Facing rising building demands due to a fast-growing world population and significant environmental challenges at the same time, the building sector urgently requires innovation. The Cluster of Excellence Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture at the University of Stuttgart tackles these challenges through a Co-Design approach for integrating computational design and engineering and robotic construction. Within this research framework, a Holistic Quality Model is developed to ensure the technical, environmental, and social quality of Co-Design processes and products. Up to now, quality models that consider and integrate all these three aspects throughout the life cycle of buildings are still missing. The article outlines the concept of holistic quality assessment based on a Holistic Quality Model for sustainable construction. A key mechanism for sustainable quality assessment in the Holistic Quality Model is the definition of control and decision points in the construction process where critical decisions are made that will affect the quality of the building throughout its entire life-cycle. Firstly, subject-specific quality concepts are defined and their interrelations are conceptualized. Subsequently, these interrelations and their effects on the overall Co-Design construction processes and products are explained using the example of the semi-robotic production of concrete slabs. Examples for control and decision points are given as well. The outline presented here serves as a basis for further advancing and concretizing the Holistic Quality Model and its applications in Co-Design for a functioning, liveable, and sustainable high-quality construction and building culture.

This study analyzes the growing trend of urban green infrastructures, particularly green façade systems, in terms of their infrastructural relationships between nature and culture and their potential to act as bioclimatic layers mediating between the needs of flora, fauna and human habitation. An interdisciplinary approach is taken by combining the perspectives of social and engineering sciences to discuss the contribution of green façade systems for more-than-human conviviality in cities. Green infrastructures can support this endeavor by enabling functions that help to integrate the heterogeneity typical for semi-natural structures into urban ones, especially regarding microclimatic and biodiversity-enhancing functions. The theoretical distinction between “gray”, “green”, and “revolutionary” infrastructure is used to differentiate between conventional and posthumanist conceptualizations of urban naturecultures. The performance of the UNA TERRA living wall prototype as a green and revolutionary infrastructure is evaluated. The results show that the living wall has beneficial microclimatic effects and adds a heterogeneous habitat structure that supports biodiversity in the urban context. By adhering to “egalitarian humility” in design, the uncertainty and openness of more-than-human conviviality are acknowledged. The study finds that green infrastructures such as green façade systems can fulfill the criteria of revolutionary infrastructure if the contribution to local biodiversity and structural complexity is prioritized and the heterogeneous interrelations between human and non-human actors are taken into account.

Zusammenfassung: Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt die Wahrnehmung von Technik und Digitalisierung in Deutschland und im Vergleich mit dem europäischen Ausland dar. Er geht auf die Ergebnisse des TechnikRadar aus den Jahren 2018 und 2019 zurück. Das TechnikRadar von acatech – Deutsche Akademie der Technikwissenschaften und Körber-Stiftung beleuchtet jährlich mit verschiedenem Fokus, was die Deutschen über Technik denken. Erstellt und wissenschaftlich ausgewertet wird es von den AutorInnen des Beitrags. 2018 und 2019 standen die Wahrnehmung und Bewertung der Digitalisierung im Mittelpunkt, wobei 2018 die Ergebnisse der Repräsentativbefragung in Deutschland vorgestellt und 2019 diese Ergebnisse sowohl einer vertiefenden Analyse zu alters- und geschlechtsspezifischen Unterschieden unterzogen als auch mit Befunden aus anderen internationalen Studien verglichen wurden. Anhand von Anwendungsfeldern wie dem autonomen Fahren, Pflegerobotik, Smart Home und der Digitalisierung von Infrastrukturen wird herausgestellt, wie Technik in den jeweiligen Kontexten wahrgenommen und welche Chancen und Risiken gesehen werden. Dabei zeigt sich, dass die eigene Kompetenzwahrnehmung in Bezug auf den Umgang mit digitalen Technologien und Diensten sowie das Vertrauen der Menschen in die Akteure der Digitalisierung wesentlich für eine grundlegende gesellschaftliche Akzeptanz von Digitalisierungsprozessen ist.

In this article, we argue that in order to properly assess the potentials, challenges, and implications of the digital transformation in architecture and construction, we need to better understand the political-economic dynamics behind it and examine it in light of the current reorganisation of global capitalism. The focus of this article is therefore on the larger political-economic and techno-economic conditions that are shaping the implementation of digital technologies in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector. Based on document analysis on the digital turn in architecture and construction, along with interviews with AEC professionals, we argue that the logic of platform capitalism is beginning to transform the industry, with Building Information Modelling (BIM) acting as an obligatory passage point and government policies as gate-openers. The article, first, discusses concepts of platform and platform capitalism and indicates how these apply to recent reconfigurations of actor and power relations in the field. Second, it reviews some of the developments in digital architecture from 2D drawings to BIM and beyond. Third, it examines the role of government policies as driving forces in the digital transformation. Forth, it takes a closer look at the case of software producer Autodesk and their BIM product Revit, which illustrates how the logic of platform capitalism has gained traction in architecture and construction. Finally, it concludes that some expectations can be derived from these observations: In the realm of design software, we can expect a further concentration of economic power and a near-monopolistic structure of the market. Moreover, we can expect a shift of focus and investment from architectural design to socio-digital modes of construction and urban planning that benefit primarily real estate owners, investors, developers, and construction companies. Furthermore, we can expect large construction firms to secure themselves a comfortable starting position as early adopters, while SMEs are facing bigger challenges to benefit from the digital transformation. Lastly, we can expect a further encroachment of tech giants and domain outsiders such as Alphabet into architecture and construction, turning buildings and cities into machines for data extraction.