A post over at The Atlantic Cities asks why the construction industry hasn’t experienced the kind of leaps in innovation most other sectors have seen over the last few decades, sparking some interesting conversation across the web. With rapid advances in green building techniques, developments in sustainable guidelines (e.g. LEED certification), and constant advances in materials, surely the industry is moving forward – right?
As the comment section and follow-up articles for The Atlantic piece make clear, the rub comes in the manual, physical labor required to turn designs into reality. Unlike other manufacturing industries, the construction sector has been thus far unable to automate the transition process between the design and building phases, meaning that costly, time-consuming interpretations must be performed at each job site by building crews no matter the medium for the project’s plans (drawings, BIM, etc.).
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Much of the machinery and processes for raising buildings remains unchanged over the last half-century, despite rapid advances in design software and other technologies. Will the divide between the digital and physical forever limit advances in the building sector?
Several emerging technologies promise to help bridge that gap, however, and could radically alter the speed, efficiency, and possibilities of future building projects. 3D printing is an obvious contender for industry transformation as it eliminates much of the effort in translating digital designs to physical building components. Assembly of these pre-fabricated structures will likely be increasingly handled by autonomous machines, such as fleets of airborne robots.
These are not lofty, futuristic hopes for the sector – a recent project in China raised a 30-story skyscraper in less than 360 hours with a combination of prefab and computer-assisted erection techniques. With the building sector in such turmoil, incentives for exploring new ways of erecting greener, safer, and more efficient buildings have never been higher.
Have ideas about what technologies stand to change the industry, or what trends the sector will see in the years/decades to come? Join the conversation on our Twitter feed – ConstructionD #constructioninnovation
