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Neuron is garnering widespread acclaim and endorsement from industry heavyweights as it tackles complex challenges in the property industry.
Leveraging its digitised design tools, Neuron addresses critical issues such as housing affordability, climate change, design quality, and site de-risking.
Neuron has already made a significant impact assisting clients such as Lendlease, Cbus, Frasers, Beulah and Mulpha in designing tens of thousands of apartments in the past 18 months, in addition to many hotel and commercial buildings.
A standout project in size and scale is STH BNK by Beulah. Designed by renowned architectural firms UNStudio and Cox Architecture, and engineered by ARUP, the colossal development, also known as the ‘Green Spine’, encompasses a vast building surface of 253,485sq m at Melbourne’s Southbank.
Neuron’s software identified numerous opportunities to refine and optimise the project’s design, resulting in significant savings and an uplift in value in the tens of millions of dollars. These optimisations were focused on reconfiguring the building layout to create additional residential space that could be sold as apartments.
Backed by renowned industry figures and directors from top engineering companies, Neuron’s ability to deliver value to projects is unhindered by project size and scale.
Neuron’s newest recruit, Ben James, joins with 23 years of international experience with Tier 1 companies such as Hyder Consulting (now Arcadis), and as the former director of buildings ANZ for Australian business WGE (now Stantec).
As managing director, Ben recognises the need to drive change within the industry through the power of technology.
His focus on clients will allow him to guide Neuron towards achieving the solutions that optimise development potential, sustainability, and profitability.
“The challenge for developers lies in providing certainty and maximising the potential of a project as early as possible.
“With Neuron’s flexibility in providing a comprehensive understanding of available options, key decisions can be made early in the design process.
“I am excited to work closely with both developers and architects in driving such an invaluable tool.
“Neuron is fundamental in the growth of a digital ecosystem that will become the backbone of an individual development or property portfolio.”
Tim Franzen of Lateral Consulting, and the former national head of engineering from Meriton, is another prominent figure who has joined forces with Neuron.
He is partnering with Neuron to deliver their structural concept design tool to market; a great example of what can be achieved when the right team has the right tool in their hands.
“Throughout the design and development process of any project, it’s crucial for developers and builders to have as much information as possible, as quickly as possible, to make informed design decisions, with construction costs always at the front of mind,” Franzen said.
“Neuron’s tools provide clients with an understanding of the cost implications of different design outcomes, allowing them to compare potential options in real time. We believe these are powerful tools that are providing a long overdue and unmatched service to the industry.”
Franzen is joined by others such as John Lucchetti, of the Australian engineering firm Collective Engineering (former director and commercial sector leader for Stantec, formerly WGE), whose team has been key in Neuron’s expansion into the Victorian market since 2022.
Lucchetti said residential, commercial and hotel projects often shared a common factor—time was of the essence. The ability to make decisions that stuck at the outset of projects was a critical advantage.
“Partnering with Neuron has helped cut through this challenge, delivering a fast and accurate process that allows design teams to rely on the advice provided. The ability to rapidly iterate design scenarios is crucial to maximising client value and driving design excellence,” Lucchetti said
Strategic partnerships with industry experts like Franzen and Lucchetti reinforced Neuron’s commitment to utilising data and technology to provide certainty in engineering solutions and design option flexibility.
Neuron’s contributions were recognised when it was awarded the Federal Government’s Accelerating Commercialisation grant in 2023, with an $800,000 program.
This grant has enabled Neuron to expand its research and development team, scale its operations into commercial buildings and structural engineering and integrate its tools with other proptech companies such as Giraffe through APIs to enable even faster feasibility planning of sites.
Their inclusion as a finalist in the Best New PropTech category at The Urban Developer Awards demonstrates their successful collaboration with top developers across NSW and Australia on more than 200 projects in just 18 months.
The platform’s data-driven and advanced solving engines position Neuron at the forefront of addressing industry challenges on alarge scale.
Its structural tool stands out with its ability to provide highly accurate cost and embodied carbon data, allowing users to optimise structural grids, materials and sub-structure options to understand where cost and carbon are being spent.
It enables teams to gain insight into the single biggest cost and carbon element of a project and optimise it before the design gets locked in.
Motivated by a desire to make the biggest positive impact possible within the property industry, Neuron is committed to making tier-one engineering advice accessible in real time, irrespective of tier, budget or project size.
Their latest commitment is in the development of a SaaS model for user-friendly accessibility to the groundbreaking software. This will make real time engineering available 24/7 to property professionals, anywhere in the world.
Neuron has developed a pathway to enter new markets outside of Australia and is excited to share its journey with the international property sector as it continues to develop new technology that will have a global impact.
The Urban Developer is proud to partner with Neuron to deliver this article to you. In doing so, we can continue to publish our daily news, information, insights and opinion to you, our valued readers.
Neuron is an engineering platform that optimises building value for property developers and architects. Drawing on decades of expertise and data, the Neuron team works closely with clients to instantly generate multiple engineering options for residential, commercial, hotel, and industrial projects. Their early-stage structural and MEP services design advice empowers property developers and design teams with clear, robust advice, optimising projects by balancing costs, yield and risk.
