Lendlease Podium | Announcement: Podium Named ‘World Changing Idea’ In Software

Today, Fast Company has recognised Lendlease Podium as a ‘World Changing Idea’ in the Software category. The award honours products, concepts, companies, policies, and designs that are pursuing innovation for the good of society and the planet.

To be honoured in this way is an incredible achievement for Lendlease Digital. It affirms to me that the purpose driven approach we’ve embedded in our culture, and everything that we do, is aligned to what the world needs. 

Lendlease Podium is, and always will be designed to enable the outcomes that matter most – from safety to lower cost housing, to the wellbeing of people, and a more sustainable future.

Lendlease Podium: Fast Company 2021 ‘World Changing Idea’ in Software 

How did the idea for Lendlease Podium come about? 

The construction industry is one of the few industries that hasn’t seen productivity gains within the last 50 years – in fact, it’s fallen by 19%, while the average productivity across other industries has increased by 153%. This is due largely to the complex interdependencies, inefficient processes, and traditionally risk-averse nature of the industry. Some organisations have attempted to address these complexities however have only focused on digitising one part of the value chain.

The Podium platform aims to fill a large gap in the market that will see technology help maximise efficiency across the entire property lifecycle – transforming how we design, build, and operate. From design automation to connecting the supply chain and delivering data driven insights, Lendlease Podium is creating the foundation of a new, productive future for the property industry. 

Undoubtedly, the time to lead our industry is now – and we are uniquely positioned to do so. With over 60 years of experience creating places, Lendlease is one of the few organisations in the world that operates across the entire real estate value chain. We understand the pain points and opportunities for value creation better than most. 
  
The story behind the ‘Podium’ name

Achievements

Already, through the power of data and digitisation, the Podium platform is propelling our industry on the pathway to autonomous buildings.

Podium Twin – the digital twin feature of the platform – for example, can self-generate a digital version of a building at 1:1 scale using Lendlease’s proprietary Contextual Universal Building System (CUBS) and AI capability. The output isn’t just a drawing of a building, but a fully resolved solution from an engineering, performance, and financial perspective – meaning it’s buildable, compliant, and financially viable. This feature was recently deployed for the Milan Innovation District (MIND) project. Podium Twin reduced the typical design duration by 60% and contributed to a design resource saving of 70%. 

Podium Twin can also align design goals with sustainability outcomes. It enables ongoing innovation in materials and sustainable designs to be modelled, validated, and optimised in digital form, before the building is physically built. Recently, a digital twin was created to test and determine the viability of building a multistorey complex from sustainable timber in Melbourne, Australia. While this timber had been used previously in construction, it had not been tested in high rise buildings (in this case, a 29-story apartment tower). 

By producing a building in digital format, including the code to feed into the manufacturing machines that produce the physical components, Lendlease Podium eliminates the traditional process of ‘Shop Drawing’ creation. 

What is next for Lendlease Podium?

As I mentioned earlier, Lendlease Podium aims to solve for the inefficiencies across the whole property lifecycle – from development through to management of a building asset. The platform will do this by continuing to provide valuable insights and data to users at every stage of a project. 

An area that we are adamant on transforming is the linear supply chain of our industry. The inability to scale and deliver quality outcomes consistently is an ongoing issue. This can be attributed to several factors including information asymmetry between different stakeholders and poor visibility across the Supply Chain Quality compliance and provenance.

Podium Supply Automation – the connected supply chain feature of the platform – aims to deliver improved productivity, reduced risk, and certainty of supply. It will do this by providing best-in-class supply chain tools and services to plan, source, make, transact, and deliver. 

For the Developer, this means better visibility into supply options, access to supplier early engagement and better control over costs and delivery schedule. For the Supplier, it means better demand signals to plan operations and resourcing, as well as access to global pipeline and potential new revenue streams. For Contractors, it means better bid management and control over sourcing, logistics, delivery risk and material management.


Industry transformation is a team sport

Achieving industry transformation at the speed and scale that’s needed can’t be done alone. It’s a team sport. We see ourselves as part of a greater community driving this value for the world.

We’ve been fortunate to work with great partners in this digital transformation journey including Google Cloud, the Digital Twin Consortium, Building 4.0 CRC and more. 

With purpose driven focus, let’s continue to innovate and transform our industry – a brighter, more sustainable world awaits us.


Learn more: Lendlease Podium – World Changing Idea in Software