By Alexa Wolford-Romanek, Marketing Director, Spatial Construx

Alexa Wolford-Romanek, MBA

Technological Innovations: “What major technological advancements or innovations do you foresee occurring in your industry in 2024, and how do you plan to adapt or lead in these areas?”

In 2024 we will see the merging of different technologies moving the industry toward true digital representations of the designed and built structures. Since the 1980s, different digital technologies have been developed that impacted the AEC industry. Many of these technologies were integrated into our industry based on forces that had affected the industry but did not originate directly from it. For example, through economic turndowns like the 1980’s Savings Loan Crisis- Adoption of Computer-Aided Design (CAD), 2000-2001 Dot-Com Bust- Beginning of Building Information Modeling (BIM), 2008-2010 Banking Housing Crisis- Adoption of BIM Systems. These times have forced the industry to do more with less. While we have claimed to be digital for over 20 years, the new demands by owners for true digital As-Built for facility management, the need for more accurate renovation/restoration documents using point cloud technologies, and the declining interest in the next generation of taking positions in the AEC industry (robots replacing/supplementing human activities). This means the industry must come to terms with the savings available through technology and finally become proficient in digital tools.

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By Mariganesh Paulpandi, Head of  BIM Practice, Srinsoft

Mariganesh Paulpandi

The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry has undergone a substantial digital transformation in the past decade, transitioning from physical to digital data. Notably, advancements in collaboration tools and project data accessibility have played pivotal roles. Industry giants like Autodesk, Bentley, and Graph iSOFT have introduced products covering various project phases. However, challenges persist, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in efficiently transferring data from design to execution phases.

Existing Landscape and Challenges

In regions like the US and the UK, custom applications are widely used for comprehending project details during the design-to-execution transition. However, in the Asia-Pacific region, limited adoption of tools like Bim360 Build is observed, stemming from a lack of understanding among high-level management and a scarcity of experts leading tool implementation. (more…)

By Roderick Bates, Director, Corporate Development,  Chaos

Roderick Bates

Building for climate change

“The topic of sustainability in architecture is not going away. A key driving factor is high energy prices, putting energy efficiency and insecurity top of the agenda. But beyond the pure performance concerns, architects now need to build for future changes in climate.

“This shifting climate has the potential to transform weather patterns in ways that could render buildings in the contemporary climate unsafe. This means the industry faces the challenge of designing buildings that are energy efficient and comfortable for the current climate, yet are also climate-resistant and able to provide protection under future conditions. For most firms, modelling future climate conditions are table stakes, but showing a proactive plan for how buildings will cope and can be adapted for their changing surroundings and purposes can help them take their designs to the next level.”

Renovation and retrofit

“We’re seeing a strong drive and interest in renovation, which is butting up against the fact that most older buildings were not initially designed to be resilient. For example, many office buildings have not been designed in order to be converted to another purpose. Zoning and code barriers are a major first obstacle. Zoning is already being addressed on a local level and grant funding is getting easier, but private funding continues to pose serious challenges – some firms are finding novel solutions to this, although not necessarily at affordable pricepoints.

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By Francisco Maranchello, COO of e-verse

Three Projections for the AEC Industry in 2024

After a year of interesting advancements due to the surge of AI in the AEC industry, expectations for 2024 are rising.

However, this market sector and its growing startup ecosystem still face many challenges.

1: AI, The Buzzword of the Day

As always, in the tech industry, there’s a buzzword. Like IoT in 2015, or blockchain in 2019, in 2023, that’s Artificial Intelligence.

“What’s interesting to me is that, although other industries have been impacted more by this technology so far, and that there have been interesting developments in our industry too, there are many opportunities yet to be explored.

Even though there are lots of smart people working on AI for image generation and full design automation, both areas intricately related to the AEC industry, there is still so much to be created” Francisco added, regarding AI specifically applied to the AEC industry.

Other industries like software or manufacturing have modularized their knowledge and designs, but AEC starts almost from scratch on every project in architecture.

We’ve recently seen increasing developments focused on leveraging BIM data to provide insights to users about their models, perform direct actions on those models, and use existing data to feed future designs, going from massing to, say, 70% of the design -not trying to automate everything, but going most of the way and leaving the rest of the creative part to humans-.

Hopefully, this trend will continue advancing as we see startups in this space like Skema grow.
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By Vectorworks Chief Executive Officer Dr. Biplab Sarkar

Dr. Biplab Sarkar

In the next few years, we can expect several significant shifts in the architecture and construction industry.

One of the most prominent trends will be the continuous increase in building reuse, rehabilitation, and historic preservation types of projects. This will be driven by a growing awareness of preserving our architectural heritage and reducing waste to move toward a more sustainable future.

A continued focus on low carbon emissions will also be a priority, with a new emphasis on wood construction as a strategy to reduce carbon. We expect to see more buildings designed to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, focusing on sustainable materials and construction practices.

Creating designs that are resilient to extreme weather events and rising sea levels is becoming increasingly important. Designs need to be flexible and adaptive to counteract the effects of climate change.

Another trend is a greater emphasis on improving occupant health and well-being through biophilic design and natural lighting. This will be especially important as more people become aware of our built environment’s impact on our mental and physical health.

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By Nathan Patton, Product Marketing Manager, Trimble

Nathan Patton

Construction Technology 2024 Outlook

While uncertainty around labor, supply chains and economic conditions persist, the global construction industry continues to work its way through economic instability – and the outlook for 2024 remains mostly optimistic. Spending should improve, in large part due to the realization of federal programs such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). In a recent press release, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) noted that profit margins and staffing levels remain high, factors that suggest growth over the next six months.

As we look ahead to 2024, we have identified six key areas that we think will help shape the construction industry, both for the coming year and into the future.

1)    Expanded Focus on Sustainability

According to Deloitte’s 2024 Engineering and Construction Industry Outlook, sustainability continues to be a business imperative for the construction industry. We expect this to remain the case both in 2024 and well into the future.

Engineering and construction companies face a multidimensional challenge on this front as they adapt to evolving market trends, environmental regulations and meeting customer demands for greener buildings, while also preventing construction costs from accelerating too rapidly.

For years, sustainable construction focused primarily on reducing energy consumption during the operations phase of assets, with less emphasis on the construction process itself. While operational carbon emissions are of primary focus, the importance of more sustainable design methodologies and material considerations. As we look at the next year, we expect to see more manufacturers, producers and construction firms putting these principles to work, through advancements in concrete, cement and carbon capture, as an example.

Sustainable actions are making the way onto jobsites as well. This year, Saunders Construction, working closely with Trimble, demonstrated and dramatically improved its concrete cast-in-place practices while delivering sustainable outcomes for its One River North project in Denver, Colorado. With a progressive virtual design and construction approach, the Saunders team realized enhanced project predictability and operating margins, reduced rework and material waste and delivered better environmental outcomes for an ROI that is as eye-opening as the exterior walls of this impressive structure. The ROI of the entire virtual design and construction process was estimated at 1,164% for this project, with a total project cost savings of $505,000 and a total CO2 savings of 144,221 kg.

We expect sustainability to remain a top priority for the entire industry – from materials producers to subcontractors – throughout 2024 and for decades to come.

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