Resiliency is set to be one of the construction industry’s watchwords for 2018 according to Construction Dive in its latest summary of of the top eight construction trends to monitor this year.
The onslaught of hurricanes, heat waves, cold waves, flooding, tornadoes and wildfires that swept much of North America last year carried a financial hit that according to Vox is still climbing and could reach nearly $400 billion, .
More resilient site planning and the use of building materials better able to withstand extreme weather events will figure prominently when replacement structures are being put in place according to Construction Dive, citing the U.S. Green Building Council’s construction standard RELi, “which awards points for resilient features such as adaptive design for extreme weather events and their resulting hazards, communications and first-aid resources.”
Adaptive measure to prevent the repeat of devastating losses from fire, floods and storms will be critical to rebuilding efforts, and architects, engineers and contractors will need to be aware that business as usual could be a thing of the past, note the article authors.
Other construction-related trends to monitor in the year ahead include:
- Limited supply of skilled craft workers;
- The rise of Offsite construction;
- Increased investment for public transportation;
- Technology and automation tackling jobs;
- New policy regulation impacting businesses;
- Giant companies expanding spaces; and
- AR/VR, wearables and drones transforming job sites.
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