Digital fabrication has been termed the “third industrial revolution” in recent years, and promises to revolutionize the construction industry with the potential of freeform architecture, less material waste, reduced construction costs, and increased worker safety. Digital fabrication techniques and cementitious materials have only intersected in a significant way within recent years. In this letter, we review the methods of digital fabrication with concrete, including 3D printing, under the encompassing term “digital concrete”, identifying major challenges for concrete technology within this field. We additionally provide an analysis of layered extrusion, the most popular digital fabrication technique in concrete technology, identifying the importance of hydration control in its implementation.

If robots are to be employed in the construction of high‐rise structures, logistics and material systems have to be entirely rethought to cater for both their abilities and limitations: robots have limited loading capacity, but greater dexterity than other on‐site, automated construction techniques. Here, Norman Hack of ETH Zurich and Willi Viktor Lauer of the Future Cities Laboratory (FCL) at the Singapore‐ETH Centre for Global Environmental Sustainability (SEC) describe the research they have undertaken to develop ‘mesh‐mould’ as an alternative to conventional formwork.

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10Digital fabrication represents innovative, computer-controlled processes and technologies with the 11 potential to expand the boundaries of conventional construction. Their use in construction is currently 12 restricted to complex and iconic structures, but the growth potential is large. This paper aims to 13 investigate the environmental opportunities of digital fabrication methods, particularly when applied to 14 complex concrete geometries. A case study of a novel robotic additive process that is applied to a wall 15 structure is evaluated with the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method. The results of the assessment 16 demonstrate that digital fabrication provides environmental benefits when applied to complex 17 structures. The results also confirm that additional complexity is achieved through digital fabrication 18 without additional environmental costs. This study provides a quantitative argument to position digital 19 fabrication at the beginning of a new era, which is often called the Digital Age in many other 20 disciplines. 21

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