Public sector construction faces increasing pressure to deliver faster, more sustainable, and cost-effective outcomes.In this interview, Richard Crosby, Director of Seismic, shares how the company’s decade-long commitment to platform-led construction is reshaping the delivery of public buildings.
Rooted in the UK government’s platform-based principles, Seismic’s approach lowers barriers to adoption, streamlines manufacturing and assembly, and enhances performance across diverse sectors.
By leveraging standardised, tested components and offering a flexible, supplier-agnostic model, Seismic empowers organisations to scale up modern methods of construction (MMC) while maintaining control, quality and sustainability at every stage of the project lifecycle.
Richard Crosby
How is Seismic helping public buildings benefit from platform-led construction?
Seismic has spent over a decade developing a product platform aligned with the UK government’s platform-based construction principles, as outlined in the Platform Rulebook and Construction Playbook. This experience has given us deep insight into the complexities, risks, and cost pressures that public sector construction projects often face.
To support wider industry adoption, we’ve established a licensing model that allows any organization to leverage our proven platform without needing a specialist supply chain. This approach lowers barriers to entry and promotes consistent delivery of high-quality outcomes.
Our platform has already been successfully deployed across a range of public sector projects—including social housing for local authorities, schools delivered with MMC contractors, and industrial buildings with Tier 1 contractors. We’ve also partnered with developers and higher education institutions.
A key benefit of our platform-led approach is its ability to streamline manufacturing and on-site assembly, significantly reducing construction time and reliance on traditional trades. Enhanced material tolerances contribute to lower waste, improved air tightness, and better overall performance—supporting sustainability goals and faster occupancy.
What efficiencies have you realised by industrialising repeatable building components?
By industrialising repeatable building components, Seismic delivers efficiencies across the entire construction lifecycle. These gains are maximised by the organisation implementing the platform—whether a client, developer, contractor, or MMC supplier.
For end users and developers, speed is a key advantage. Faster delivery reduces financing costs and accelerates return on investment. Using a tested, part-designed solution also cuts design fees and mitigates risk.
Tier 1 contractors benefit from supplier-agnostic flexibility, gaining more control over the supply chain and reducing reliance on specialist subcontractors. This enables scalable and consistent MMC delivery.
MMC suppliers benefit from simplified manufacturing and reduced waste. Around 90% of our buildings are demountable and reusable, with the remainder fully recyclable—resulting in up to 70% less embodied carbon at end of life compared to traditional methods.
The platform accommodates a range of delivery approaches—fully assembled on site, up to 90% pre-manufactured (PMV), or flat-pack—without needing to redesign for each MMC category. Standardised, tested components and details are used across configurations, cutting design time and cost, and improving adaptability to varying site conditions, labour availability, and structural demands.
How is Seismic addressing the challenge of scaling up DfMA for diverse environments
Seismic is scaling up Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) by combining cross-sector experience with AI-driven tools to balance standardisation with design flexibility. Our platform supports diverse building types and construction methods, making it adaptable to a wide range of environments.
By identifying commonalities across sectors—such as schools, residential, commercial, and industrial—we enable tailored solutions that still leverage standardised, tested components. This approach reduces design time and cost while allowing clients and design teams to retain control and manage risk effectively.
We’ve proven that by simply switching components within our kit of parts, the same structure designed for a school can be adapted for residential use—even upgraded to meet Passive House standards—without needing to redesign from scratch.
Unlike proprietary systems limited to in-house components, our platform is open and supplier-agnostic, drawing from a scalable network of manufacturers offering interoperable parts. This flexibility empowers clients to choose their supply chain while ensuring consistency and quality across projects.
By embracing commonality and enabling mass customisation, Seismic provides a truly scalable, versatile solution that supports the rapid and efficient delivery of high-performing buildings in any setting
