Construction

Incremental change is not an option any more in the construction industry. By redefining the ultimate frontier, leapfrogging innovations in construction will finally help address major societal challenges, from mass urbanization to climate change. The widespread adoption of game-changing innovations that consider a variety of possible futures is going to make a serious impact, socially, economically and environmentally.
This report examines what the industry could look like in the future and the strategic implications for the key stakeholders and broader society. The outlined transformation imperatives should help the industry prepare for a prosperous future.

3D-printed houses, automatically designed hospitals, prefabricated skyscrapers — once futuristic dreams are now a reality as described in the new report Shaping the Future of Construction: Inspiring innovators redefine the industry developed with the World Economic Forum. It showcases and analyses 10 Lighthouse innovation cases – prominent flagship projects as well as start-ups and pilot projects – that demonstrate the potential of innovation in construction and give a glimpse of the industry’s future.
In the context of the Forum’s Future of Construction initiative, over the past year six Working Groups comprised of industry leaders, academics and experts met regularly to develop and analyse innovative ideas, their impact, the barriers to implementing solutions and the way forward to overcoming obstacles and implementing modern approaches in the construction and engineering industry.
This white paper presents the outcome of this work in the form of insight articles proposing innovative solutions on how to address the construction sector’s key challenges.