Game changing innovations of the last 50 years

For more than five decades, Cundall has shaped the built environment through a spirit of curiosity, collaboration and technical excellence. From pioneering low energy design in the 1990s to adopting emerging digital tools and global wellbeing standards, the practice has been defined by a commitment to continual improvement. Each chapter reflects a willingness to challenge convention, embrace innovation and embed learning from project experience. The following highlights capture key ideas and technologies that have helped Cundall push boundaries and deliver positive outcomes for people and the planet.
 

1. Combined Heat and Power
 

In 1994, Wansbeck General Hospital received the Green Building of the Year Award. A year later, the Department of Health published a twelve month energy monitoring report that provided detailed insight into the performance of the onsite Combined Heat and Power system. For hospitals, which operate continuously and require high resilience, CHP provided reliable onsite generation while meeting substantial thermal loads.

Cundall subsequently applied CHP across several healthcare projects, including Ulster Hospital in Belfast and Whipps Cross Hospital in London, as well as in residential and commercial developments. With the continued decarbonisation of electrical grids and a shift away from fossil fuel technologies, the business case for CHP has reduced. This change marks an important transition point in sustainable building design.

2. Chilled Beams
 

Vodafone Headquarters in Newbury, opened in 2003, incorporated chilled beam technology across 500,000 square feet of office space across six buildings. These modular multi service chilled beams integrated lighting, lighting controls, fire alarms and pathways for wireless IT systems.

Chilled beams provide excellent efficiency because water transfers heat more effectively than air. This leads to smaller pipework, reduced fan energy, higher chilled water temperatures and opportunities for free cooling. They also support quiet, draught free comfort and require less maintenance than air based systems.

As early adopters of chilled beams in the United Kingdom, Cundall extended this expertise internationally. A notable example is 30 The Bond in Sydney, the first significant chilled beam installation in Australia, where Cundall acted as mechanical peer reviewers and refined the passive chilled beam design.

3. CFD Modelling

The heating and ventilation strategy for the Wellcome Building was made possible through Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling, which allowed the team to analyse air movement and temperature distribution within the atrium. CFD continues to play a crucial role in Cundall’s work, supporting building optimisation as well as more complex engineering challenges beyond the built environment.

A notable example is the London 2012 White Water Rafting Centre. Hydraulic performance was essential to the design of the channels and pumping systems. HEC‑RAS modelling was used for the general hydraulic profile, while CFD provided detailed insight into flow patterns such as pump intakes. This modelling enabled the design team to resolve issues previously encountered in similar schemes and refine the solution for performance, safety, and user experience.
 

4. Smart Buildings
 

Cundall’s smart building work focuses on creating environments that are intuitive, efficient and responsive to occupants. By integrating advanced sensors, real time data analytics and intelligent building management systems, the practice has optimised energy use, enhanced comfort and improved operational outcomes.
 

Independent benchmarking has strengthened the industry’s ability to measure smart building capability. Schneider Electric recently achieved a perfect 100 out of 100 SmartScore Platinum certification. The building’s advanced management system operates as a central control point, monitoring all major systems in real time. This includes power consumption tracking, intelligent lighting and HVAC automation, occupancy sensing and people count analytics that support energy and space optimisation.
 

5. Health and Wellbeing
 

In 2016, Cundall transformed its London office into a living laboratory. It became the first project in Europe to achieve certification under the WELL Building Standard. All materials were specified to achieve exceptionally low levels of volatile organic compounds and sustainable, far exceeding typical UK practice at the time. Natural materials were prioritised, and furniture, paints, adhesives and insulation were selected for low or zero emissions.

High-density areas were designed with variable volume air systems managed by carbon dioxide sensors to maintain superior indoor air quality. These insights have since informed Cundall’s global offices and numerous client projects. Cundall has gone on to support and deliver 79 WELL and Health & Wellbeing assessments and more than 20 WELL certified projects worldwide, demonstrating a clear commitment to health- centred outcomes.

6. Parametric Modelling

Cundall’s structural engineers used parametric modelling tools to design the feature staircase in the Birmingham office, marking an early step in the practice’s parametric capability growth.
 

Since then, parametric design has supported closer collaboration with architects, improved construction outcomes and helped deliver geometrically complex structures. A prominent example is The Storm, Dubai’s first indoor rollercoaster of its kind, completed in 2022. The track geometry and primary structure were highly interdependent, rotating on multiple axes within a confined three dimensional space. Extensive parametric modelling enabled structural optimisation, material reduction, improved coordination and streamlined delivery. The team evaluated 261 load cases generated by the ride, combined with seismic, wind and thermal loads. With 120 structural connection points subject to six force types each, the total number of combinations reached 187,000, all of which were parametrically modelled and analysed.

7. Virtual Acoustic Reality®

Innovation at Cundall is often driven by the ability to adopt technologies from other industries and integrate them into engineering tools. In 2015, the Acoustics team identified an opportunity to adapt gaming technology to create Virtual Acoustic Reality® for client engagement. This approach transformed traditional acoustic reporting, which typically relies on technical data and numerical outputs, into an immersive environment where clients can hear the impact of different design choices.
 

Virtual Acoustic Reality allows stakeholders to experience acoustic conditions before construction begins. This provides a clearer understanding of design implications, enables faster decision making and enhances confidence in proposed solutions. This work is supported by Cundall’s advanced scripting capability, which is applied across multiple disciplines to automate processes, streamline analysis and support the rapid integration of emerging technologies. As these technologies continue to evolve, Cundall is well positioned to advance engineering excellence and deliver more intuitive and evidence-based outcomes for clients.

Cundall won numerous awards for its development of this technology, ranging from the Association of Noise Consultants award for Building Acoustics, through to Association of Consultancy & Engineering’s Technology Champion in 2016. In the intervening years, other software companies (with much deeper pockets) have developed better solutions, but we are proud to have been the first people in the world to combined virtual reality with acoustics in an engineering context for room acoustic prediction.

Continuing this innovation journey

Over the past fifty years, many of the innovations that once represented step changes in engineering have become standard practice. Throughout this period, Cundall has partnered with clients who share a commitment to exploring new ideas and improving outcomes for people and the planet. The practice acknowledges and thanks these clients for their ongoing trust and collaboration, and looks forward to continuing this journey of innovation together over the next fifty years.