and engineering design of Newtecnic requires an interpretation of the spatial and volumetric design as a set of systems for structure, environment and envelope. The architectural vision is realised by extending the design into corresponding systems for envelope, interior and structure through the use of strategies rather than simply jumping to sets of details. Construction is systems based, both as a component of the building and its corresponding form of construction.

At the concept design stage, Newtecnic optimises the palette of materials in order to create an elegance of appearance informed by considerations of weathering from the effects of rain and sun. Material selection can help to avoid pattern staining on the facades, allowing them to age gracefully rather than rely on an intense maintenance schedule. The choice of materials is usually reviewed from one of our own reference books used in the industry, the Modern Construction Handbook, which is in its sixth edition and is used in architecture schools and university engineering departments around the world. This reference, along with others in our Modern Construction Series published by Birkhauser, allows Newtecnic to inform the choice of materials, not just in terms of sizes and thicknesses available, but also how the proposed materials weather together.

 At this stage Newtecnic produces reports on benefits that can be brought by minor changes to the build-up of assemblies and systems.

 At the design development stage, cleaning and maintenance systems are developed from proposals already made by Newtecnic at the concept design stage. The task is focussed on how the completed project can be cleaned economically, as the system can add significant cost if not addressed at this stage. We develop as economic and as visually minimal an intervention as possible.

The Newtecnic approach is one of the interdisciplinary design of buildings that require the close integration of architectural and engineering outputs to create near-future designs. Newtecnic defines such designs as those where industrialised systems already exist but have not yet been assembled at the different scales of an architectural composition in ways that create harmony from the increasing scale of the design of a door, to a wall, to a space, to an external form, to a courtyard, to a street, to a city quarter.

Theoretical approach, technical authority; new knowledge generated by the company is shared in the Modern Construction series of university textbooks, papers and technical notes.

Research and development; providing a more technically advanced solution than would otherwise be possible.

Preparation for local fabrication and reduction of environmental impact; allows high performance, technically advanced buildings, with design flair, at a regular budget.

Comprehensive scope; from brief to tender stage; frequently novated for shop drawings. The approach adopted by Newtecnic suits near-future architectural and engineering design of complex forms.

Design development; architectural and engineering design activities are supported by physical modelling and prototyping, with both established and new techniques of fabrication.

The architectural design method is based on design thinking; the engineering design method is based in first principles thinking. In addition, both architectural and engineering design are informed by systems thinking. Design thinking in Newtecnic architectural design is both a mindset and a methodology with the following themes: design as problem-solving, the changing ‘behaviour’ of a design with project development, innovation in design, iterative process of design and the interdisciplinary nature of design.

First principles thinking in engineering is a problem-solving approach that breaks down complex systems into fundamental components, or "first principles." By focusing on these core elements, Newtecnic engineering design can progress beyond assumptions, analogies, and conventions to develop innovative and efficient solutions to problems with the following themes: reduction to fundamentals, reconstruct from basics, empirical validation, progressing beyond analogies and assumptions.

Newtecnic designs comprise geometries that generate forms that can be seen as being either ‘abstract’ or ‘figurative’. Abstract in terms of non-rectilinear forms, and figurative in terms of allowing assemblies to do what they require to function as well as possible. The abstract alludes to providing greater possibilities for adaptation over the life of the building – and its future retrofit rather than its demolition – as the figurative allows assemblies to be optimised for performance rather than appearance. Designs based in architectural abstraction can reduce significantly the technical performance of a building while those based in performance can lack cultural significance.

Newtecnic invests in research and development of new facade systems that could be developed from old facade systems in the time of a project time scale.

 Newtecnic have applied this approach to external envelopes - how they perform environmentally and how they interact with structure – through the testing of prototypes, specifically with facade assemblies and with structural assemblies.

 Mock-ups are tested for ease of assembly, speed of connection, and discovering before tender how the market may respond to material systems in terms of time and cost.