Innovation and sustainability in construction
In the future the impact of innovation on construction will continue to grow.
This growing impact is apparent in two aspects:
- The construction process itself will extend into supplementary activities relating to energy (energy-saving investments and renewable energy), the environment (recycling and reuse), redevelopment (clearance and decontamination) and building maintenance (increasing importance of maintenance of buildings).
- At the same time, an ever-greater range of construction-related activities will spring up.
Innovation is an important element in realising more with fewer resources. As construction needs to develop from being a low-tech sector into a high-tech one, many factors play a part in driving this development or restricting it.
Furthermore it is very important that these innovations lead to further activities – production of new materials, new design concepts, expertise relating to redevelopment and energy-saving – which are firmly anchored in this country, and therefore give rise to additional jobs here and help construction exports to increase.