The Forge
The Forge is a landmark project for Bryden Wood – the UK’s first net-zero carbon commercial building, and the first large-scale project completed using the Platforms approach to Design for Manufacture and Assembly (P-DfMA).
Bryden Wood delivered The Forge for Landsec in central London, a 14,000 m², nine-storey commercial development, and used it to demonstrate at full scale what industrialised construction can achieve. The verified results: a 39% reduction in upfront embodied carbon, 13% reduction in programme, 9.5% reduction in capital cost, 40% less steel, and 50% fewer site operatives for the superstructure and façade, independently verified by Cundall. It is the first major building completed using Bryden Wood's Platforms approach to Design for Manufacture and Assembly (P-DfMA) – and the proof that the approach works.
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Bryden Wood delivered The Forge as the first major building completed using the Platforms approach to Design for Manufacture and Assembly (P-DfMA) – applying a standardised kit-of-parts methodology across the façade, MEP service distribution, and superstructure. This drove measurable improvements in material efficiency, construction programme, and carbon performance. The Forge achieves a forecast 24% reduction in embodied carbon per square metre against a conventional approach, with a 40% carbon reduction in the substructure and 22% in the superstructure and façade. The building holds net-zero carbon certification from the UK Green Building Council, alongside BREEAM Excellent and WELL Gold Ready accreditations.
The Forge comprises two nine-storey commercial office buildings arranged around a publicly accessible internal courtyard in central London, delivering approximately 14,000 sqm of office space for Landsec. The project was developed in collaboration with fabrication specialist Easi Space, and received funding from Innovate UK in recognition of its potential to transform construction through the Platforms approach.
Bryden Wood applied P-DfMA across the façade, MEP service distribution, and superstructure – using a standardised kit-of-parts methodology that reduces material waste, shortens construction sequences, and improves build quality across the full scope of the building.
The Forge delivers a 39% reduction in upfront embodied carbon – verified by Cundall – against a conventional approach, alongside a 13% reduction in programme, 9.5% reduction in capital cost, 40% less steel, and 50% fewer site operatives for the superstructure and façade.
It holds BREEAM Excellent and WELL Gold Ready accreditations. Bryden Wood's P-DfMA methodology treats cost, programme, and carbon performance as integrated outcomes of a single design approach – not competing priorities.
Every P-DfMA project that follows The Forge starts from a stronger position. Bryden Wood proved the methodology works — verified by Cundall, at full scale, on a real commercial development. The industry now has the evidence it needed.
