AEC Industry

I was asked this thoughtful question in a panel discussion at an event related to Digital Construction, and this question has stimulated some further sub-questions in my mind. Can we control Corona Virus, Climate change, poverty, wars and increased global population? Are we able to handle all these factors to help our societies? Many challenges and complex situations across the globe impact every single decision within the industry, and we may seem far from controlling it.

Soyes, maybe we don’t control this world. At least at the moment. But I think we can predict it, simulate it and provide solutions for problems that didn’t arise yet. If we take Covid as an example, we can all agree that the Covid pandemic was a harsh lesson for humanity. Still, it helped accelerate the implementation of many technologies and inventions that were developed way before Covid. These technologies will be used permanently after the pandemic. During the pandemic, humanity discovered that we have tons of tools not used in an optimum way.

For example, Countries that had digital Databases for their residents and applications for governmental services were able to control the spread of the virus better and operate for more extended periods during the pandemic. Looking from the same perspectives, companies that had remote working strategies and cloud storage could work more smoothly.

Maybe these entities can’t control the pandemic, and for sure, they didn’t predict Covid specifically. Still, they were smart enough to implement technologies and strategies that could facilitate the continuity of work under the majeure force. Those countries and companies were future-ready.

We have thousands of years of cumulative experiences connected through technology. Suppose you look at the history of the human civilisations taking the pharaoh civilisation as an example. In that case, you will find that they have always built their buildings to be used not only by them but by their descendants. They made sustainable societies.

Unfortunately, at a certain point in our history, and due to the increased discovery of resources, our ancestors might have thought that these resources were unlimited. They started to design for themselves and focused on the instantaneous use of the building rather than the environmental impact. But now, with all the lessons learned, we know that we need to design for the future, especially when we plan for societies, for example, infrastructure and cities. We need to consider whether this infrastructure network that we build can be used after 100 or 200 years. What will be the capacity of the city by that time? What may other types of utility networks be invented in the upcoming years? Shouldn’t we consider these utilities in our allocations?

And even if we find ourselves unable to predict the future precisely, we need to implement new construction methodologies that allow an easier change in the design if the use of the building changes or the capacities changes. One example is using prefab units that can be removed without destruction and relocated to future needs. Also, increasing the prefabrication reduces site errors and risks as more construction will be done at factories in controlled environments, and only the assembly will be done on-site. Another example may be using Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality to control the construction machinery to elevate the safety of the workforce. BIM, GIS and Digital Construction Technologies became a must to deliver that vision. They give us better control of design and construction that will help minimise the resources consumed during construction and provide better tools for the stakeholders to assess the feasibility of the designs and their future impacts.

Also, after construction, we need to implement digital technologies for operation. For instance, Digital Twins ensures that owners and operators can collect the required use information to predict and simulate scenarios and then provide solutions and improvements to their buildings as needed.

To brief, I think to help societies; we need to open our minds to predict the unpredictable. We need to be Future Ready.

Since its inception humanity has been on the move in search of a better socioeconomic living environment. This has led to 3.5% of the global population migrating, of which 31% reside in Asia, 30% in Europe, 26% in the Americas, 10% in Africa, and 3% in Oceania. In 2018, 13% of the global population lived in 33 cities. This included migration from rural-to-urban areas such that cities grow to form urban mega-cities.1 These migratory flows along with the global population heading towards 8 billion people have led to a growing demand for dwellings, workplaces, educational & recreational facilities. As such the construction industry was valued at $7.8 trillion in 2021 and is expected to grow by 35% in the upcoming decade. To cope with these growing demands 13,000 buildings are being created daily, resulting in a 12% increase in construction activity from 2020 to 2021.2 This overwhelming demand has resulted in the AEC (Architectural, Engineering and Construction) industry evolving rapidly over the past decade. As such the industry has evolved to adopt new processes and project delivery methods while introducing new construction methods, technologies, and sustainable materials.

Evolutions related to process and project delivery methods have seen owners and contractors shift from traditional designbid-build to design-build projects. As such 58% of owners have already adopted a design-build framework or plan to switch soon.2 A design-build process allows for projects to complete within budget while being faster, and less risky for the owner and makes communication between the various stakeholders streamlined. This is possible as the process allows for various stakeholders and disciples to work simultaneously.3 In relation to new construction methods, brick and mortar are being replaced by