Intelligent Build.tech Issue 09 | Page 39

SURVEYING THE SECTOR

Redefining construction : Exploring the role of digital fabrication

Chloe Donovan , Managing Director of Natural Building Systems and Material Research Limited , discusses the traditional sluggishness of planning and the construction industry in embracing innovation . However , she highlights a promising shift towards ‘ kit-of-parts ’ Modern Methods of Construction ( MMC ) solutions . These solutions blend the strengths of traditional volumetric methods with a modern , digital and fabrication-led approach , better suited for design flexibility , disassembly and circularity .

I n an industry traditionally slow to embrace technological and innovative changes , a new cohort of disruptors , myself included , is emerging . We ’ re determined to shift the paradigm towards a more environmentally conscious and technologically driven approach to building design and construction .

Despite strides in operational and energy efficiencies , the construction sector remains heavily reliant on extractive and polluting materials , exacerbating its environmental footprint and achieving less than one-quarter of the required reduction in our annual embodied carbon emissions . As a Trustee of the Food Ethics Council , my background in scrutinising social ,
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