A New Future of Construction (2024-09)¶

There is an emerging link between digital technologies and sustainability, forming a pivotal connection within the contemporary realm of design and fabrication. As the urgency to move towards a sustainable building culture has become central to the disciplines of architecture and construction, this relation deserves increasing attention and significance in the discourse of today’s practices. With this issue of 2, the focus is on projects that not only underscore an intrinsic connection between sustainability and digitisation but also actively embrace design through the lens of data, technology, fabrication and innovative construction processes. The issue’s fundamental theme revolves around showcasing the profound impact of technology in conjunction with construction materials, as a dynamic interaction with the potential to reshape the landscape of both contemporary and future architectural practice. By examining the intricate interplay between sustainability, digital fabrication, material systems and technological advancements, it aims to illuminate their transformative possibilities. Exploring three foundational themes – concrete, earth construction and digital technologies – this issue brings together authors primarily belonging to the inaugural generation of digital fabrication researchers, architects and engineers. Firstly, Mario Carpo, the renowned architectural historian and critic, discusses and speculates on the sustainable lightness of digital fabrication and illustrates how digital technologies have shaped our production and material practices in the past – and how they might help us in tackling the big challenges of our future. Our post-industrial logic of mass-customisation allows the serial reproduction of non-identical items and thus a shift from the global transport of materials and goods towards bespoke, on-site, on-time and on-demand fabrication. Furthermore, Carpo addresses how digital tools enable us to embrace natural building materials and their circular usage thanks to intelligent robotic labour, fostering a more environmentally sustainable approach to building practice. In regard to concrete, four articles highlight how this material can be reconsidered as sustainable in the future. Firstly, Timothy Wangler, Yamini Patankar and Robert J Flatt, from the Physical Chemistry of Building Materials group at ETH Zurich, discuss why, how and when concrete is sustainable, and emphasise its enduring importance as a building material. Acknowledging the ecological significance of concrete and examining its negative environmental image, they address productivity challenges, and their narrative questions the sustainability of current digital fabrication practices, providing a nuanced perspective. Through compelling examples like the DFAB House (2018) and the HiLo project (2022) in Switzerland, the authors envision a future where digital fabrication enhances sustainability by fostering creative, materially efficient designs, ultimately challenging conventional norms in construction.