Expanding Boundaries - Environmental Implications and Opportunities of Digital Fabrication – I. Agustí-Juan, G. Habert

Abstract

Society’s increasing concern for sustainability aspects is inducing the emergence of digital technologies to overcome the inefficiency and reduce environmental impacts in product manufacturing. As the use of digital processes such as 3D printing grows, innovative applications into large scale processes are emerging. The combined methods of computational design and robotic fabrication are demonstrating a large potential to expand architectural design and transform conventional construction processes. But, the most impressive impact may be their contribution to the improvement of sustainability in construction. The challenge of digital fabrication at building scale is to achieve efficiency in parameters such as material use, energy demands, durability, GHG emissions and waste production over the entire life cycle of a building. The goal of this paper is to investigate the environmental implications and opportunities of digital fabrication in construction. The research focuses specifically on measuring the flow of materials, embodied energy and potential environmental impacts associated with digital fabrication processes. With this objective, the case study of a wooden roof digitally fabricated is presented. The project was assessed according to the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework and compared with a conventional wooden roof with similar function and structural capacity. The analysis highlighted the importance of material-efficient design to achieve high environmental benefits in digitally fabricated architecture. This research is the initial step towards the establishment of a knowledge base and the elaboration of guidelines that help designers to make more sustainable choices in the implementation of digital fabrication in construction.