From Labs to Landscapes: Tech-Driven Building Products Shaping the Industry
Introduction
The building products industry is undergoing a technology-fueled transformation. From advanced materials to digital design tools, innovations emerging from R&D labs are changing how we imagine, design and construct the built environment.
These tech-driven building products promise to make buildings and infrastructure more sustainable, resilient, affordable and responsive to human needs.
Let’s look at the most prominent tech-driven building products that lead innovation.
Digital Design & Fabrication
Sophisticated 3D modeling platforms and digital fabrication tools like CNC machining and 3D printing facilitate a shift toward mass customization in building design. Architects can create complex geometries optimized for site conditions, building performance goals and occupant needs. Designers can also incorporate digital scans of existing conditions into models for accurate as-built representations.
Modular building techniques enabled by digital tools are accelerating construction timelines, reducing material waste, and enhancing quality control. Offsite prefabrication of wall panels, MEP systems and whole building modules felicitates faster, safer on-site assembly. It also expands design options using a kits-of-parts approach.
The use of generative design algorithms and virtual testing further opens new frontiers for high-performing, context-appropriate building solutions. Computational tools can rapidly analyze thousands of design permutations to identify optimal configurations for factors like daylighting, ventilation and structural integrity.
IOT & Building Automation
The Internet of Things (IoT) is driving a new era of intelligent, automated buildings that continuously monitor conditions and adapt to usage patterns or external factors. Networked sensors track metrics like indoor air quality, occupancy, energy consumption and equipment performance. Cloud computing analyzes this data to optimize systems for comfort, efficiency and predictive maintenance.
As buildings transform into responsive, high-tech ecosystems, IoT integration and automation will be key to their performance and competitiveness. Seamless interoperability between systems and data-driven decision-making are essential to administering building products and maintaining their peak function.
Construction Robotics
Robots and drones are tackling hazardous and repetitive tasks on construction sites. They also enable new capabilities like autonomous quality inspection and progress monitoring. Exoskeletons give workers bionic strength to lift heavy materials with reduced strain. Collaborative robots work safely alongside people to handle routine activities like bricklaying. And remote-controlled demolition robots can dismantle buildings floor by floor from the inside out.
Robust sensor suites and computer vision empower construction robots to map job sites, track activities, and detect safety risks. This data feeds into AI-enabled platforms that optimize complex schedules, workflows and logistics in real-time. By taking over dull, dangerous and dirty duties, construction robotics allow builders to focus on more strategic, value-adding work.
Smarter Glass: Dynamic, Responsive and Switchable
From thermochromic windows to holographic glass blocks, new glazing materials make static, transparent boundaries a thing of the past. Electronically tintable, liquid crystal switchable glass can transform from transparent to opaque at the flip of a switch. Suspended particle devices contain moveable particles that align to scatter or transmit light. Thermochromic coatings employ vanadium oxide layers that darken when it gets hot.
Smart glass technologies give occupants direct control over privacy, glare and heat gain while connecting indoor/outdoor environments. Windows can optimize daylight or block it as needed. Users can even display imagery or adjust transparency levels with the swipe of a finger. Integrated sensors, microcontrollers and software add automated intelligence to the mix.
High-Tech Insulation & Weather Barriers
Ultra-efficient thermal insulation and air barrier products leverage both legacy and advanced materials in clever new ways. Aerogel blanket insulation offers low thermal conductivity and impressive strength at a remarkably thin profile. Evonik’s AEROSIL contains up to 95% air trapped within fumed silica nanoparticles, creating insulation performance superior to conventional materials twice as thick.
Vacuum insulation panel (VIP) products from Va-Q-Tec similarly leverage nanogel cores protected by high-barrier film envelopes from which air is evacuated. This ultra-thin, ultra-insulating sandwich excels in space-constrained assemblies. Dow’s STYROFOAM NATURBOARD pairs rigid foam insulation with a faculty plant-based substitute for standard petroleum-derived resins.
On the weather barrier front, products like PROSOCO’s new R-Guard Spray Wrap MVP leverage fluid-applied synthetics that fully adhere to form air-impermeable seals around complex geometries. DuPont’s thermoplastic Tyvek offers an alternative to membranes, integrating weather and air barriers into durable panels and tape systems. Other products sandwich insulation between multiple barrier layers for convenient one-step installation.
As insulation and weather barrier technologies push thermal performance limits, they are driving code changes and resetting expectations around building envelope design. Zero thermal bridging details and minimal air leakage will soon be the norm as these building products set new benchmarks.
Timber Towers: Mass Timber Construction Scales New Heights
Cross-laminated timber (CLT), glue-laminated timber, and other mass timber products are fueling a high-rise revolution in green building. Prefabricated solid wood slabs, columns and beams offer strength and rigidity comparable to concrete and steel. Their renewable origins and ultra-low carbon footprints offer sustainability bonuses.
Structural masonry-style installation streamlines on-site assembly. Exposed interiors highlight the visual warmth and texture of wood. New mass timber factories are springing up to meet demand, while Bernstein beams and other products reuse scrap in creative ways.
Recent code changes enable mass timber high-rises up to 18 stories tall, with developers targeting even taller buildings. In Vancouver, UBC’s 18-story Brock Commons claimed the world’s tallest mass timber structure title in 2017.
The international race is on to build ever-taller timber towers, with Australia’s 30-story Green Spine proposal among those pushing boundaries. Expect many more cities to sprout timber high-rises as the technology, manufacturing, and acceptance of mass timber building products mature.
Permeable Surfaces: Paving That Lets Rain Soak In
As climate change brings more intense rainfall events, permeable paving and porous concrete products offer high-tech solutions to flooding, erosion issues and overwhelmed storm sewers. Rather than shedding vast quantities of water, these permeable building products allow rain and snowmelt to filter through to soil and aquifers below.
Permeable pavements contain aggregate layers that store and redirect liquid before it drains. Grass pavers offer open joints for water infiltration plus vegetation for biofiltration. Porous concrete and permeable asphalt skip the fine aggregates, leaving networks of voids that allow fast drainage.
Beneath permeable surfaces, reservoir layers temporarily store water, allowing it to evaporate or slowly filter into the ground. Combined with other low-impact development (LID) strategies like bioswales and rain gardens, permeable building products reduce runoff volumes and increase groundwater recharge. Their water cleansing and non-eroding properties additionally protect ecosystems.
Final Words
Now you have a clear idea about the most innovative building products available out there. Feel free to take a look at these options and proceed with the right innovations for your next construction project.
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