Hot topics and trends

The building and construction science domains are always changing. Below is an attempt to identify some (perceived) trends in the field, ordered across three broad categories: architecture and built environment, building science, and engineering. This list of course is a snapshot only, and subjective - but it can be a good starting point for anyone wanting to do research on these subjects, or for reading up on the latest trends.

Trends in architecture and the built environment:

• Energy crisis > energy saving measures
• Decarbonization
• netZero Energy Buildings (or nearZero) > nZEB
• Smart Buildings and Cities
• 3D printing
• Circular and low carbon economy
• Climate Change > mitigation and adaptation
• Biodiversity
• Active facades and building envelopes
• Living walls and green roofs
• Renovation and retrofit

Hot Topics in building science:

• building resilience
• occupant behaviour
• security and safety
• air quality > health < Covid-19
• norms and standards > EPC
• accuracy and reliability
• validation and verification
• robots in construction
• unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones
• automated meter reading

Trends in engineering:

• Electrification
• Digital Twins
• Blockchain
• Machine Learning 
• Data science
• Cloud computing
• Optimization and control
• Fault Detection and Diagnostics (FDD)
• Internet of Things (IoT)
• Edge computing