JUNE - 20219CONSTRUCTIONTECHREVIEW.COM9AR in construction is no longer science fiction, it is becoming part of the contractor's toolkitRecycled plastics can be turned into a glue that that can be mixed with other materials. Nilo Global are pioneering in this area. The process requires minimal energy and produces negligible emissions. These adhesives when combined with other materials (many of which can be other waste streams such as construction/ demolition, ocean plastic, wood, e-waste, paper, tyres) produce a range of durable products for the transport, construction, packaging, and other marketsAdvanced materials based on timber are easy to use and relatively cheap and help capture carbon in the process. New types of bricks can absorb pollution. The Breathe Brick sucks in pollutants in the air and releases filtered air. The material is designed to be part of a building's standard ventilation system. It has a two-layer facade system, with the specialist bricks on the outside and standard insulation on the inside.Offsite construction consists of the planning, designing, fabricating, and assembling of building components at a location other than their final installation point, or outside of the construction field. Prefabrication and modular construction both fall under the offsite construction umbrella.3D printing will also find a place on site. Demonstrations have shown whole structured being "printed" using a massive 3D printed that guides a pour of concrete into the required shape to form the walls of a building. However in practice this technique is more likely to be used for constructing components just in time on site. All in all over the next 10 years there will be a revolution in the way construction operates with investors like Amadeus Capital are backing the tech startups that are helping make that revolution. Watch out, that laggard industry is catching up.
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