The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry has been lacking innovation for many decades. This has resulted in limited productivity growth when compared with other industries such as automotive or manufacturing. However, over the last few years, new processes, and technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR), and digital fabrication (including 3D concrete printing) have been increasingly adopted by AEC companies. These processes and technologies have the potential to bring numerous benefits to the industry including improved design communication and collaboration, reduced construction time, waste minimisation, higher accuracy, fewer CO2 emissions, geometrical freedom and creativity, site safety improvements, etc.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (New Zealand) has funded the "Low-carbon and seismically resilient solutions for 3D concrete printed homes", a project aimed at investigating the feasibility of 3DCP in New Zealand. The project aims to develop low-carbon novel 3DCP materials as well as to develop and test steel-reinforced 3DCP structural elements for seismic loading.

In this seminar, an overview of the material and structural developments will be presented. At a material level, novel binders have been developed using local and waste materials: limestone, calcined clay, zeolite, and mussel shell powder. Results in terms of fresh and mechanical properties including durability are presented. At a structural level, the preliminary results of compression tests on reinforced 3D concrete printed prisms will be shown as well as the plans for experimental tests of vertical 3DCP adoption planned to be conducted in 2025. The seminar will conclude with an overview of case studies of Augmented and Virtual Reality applications to the design, construction and monitoring of buildings.