SEED

Ideas,
engineered.

SEED Labs connects design, materials and making. A place to question how things work, develop alternatives and explore what comes next.

Research, development and practical applications.
Each programme at its own stage.

Inside a panel.

Exploded section
Exploded conceptual panel sectionTwo concrete faces, two reinforcing meshes and an insulating core. Use the five controls to explore the conceptual assembly.
  1. Concrete
    face
  2. Reinforcing
    mesh
  3. Insulating
    core
  4. Reinforcing
    mesh
  5. Concrete
    face

Start with the whole.

A concrete insulated panel brings faces, reinforcing mesh and an insulating core together. Explore the conceptual layers, then the question at the centre.

Different layers. One system.

Separate the panel to see its parts. Changing one material means reassessing how the complete assembly performs.

What could the core be?

Expanded polystyrene is shown as a reference core. SEED's research asks how an alternative material could work within the panel system.

A light straw clay alternative.

The programme explores a core made with straw and clay. The work was a finalist in the UNIDO Global Cleantech Innovation Programme, Pakistan, in 2017.

A new core. New questions.

Structural, thermal, moisture and fire performance need design and testing for the intended application before specification.

Conceptual assembly, not a construction detail or a statement of structural equivalence.

Protection,
down to the detail.

Protective doors and hardened structures bring in-house engineering and fabrication together, through SEED Defence and SEED Design.

Engineering model showing a protective door, frame and wheel-operated mechanism
Engineering modelAn in-house protective-door study.
Retouched project photograph of an installed protective door, a separate assembly from the engineering model
Project exampleRetouched project photograph; surrounding finishes visualised.

Design and fabrication capability is separate from certification of a particular assembly or rating. Discuss the design basis and evidence for your intended application.

Discuss protective structures

Explore a building
before it exists.

SpanPlan puts early steel-building ideas into a model you can explore. Adjust a building configuration, examine its framing and develop a clearer project brief.

SpanPlan · Interactive planning tool

Open SpanPlan
Actual SpanPlan screen capture of an illustrative warehouse steel-frame configuration
Warehouse configuration, captured from SpanPlan.

For preliminary planning. The model is not a structural design, construction drawing or final quotation.

Small changes.
Material possibilities.

From mix development to architectural form, our programmes connect the material, the way it is made and the job it needs to do.

Moulds at the CLC plant project
CLC plant project, commissioned in 2022.

Lightweight materials,
real-world development.

CLC · Mix development and completed plant project

Cellular lightweight concrete links formulation, process and production. SEED's work includes mix-development methodology and a plant commissioned in 2022.

Each proposed application needs its own specification, trial mix and relevant test evidence.

Explore the CLC plant project
AI-generated architectural concept exploring curved GFRC forms
AI architectural concept, not completed work.

CLADRA.
New expressions in GFRC.

Architectural development programme

Exploring glass-fibre reinforced concrete for façades and architectural elements. Samples, application suitability and evidence are agreed for each project.

Explore CLADRA
Illustrative TENSYL packaging range showing bags, pails and drums
Packaging concepts include approved and development artwork.

TENSYL.
Formulation with a purpose.

Construction-chemical product range

Grouts, dry mixes and waterproofing formulations from SEED Chemicals. Product selection starts with the substrate, site conditions and required application.

Explore TENSYL
Machined ball nodes in a manufacturing-partner reference photograph
Machined ball nodes. Manufacturing-partner reference photograph.

LATTIX.
Thinking in three dimensions.

Space-frame development programme

Ball-node space-frame systems for large-span roofs. Engineering geometry is the starting point; scope, supply arrangements and readiness are discussed for each project.

Explore LATTIX

From question
to application.

  1. Define

    Understand the problem, the setting and what a useful outcome would look like.

  2. Develop

    Explore a design, mix or prototype with the relevant SEED team.

  3. Evaluate

    Review the design basis, trial results and evidence needed for the application.

  4. Apply

    Agree scope, readiness and supply before a solution is specified for a project.

Bring us the next
engineering question.

A material challenge, a protective assembly or an early building concept. Start a conversation with the team.

Discuss a development project