The value chain of the construction and real estate industry in 2030

Garching near Munich, 14 October 2020: How will buildings and infrastructures be built in 2030? How will they be operated? How will technology trends such as automated data acquisition, robotics or 3D printing influence buildings in the future? BEFIVE is actively shaping the future of construction and operation of buildings – across the entire value chain. Together with partner companies and scientific experts, the innovation and digitisation platform of UnternehmerTUM, Europe's leading center for innovation and business creation, has developed a picture of the future. It puts important future trends into an overall context and provides the construction and real estate industry with an important orientation guide to the developments of the next decade.

The picture of the future, which has been worked out using scientific methods, shows the value chain of the construction and real estate industry in 2030 and is part of the BEFIVE Vision Project 2019/2020. It serves one of Germany's most important economic sectors as a tool for developing strategies for tomorrow's construction and operation, rethinking established processes and structures and actively changing them. This is urgently needed because the construction sector is responsible for around one third of global greenhouse gas emissions according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Prof. Dr. Ulf Pillkahn, lecturer for innovation management and futurology at the TU Munich, provided methodological support for the project: First, the participating actors identified and evaluated relevant future elements – such as climate change or resource scarcity – in order to develop possible future scenarios on this basis. Extensive research, intensive expert discussions and constructive reflections served as a basis for this. Subsequently, a common vision was outlined and transformed into a picture from which strategic orientation guidelines for the construction and real estate industry were derived. For the partner companies of the BEFIVE platform, the picture serves as a guideline for joint, cross-company projects and solutions. In addition to examining future roles and process participants, the picture visualizes various stages of value creation.

The picture of the future is outlined along the value-added cycle of building and operating buildings. This cycle is marked by the numbers 1-6 in the picture. This allows the core theses of the picture to be traced chronologically.

1 Procurement

The efficient and sustainable use of resources will be crucial in the future to respond to challenges such as resource scarcity and climate change. This is accompanied by an increased use of renewable raw materials and alternative, sustainable materials, which is illustrated in the picture by bamboo and mixed forest.

2 Prefabrication

Along the road you reach the prefabrication (2), which shows a factory on the ground floor, a research facility on the first floor and a warehouse in the outbuilding. The classic construction on the building site is increasingly being replaced by upstream assembly processes. This approach allows progress to be made in terms of economic efficiency and sustainability. The prefabrication in the picture illustrates an increasing degree of industrialisation in the industry, which is also continuing on the construction site.

3 Construction

The most important topics concerning the new building of the future (3.a) are automation, modular construction and data-driven construction. The construction site in 2030 is clearly structured and organized to enable smooth and efficient processes. Due to a high level of automation, there will be fewer people on the construction site, but this is also due to the increasing shortage of skilled workers. The competence profile of the few workers will shift towards the use and handling of modern technologies. This will also lead to new services and support offers on the construction site. However, the case of existing buildings (3.b,c), the human factor will continue to be of central importance: Because they can react better to the more specific requirements of construction in existing contexts and efficient standardization is applied primarily to process sequences.

4 Use

The highest possible level of user satisfaction is crucial for the value of buildings in 2030 and must be taken into account in the earlier phases. The importance of smart homes and smart buildings – i.e. digitally connected buildings – will increase immensely. Aspects of the Sharing Economy will also play an increasingly important role, as the aim is to increase the individual freedom of the user and at the same time save costs.

5 Modification and dismantling

In terms of sustainability and the increasing shortage of space, the focus in future will be increasingly on extending existing buildings or creating new uses by replacing individual modules. This may require targeted modification and dismantling. With the aim of reducing waste, the topic of processing materials, including the reuse of processed modules, is expected to play an increasingly important role in the future.

6 Recycling

This is where the value-added cycle closes and starts all over again, as the topic of recycling can already be seen as an essential part of procurement [1]. Every recycled building material conserves primary raw materials and also saves landfill space.

"With this visionary picture we want to use today's knowledge to create new scope for thought in the construction and real estate industry by identifying, pointing out and classifying trends" says Dr. Manuel Götzendörfer, Managing Director of BEFIVE. As a neutral platform, BEFIVE offers established companies, start-ups, research institutes and associations the opportunity to jointly develop innovative solutions and business models through exchange and cooperation, to transfer them into industrial practice and thus to drive forward the digital transformation of the construction and real estate industry. This approach is unique in the industry and supports one of the most socially relevant industries in Germany in opening new, sustainable business opportunities.

Companies involved in the vision project:

Bayerische Hausbau GmbH & Co. KG, Carl Beutlhauser Baumaschinen GmbH, Carpus+Partner AG, Hilti AG, LafargeHolcim, Max Bögl Bauservice GmbH & Co. KG, PERI GmbH, Sto SE & Co KGaA, WAREMA Renkhoff SE

Dr. Manuel Götzendörfer will be happy to provide you with background information. You can find further information at: befive.unternehmertum.de