[+] Property Industry Ripe for Copy, Paste Breakthrough

The construction industry is ripe for disruption thanks to a huge mismatch between delivery and the growing need for housing. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the rate of home building in 2023 is not faring well with a 250,000-home target slipping out of reach. Meanwhile, construction costs keep rising, timelines have blown out even futher and labour shortages are far from solved. But investment is here and so is innovation, and if planning regulations allow, creating a new high-rise or home could be as simple as the copy and paste functions on your computer. In Germany the housing crisis is affected nearly three times as many people as here. Looking for solutions from new sources, artificial intelligence and robotics are being employed to manufacture high-rises offsite in suprisingly short amounts of time. Using these technologies, buildings could be replicated again and again, solving the housing crisis altogether, all by using that keyboard shortcut. And artificial intelligence has applications in architecture, design and procurement, not just construction. As well, these innovations can in turn increase the number of workers thanks to an increased diversity in the workforce plus extending the working life of of those already in the industry. Halve the time, double the money Archipelago founding director Peter Edwards spoke to The Urban Developer and said the skills and demand are here, but the capacity that is lacking. “We’ve got this massive requirement line for housing going through the roof with people moving to the regions, needing a plot, needing a house but our capacity to deliver is a line that’s particularly shallower,” Edwards says. “You are seeing the kind of moment where the maths is pointing to an opportunity to disrupt. “The disruption opportunity in the housing sector in Queensland is something that really needs interrogation because we think there’s opportunities for innovation in the delivery. “We think the design for manufacture and assembly space will continue to emerge in Queensland and feature in housing options for architects.” ▲ Gropyus built this high-rise in Germany in three months, much of it in its factory, which co-founder Philipp Erler says is faster—and safer for workers. Archipelago senior associate Josh Spillane says the investigations had revealed major advantages—for example, once the pre-built components were onsite, the actual construction time could be reduced by 50 per cent. “Those savings are not only in preliminaries and craning but also for projects with incoming revenue and long-term stakeholders who have tenure interest in getting people in housing faster and bringing that revenue forward,” he says. “So the monetary benefits flow to post-construction as well.” Spillane says there is also a higher degree of control in the manufactured process, leading to more benefits. “The control of construction process and trade involvement also brings the ability to minimise waste and optimise the use of materials,” Spillane says. “There are social benefits through that innovation as well. “We can invite a more diverse cross-section of society to participate in the construction industry that’s not only about fostering gender equality but people who might have mobility issues.” He said more pre-fabrication also means it is practical for people already in the industry to stay working longer—the process is less taxing on the body that building from scratch. Look global, work local Building 4.0 CRC chief executive Mathew Aitchison says developing a culture of innovation will tackle the two biggest issues facing the industry. “They are: How can we grow market capacity and how can we decarbonise our industry?” Aitchison says. “There’s a 70,000 difference between actual housing starts a year and what we need to be doing. “The industry is really struggling—we all know the level of insolvencies at the moment. “But there’s some fresh ideas out there about how we can solve this.” This month, hundreds of higher-tier developers, builders and architects explored possibilities at Building 4.0 CRC events in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. ▲ This multi-storey residential development in Spring Hill, Queensland achieved a seven floors of backbone structure above the podium in just 11 days. Kope.ai co founder David Flynn is a UK-based architect who developed a system that lists and order parts for a build as soon as plans are drawn up. “Buildings are not made of marshmallow, they’re made of concrete, steel, metal, timber ... so how about we digitise the simple aspects of that and get that onto a platform,” Flynn says. “We decided we would build a company around that idea called Kope—Kit of Products Engine. “This is all completely automated so as soon as you select your suppliers you’re able to click a couple of buttons and everybody is making it. “This happens in real time—it takes about five or ten seconds to do something that previously could take four or five hours.” AI enables users to look at more local suppliers for products, multiple if needed, say if the project scope changes, and also measure up materials to reduce waste. Flatpack, high-rise In Australia, PT Blink chief operating officer Wayne Larson is looking at structural technology to create high-rises offsite using their digital platform to send details to offsite manufactures. “Once we can control the geometry then we know we can take the structure and manufacture all the parts and fit them together,” Larson says. “From that file we go straight to the factory. “We’re able to manufacture entire superstructures for multi-storey buildings in a factory, flat pack them and install them very quickly.” This technology meant the construction time for a 31-apartment, seven-storey building in Brisbane’s Spring Hill was halved from an industry benchmark of about 15 months. “The superstructure went up in 11 days, so it was very, very quick,” Larson says. “It’s pretty powerful because what we’re trying to do is change an industry that doesn’t want to change and can’t do it on its own. “The culture of innovation is important and there’s a number of us talking about the same thing. “Getting change in automation or people to adopt innovation is difficult because no one wants to be left behind and no one wants to be first. So it’s a race to be second.” You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. Click here to learn more.

[+] Property Industry Ripe for Copy, Paste Breakthrough

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