11.11.2024
Third Edition of Future of Construction Symposium in Mendrisio
The third Future of Construction Symposium took place at USI in Mendrisio, bringing together NCCR DFAB researchers, alumni and experts. The event featured insightful workshops and discussions on the past and future of construction, showcasing the strides in digital fabrication and sustainable practices in the industry.
The Future of Construction 2024 Symposium, organised by Prof. Dr. Ena Lloret Fritschi and Prof. Dr. Silke Langenberg, highlighted the ongoing evolution of the construction industry under the theme "Looking Back and Moving Forward." The event hosted speakers from Swiss institutions, the professional association betonsuisse, and the European Cultural Centre, fostering a dialogue between academia, industry, and cultural stakeholders. The strong presence of NCCR DFAB researchers and alumni underscored NCCR's influential role in advancing digital fabrication.

In the panel discussion, people from industry were brought into dialogue with people from academia.
Variety of Workshops Led by NCCR DFAB Researchers
Nine workshops took place prior to the symposium. Topics ranged from material innovation and augmented manufacturing to strategies for preserving knowledge in digital construction.
Beril Önalan co-organised the “From Waste to Resource” workshop where participants explored how concrete waste can be transformed into new architectural components through a two-step approach that integrates computer-aided design and digital fabrication techniques.
Li Chen was co-organising the workshop “Preserving Knowledge & Data in Digital Fabrication”. Participants explored tools like graph databases and the IFC standard, with a live demo and discussion on documenting digitally fabricated buildings.
Kim Nørgaard Helmersen organised the workshop Learning from “Failure” and delved into how critical incidents can spark open discussions and lead to meaningful organisational change.
The workshop "UNDO" explored how human-robot interaction can enable real-time design and adaptable construction in timber structures. This workshop was organised by researchers Eleni Skevaki, Dr. Marirena Kladeftira, Dr. Ziqi Wang and Jingwen Wang from the Laboratory for Creative Computation, ENAC IA CRCL at EPFL with support of Sihui Wu.

Researcher Eleni Skevaki is co-leading the UNDO workshop.