Modular precast construction is a methodological approach to reduce environmental impacts and increase productivity when building with concrete. Constructions are segmented into similar precast concrete elements, prefabricated with integrated quality control, and assembled just-in-sequence on site. Due to the automatised prefabrication, inaccuracies are minimised and the use of high-performance materials is enabled. As a result, the construction process is accelerated, and the modules can be designed to be lightweight and resource-efficient. This contribution presents the fundamentals of modular constructions made from precast concrete components. Then, to elaborate the requirements of a contemporary modular precast construction, the historic developments are described. Further, concepts and technical processes–comprehensible to non-expert readers–are introduced to formalise the discussion about the current state-of-the-art methods. Three case studies treating ongoing research are introduced and related to the conceptual fundamentals. The research is evaluated with regard to current barriers and future directions. In conclusion, modular precast construction is able to reduce emissions and increase productivity in the sector if researchers and firms coordinate the development of suitable technologies that bring value to critical stakeholders.

Capturing human knowledge underlying the design and engineering of products has been among the main goals of computational engineering since its very beginning. Over the last decades, various approaches have been proposed to tackle this objective. Among the most promising approaches is the application of graph theory for representing product structures by defining nodes representing entities and edges representing relations among them. The concrete meaning of these structures ranges from geometry representations over hierarchical product breakdowns to functional descriptions and flows of information or resources. On top of these graph structures, graph rewriting techniques provide another powerful layer of technology. By enabling the formal definition of rules for transforming graph structures, they allow on the one hand side to formally capture the engineering development process. On the other hand, the assembly of rewriting rules into graph grammars allows for an exhaustive search of the solution space of the engineering problem at hand. In combination with search strategies, an automated optimization of the design under given constraints and objectives can be realized. The paper provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art in graph rewriting and its applications in engineering design, with a focus on the built environment. It concludes with a discussion of the progress achieved and the missing research gaps.