Future of Construction 2024

For anyone who missed the Future of Construction 2024 Symposium or to revisit the conference: Enjoy the FoC 2024 recap by espazium! Each article is dedicated to one of the four sessions of FoC 2024, giving a comprehensive insight into the presentations and discussions. 💡 Session 1: Activating Building Culture https://lnkd.in/eWerz6MB Keynote by Stuart Smith Presentations by Jacqueline Pauli, Matthias Brenner, Patrick Suppiger, Martina Bischof, and Jochen Ganz Moderated by Konrad Graser and Valens F. Session 2: Digitizing Processes https://lnkd.in/e5j6BuCM Keynote by Mario Carpo Presentations by Ana Anton, Dr Sc, Robert Flatt, Hadi El Hage, Fabio Amicarelli, Cédric Domon, and Eliott Sounigo Moderated by Birgitta Schock and David Jenny Session 3: Defining Materials https://lnkd.in/evyMsngc Keynote by Roger Boltshauser Presentations by Tsz Yan Ng, Viviana Pozzolli, Fabio Gramazio, Claudia Eugenin Soto, Anton Savov, and Birgitta Schock Moderated by Kathrin Dörfler and Bernd Bickel Session 4: Changing Traditions https://lnkd.in/e6BUAGBN Keynote by Annette Gigon Presentations by Felix Thies, Quintus Miller, Clemens Woegerbauer, Kuba Szczesniak , and Yves Reuland Moderated by Ludovica Molo and Muck Petzet Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA) , Institute for Preservation and Construction History (IDB), ETH Zürich, USI Università della Svizzera italiana Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, NCCR Digital Fabrication

That’s a wrap! We would like to thank everyone who attended, contributed to, and supported Future of Construction 2024!  Together, we explored how the past can be made productive, relevant, and accessible at the intersection of architecture, design, construction, building technologies, and heritage preservation, in conversation with civil engineering, structural design, material science, XR, robotics, and more. It was a pleasure and an honor to bring together such a talented and diverse community of experts, researchers and professionals at USI Università della Svizzera italiana in Mendrisio, Switzerland.  We look forward to welcoming you to the next FoC Symposium, happening May 19–23, 2026, at ETH Zürich, hosted by NCCR Digital Fabrication and Design++, ETH Zurich! Video by Alberto Canepa, Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio, USI.

It was a pleasure to contribute to the Future of Construction 2024 symposium alongside Konrad Graser by moderating part of the program. Thanks to our engaging panelists and their valuable inputs, we held insightful discussions on the following topics: 𝟭. 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲; 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁. A sustainable built environment must not only maximise 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 - the projected material lifespan - but also 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 - retaining of its original qualities contributing to the memory and value within society. 𝟮. 𝗘𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲. Reaching net zero by 2050 will not be possible without 𝘀𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆. This calls for our spaces to reflect our adequate needs and, above all, for a cultural shift in the way of living towards valuing 'enough.' Panel: Stuart Smith (Arup and Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction), Jacqueline Pauli (ETH Zürich), Matthias Brenner (ETH Zürich), Martina Bischof (RE-WIN), and Jochen Ganz (Quadraligna)! Photo credits: NCCR Digital Fabrication // Lea K.

What does it mean to "Make the Past Productive"? We recently attended the Future of Construction 2024 Symposium at Accademia di Architettura - USI in Mendrisio, Switzerland, where architects, researchers, and the building industry came together to discuss this key question and explore solutions to accelerate the transformation of the built environment. Stuart Smith, Director at Arup and Holcim Foundation Board member, delivered a keynote on “Living in a material world,” emphasizing resource efficiency and innovative strategies in construction. “If you look at circularity, the idea of designing flexibility might mean designing with more space and material, and that would be against the idea of efficiency. So we are trying to develop metrics for circularity to compare different strategies in terms of their carbon intensity over time” - he noted, highlighting the importance of informed decision-making in sustainable construction. Stay tuned, the full talk will be available soon! 📷 Francesca La Mantia © Accademia di architettura USI

Hace unas semanas me invitaron a Mendrisio, Suiza a hablar sobre lo que hacemos en T2CM - Tailings to Construction Materials y sobre mi investigación de doctorado incorporando residuos de la minería en la impresión 3D con hormigón. Tuve el honor de representar a Chile y Sudamérica en el evento Future of Construction 2024 organizado por la USI Università della Svizzera italiana y la ETH Zürich Si bien en Europa los relaves no son un problema relevante, sí es un gran consumidor de cobre chileno, por lo que es importante concientizar sobre los procesos y las formas en que podemos mitigar este residuo, usándolo en otras industrias como la construcción. Les dejo algunos trozos de mi presentación 😊 Many thanks for the invitation! Selen Ercan Jenny

