Robotic micro-factories for housebuilding? [0.25] High-tech companies down through the years have often seen construction as a tantalising frontier, ripe for disruption by new ways of putting things together. Now, the Swiss multinational manufacturer ABB has entered the fray, with an idea for building affordable housing using robots at site-based micro-factories. They’ve teamed up with UK architects Automated Architecture (AUAR) to develop the idea. Global Construction Review’s David Rogers speaks to Craig McDonnell, managing director of ABB Robotics, to learn more. UC ..read more

Welcome to the fourth episode of the 21CC Podcast, brought to you by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). The home of great construction stories. We go behind the headlines to meet the people who envision, create and manage the built world. This episode, Will Mann reports on an AI tool developed to detect RAAC in buildings[11:38]; Rod Sweet explores a proposal to build a Roman-style colosseum for Bath Rugby [00:54] ; two young engineers describe what it’s like to build in Antarctica [22:11] ; and Justin Stanton explains what Scope Three Emissions are [20:18 ..read more

Welcome to the third episode of the 21CC podcast, brought to you by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). The home of great construction stories. We go behind the headlines to meet the people who envision, create and manage the built world. This episode we explore why a line is the worst possible layout for a planned new city in the desert [01:44]. Pioneering female crane operator Katie Kelleher tells how she started out in construction and explains why women are just as capable [14:56]. And we visit a construction site using a robot to print plans right on the concrete floor [25:08]. Di ..read more

Welcome to the second episode of the 21CC podcast, brought to you by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).21CC is short for 21st Century Construction, which means we’ll be looking ahead to the challenges the industry faces, such as Quality and Safety, Sustainability, and Skills. In this episode 1979’s Usborne Book of the Future set out what life would be like in the 2000s. How correct was it? Justin Stanton and Tom Cheesewright discuss what it got right about today, and what it means for tomorrow.[01:39] [10:56] New CIOB president Sandi Rhys-Jones kicked off her presidential year with an ..read more

Welcome to the first episode of the 21CC podcast, brought to you by the Chartered Institute of Building. 21CC is short for 21st Century Construction, which means we’ll be looking ahead to the challenges the industry faces, such as Quality and Safety, Sustainability, and Skills. In this episode With all eyes on Ukraine just now, we hear from a Canadian architect whose team has developed a modular, precast concrete system for fixing apartment blocks damaged by Russian missiles.[02:02] Construction social media influencers tell us about the surprising benefits of getting a following on Linkedin ..read more

Happy Birthday, CIOB! Three young professionals look ahead [01:00] To celebrate the 190th anniversary of the founding of the Chartered Institute of Building, we speak to three young CIOB people from around the world – members of the Tomorrow’s Leaders network – about the one thing they’d like to change about the industry and how the CIOB can help with that. This stimulating exchange features: • Tadiwa Taimu, 23, a junior project manager building a retirement complex in Cape Town, South Africa; • Ziad Abdeen, 25, a contracts engineer working on various projects in Dubai; and • Dr Hamza Momade ..read more

Crushed by a horse, now crushing prejudice [00:32] Elite Australian athlete Hacia Atherton spent seven months in hospital recovering from a near-fatal accident in 2017. She was told she may never walk again, but she was having none of it. It took many months after leaving hospital, but she fought the pain and self-doubt to get back on her feet. In the process, she hatched a new mission in life: to make the construction trades a beautiful career for women and men. Her unique approach with Empowered Women In Trades (EWIT) has helped thousands of women take up a trade in an industry where only 3 ..read more

The home of great construction stories. We go behind the headlines to meet the people who envision, create and manage the built world. Brought to you by the Chartered Institute of Building. Got a topic you'd like us to cover? Email the podcast editor Rod Sweet rod@atompublishing.co.uk In this episode: New-homes confidence crisis [01:20] In December, CIOB published results from a survey that showed an overwhelmingly negative public perception of new-build houses. It asked 2,000 UK adults what they thought, and 55% of them believed that old houses are better than new ones. 32% describe ..read more

The home of great construction stories. We go behind the headlines to meet the people who envision, create and manage the built world. Brought to you by the Chartered Institute of Building. In this episode: Refugees building Britain [00:50] Yemeni refugee Omar tells Cristina Lago how important his construction job is. Jargon Buster [16:27] What exactly do IFC and Cobie mean? And do you really need to know? Building Egypt’s Grand Museum [20:49] Hill International tells David Rogers about its epic project to build the Grand Egyptian Museum ahead of its imminent opening. The Christmas site lunch ..read more

The home of great construction stories. We go behind the headlines to meet the people who envision, create and manage the built world. Brought to you by the Chartered Institute of Building. This episode: [01:25] Abbi Taylor describes what happened after her dad broke his back falling from a ladder on a construction site when she was three. [09:16] 21CC jargon buster in chief Justin Stanton decodes the mystery of smart objects and how they work in modelling [12:55] Meet ‘Defectorist’ Will Rudd, snagging supremo and scourge of bodging housebuilders. [19:15] Lifelong industry scholar Prof Stuart ..read more