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The VUCA world of real estate has ascertained the need for a collaborative and energetic construction sector to ably support the real estate challenges, demands and growth. Coming up to the expectations, the construction industry is prepared for a fundamental shift and to harness the full potential of changing industry dynamics. The new technologies are shaping the engineering and construction (E&C), and in turn setting up the real estate sector for a long-term success.
While, past few years had seen the issues of material supply chain, labor shortage and cost escalations, last year, saw the changes in customer demand and the nature of construction. The construction industry is attuning to the new realities and is moving away from simply focusing on physical infrastructure, and creating value through smart operations, modular construction, advanced material usage, construc- tion automation and data and ad- vanced analytics.
FABRICATING NEW SHIFTS
To navigate the fast-changing geo-political scenario and the real estate landscape, E&C firms are developing connected, integrated, and automated operations that can ensure continuous access to data and analytics, as also adopting productivity enhancing technologies. The construction industry is consolidating its functioning through construction management plat- forms to produce data-driven de- cisions and enhance capabilities to deliver projects on schedule and budget. The advanced construction
technologies, design software and management tools are helping the sector players increase productivity, and reduce onsite disruptions.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been creating ripples in all industries and construction has not been left untouched. AI is adding tremendous value to building engineering and construction with an extensive, high-quality database and then developing machine learning processes to make almost accurate predictions, whether it is for construction schedules, analyzing photos of materials on the job site or identifying construction site risks and behavior. The AI is predicted to get more sophisticated, enabling stakeholders to make quick and informed decisions.
Realtime Communication is already making inroads in the build- ing construction segment. Going forward, even more advanced real-time communication tools will provide instant access to project information, minimizing downtime, and accelerating project timelines. and ensuring that construction projects stay on track.
Augmented Reality (AR) tran- scended from gaming and gadgets to sales and marketing functions and has now come to the construction industry. By combining digital and physical views, AR can provide data such as temperature, pressure and can help proactively identify problems. It is aiding construction workers drive more efficiency and accuracy, and as the technology gets more adopted in the Indian construction sector, it will change the future of our buildings.
Building Analytics along with IoT capabilities is garnering much interest of the engineering and construction firms as well as the project owners, specifically, the network-connected sensors that can give greater control on managing building operations and environment in built spaces. From external façade to internal temperatures, the engineering designs are incorporating sensors to control the buildings for efficacious use.
Modular Construction and pre-fabrication have evolved from a niche system to a large-scale approach for speedier construction and its adoption in Indian real estate is on the rise. It is predicted- ed that modular construction will continue to gain substantial in the coming years with the increasing sophistication and affordability of 3D printers. The precision and speed of 3D printing, combined with the efficiency of prefabrication will make the intricate components of a building easier to construct. The future of building construction is getting speedier
3D Printing is transforming the construction industry in a big way. Earlier used to speed up the archi- tectural model making process, it is now being used all over the world by construction companies to build parts and components to be used in the actual construction of proj- ects or for that matter complete buildings. The ability to use local materials, reduce waste, and adapt to complex and customized designs are just a few of the advantages that will make sure it gets into the good books of the Indian real estate players.
MATERIALS ARE GETTING A MAKEOVER
To keep pace with advancing construction technologies, new building materials are getting explored to give added value in terms of increased performance, reduction of carbon footprint and durability for a longer lifespan of the building. For instance, high performance products such as Graphene-En- hanced Materials have exceptional strength, electrical conductivity, and flexibility and is being incorporated into concrete to enhance its strength and durability.
Similarly, Carbon Fiber Rein- forced Polymers composites of- fer high strength, low weight, and corrosion resistance and are being increasingly used in structural ap- plications. Self-Healing Concrete is another such incredible product which is increasingly being used in infrastructure projects. It uses built-in sodium silica capsules that produce calcite to repair cracks. Also, called as “bio concrete” it aids in sealing the cracks that form in it.
Some other futuristic materials are Carbon Nanotubes, that have excellent mechanical, electrical, thermal, and chemical properties and are useful in a wide range of engineering applications. In the building construction, the role of carbon nanotube composites as a functional construction material
has large potential to significantly enhance the durability and strength of the construction.
Transparent Aluminum has the strength and malleability of metal and transparency and allure of glass. This hi-tech material can be used to build glass structures with- out using glass, requiring much less support than with traditional glass structures.
Aerogel is another promising building material that offers many new applications in buildings. Aero- gel is among the least dense materials on the planet, only 15x heavier than air. Its porousness makes it very difficult for heat to travel through it, and thus is an excellent insulating material to be used in buildings. The optical transparency of aerogels allows its applications in window panes.
With renewable materials gaining traction in the construction in- industry, Bio Based Materials made from agricultural waste, recycled materials, or bio-based polymers such as bamboo, hempcrete (a mix of hemp fibers and lime), and my- celium-based composites are getting recognized in various building
applications for their sustainability. Natural wood is getting re-replaced by Composite Timber an environment-friendly alternative. It's made from recycled wood fibre and plastics, which combine to form a strong, lightweight material that looks like natural timber. Likewise, producing steel requires a lot of energy, but using Recycled Steel for a construction project can produce the same results while using significantly fewer resources.
FUTURE IS EVEN MORE ALLURING
Worldwide, Robots are already being used in a range of construction activities like, brick laying, painting, loading, and their usage will continue to grow to perform the automated tasks quickly and safely. The use of robots powered by artificial intelligence will be the next frontier to take up site preparation and excavation, structure assembly, finishing —and their use is sure to become even more prevalent in the future. Self-driving cars are not just for roads, in large-scale construction sites, driverless or Autonomous Con- struction Equipment, such as dozers, excavators, load carriers, and haul trucks controlled by an operator via a remote-control program will be used to perform a variety of jobs on construction sites. Right out of the Transformer movie is the Exoskeletons for Con- struction Workers that are wearable suits with motorized joints designed to give the average construction worker enhanced strength and pro- tection to perform strenuous tasks. This has gained much traction globally in recent years and is already being used at some difficult con- struction sites. The above-mentioned technolo- gies and products are just the small sample of many a new advance- ment that are being employed in building construction. Many more are in investigative stages and the future is full of new explorations. All in all, if the real estate has to become even more organized professional and most importantly a high-performance industry, en- gineering and construction will be the key to drive faster, reliable and
safe building projects.
THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN THE REAL ESTATE GROWTH STORY. FROM BUILDING MATERIALS TO CONSTRUCTION METHODS, THE ADVANCEMENT IN THIS INDUSTRY IS BOUND TO INCREASE THE EFFICACIES OF THE REAL ESTATE SECTOR AS WELL
AND FURTHER HELP ADDRESS THE SOCIOECONOMIC CHALLENGES OF THE COUNTRY FROM AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO NET ZERO TARGETS.
WHILE MANY CONSTRUCTION FIRMS HAVE ALREADY SHIFTED FROM MANUAL PROCESSES TO DIGITAL PLATFORMS, THE COMING YEARS WILL WITNESS A GRADUAL SHIFT ACROSS THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR TOWARDS INCREASED AUTOMATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS FOR INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PROCEDURES.
