Construction Digitalisation

This book gathers papers from the 12th Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Postgraduate Research Conference, which was held at the International Convention Centre, East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa, from July 10 to 12, 2022. The conference directly addresses the objectives of SDG9: “Building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization and fostering innovation”. Moreover, the conference is designed to promote capacity development and transformation within the built-environment space by providing an all-inclusive platform to established and emerging researchers to discuss the recent advancements needed to move the industry forward.

The world’s extant building stock accounts for a significant portion of worldwide energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. In 2020, buildings and construction accounted for 36% of global final energy consumption and 37% of energy related CO2 emissions. The EU estimates that up to 75% of the EU’s existing building stock has poor energy performance, 85–95% of which will still be in use in 2050.

Integrated Project Design/Delivery is not new, but in recent years, it has been achieving the status of yet another acronym, more connected to its contractual details than to the actual meaning of the profound change in how work is to be developed. This book clarifies this situation by presenting several examples in academia, research and practical design situations, ranging from the use of old-style expression media, such as handmade drawings, to comprehensive digitalisation processes. The IPD model is shown as an effective way to tackle the ever-increasing challenges of balancing productivity with the urgent demands for designs that embrace decarbonisation, net-zero buildings, energy efficiency, modularisation and disassembly, including lessons learned from Industrial Design. IPD is a mindset that clashes with the traditional academic model of placing architecture and engineering in different (and frequently opposite) fields. Actual examples of course syllabuses’ that disrupt this approach are also presented, showing how wide collaboration from the early stages of the design process can improve the sought-after result, providing future professionals with a hands-on experience of its efficiency as a work methodology.