If you missed the Future of Construction 2024 symposium earlier this month, here is a recap by Sophie Marie Piccoli of espazium on the first session "Activating Building Cultures". More to come in the coming weeks! Matthias Brenner Stuart Smith Jacqueline Pauli Prof. Dr. Silke Langenberg Ena Lloret-Fritschi Valens F. Konrad Graser Jochen Ganz Martina Bischof Patrick Suppiger BETONSUISSE USI Università della Svizzera italiana ETH Zürich https://lnkd.in/er5X5AiG

Last week, I presented my work on #nanocellulose films at the Future of Construction 2024 Symposium in Mendrisio. I was eager to see how my work, which focuses on optical and nanostructured materials, would be received by the architectural and building engineering community. For that presentation, I picked one specific finding—the near-infrared reflectance that has the potential to be used for building cooling. Most of the questions I got were, "Why did you go from architecture to materials science?" My answer is simple: architects and structural engineers need to design their own materials if they want new building functionalities and performance. And for that, we need to go back to material fundamentals.

Excited to have participated in the Future of Construction 2024 symposium earlier this month as part of the open call for posters! It was an inspiring experience to present my research based on my master's thesis titled Design for Disassembly through Additive Manufacturing: Exploring the Potential of 3D-Printed Clay Components for Sustainable Building Construction'. This event provided a fantastic platform to connect with others on important topics like sustainable construction, digital fabrication, heritage, building stock, and circularity in construction. A rewarding opportunity to explore how we can make 'the past productive'! A big thank you to Beril Önalan , Eleftherios Triantafyllidis , and Ioanna Mitropoulou for the fantastic ‘From Waste to Resource’ workshop. It was truly inspiring to see how concrete waste can be reimagined for architecture using innovative tools like computational design and extended reality. #FutureOfConstruction #SustainableConstruction #DigitalFabrication #CircularEconomy #InnovationInConstruction

🚧 Last week, we successfully ran the From Waste to Resource workshop at the Future of Construction 2024 Symposium in Mendrisio! This workshop brought together cutting-edge strategies for reusing concrete waste, integrating computational design with extended reality (XR)-guided assembly.   During the workshop, participants engaged hands-on to digitize concrete waste pieces using 3D scanning and explored innovative computational techniques to transform these scanned waste materials into a new architectural element. The final phase allowed participants to experience an extended reality (XR)-guided assembly process, showcasing the potential of merging digital tools with circular construction practices. It was truly inspiring to witness how discarded materials can be reimagined as valuable architectural components.   A huge shout-out to my incredible collaborators, Eleftherios Triantafyllidis and Ioanna Mitropoulou, whose expertise and hard work were key to the success of this workshop. My sincere thanks go to the participants —Yamini Patankar, Leidy Guante Henriquez, Muchen Yan, Luis Alfonso Gutierrez, Gabriel Vallat, Maxence Dossetto, Megi Sinani, Gokalp Yigit Denktas, Santiago Madueno— for their enthusiastic engagement and invaluable feedback, and to the Future of Construction 2024 team for their dedicated organization.   Special thanks to my co-supervisors, Prof. Dr. Silke Langenberg and Prof. Ena Lloret-Fritschi, for their unwavering support and for organizing such an inspiring symposium. I’d also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Prof. Catherine De Wolf, for her continuous guidance as my main supervisor and encouragement throughout this project.   This is just the beginning! We’re eager to continue pushing the boundaries of sustainable construction and exploring new horizons in digital fabrication and circular design. 🌱🏗️   #CircularEconomy #SustainableConstruction #ExtendedReality #ComputationalDesign #ConcreteReuse #FutureOfConstruction #FoC2024

Very happy with the outcome of our "Collaborative Structure" workshop at this year's Future of Construction Symposium at USI Università della Svizzera italiana in Mendrisio 😀 To collaboratively design, manufacture, build - from disused material! - and enjoy an adaptable public seating furniture is definitely fun. Thanks to a new edition of our configurator (Edurne Morales Z.) hosted by ShapeDiver we were able to design and manufacture the components so precisely (using our trusted Origins from Shaper) that we did not even need glue. Many thanks to SBB CFF FFS for sponsoring the disused material, to Prof. Dr. Silke Langenberg, Orkun Kasap, Ena Lloret-Fritschi, Selen Ercan Jenny for making us feel welcome and for hosting this world-class event! David Jenny Konrad Graser Yves Ebnöther Digital Technologies in Design & Fabrication (DTEF)