Historically, real estate development has been a traditional brick-and-mortar business. Despite the scientific and technological advancements made over the last four decades, developers have largely shied away from embracing technology. As a result, the real estate development and construction sector has remained largely time-consuming and labour-intensive, leading to a generation of waste and environmental pollution.
In the 1980s and 1990s, developers and contractors in China used modular and offset construction technology to some extent, which fast-tracked urbanisation in China. In recent years, robots have been deployed in offsite and modular construction factories that produce the essential components of a building such as walls, window panels, ceilings, beams, door panels, and interiors. These components are then assembled onsite.
Over the last decade, there has been notable progress in 3D Printing Technology, particularly in small-scale projects. Governments worldwide are implementing numerous measures that encourage the use of 3D printing in construction. According to the US Department of Commerce, the global market for 3D printing is rapidly growing, reaching $120bn in 2020, with projections to reach $300bn by 2025.
Additionally, 3D printing technology is expected to streamline production processes in various sectors and reduce construction costs by 50 to 70 percent, labour costs by 50 to 80 percent, and construction waste by up to 60 percent.
Coming to the Middle East, Dubai has constructed the world’s first 3D printed office, located near the Emirates Towers complex. The Government of Dubai has introduced a 3D Printing Strategy, that requires 25 percent of new building structures in the emirate to incorporate 3D printing technologies by 2030. Dubai boasts over 120,000 civil structures, consisting of residential and commercial properties, retail outlets, hospitality establishments, industrial warehouses, showrooms, and more.
The emirate is also progressing towards its 3D printing goal by implementing 3D-printed lighting products, bases, foundations, construction joints, and facilities in public spaces such as parks, as well as in mobile homes and buildings.
Now, the debate is – which technology is more suitable for property development – Offsite Modular Construction or 3D Printing Technology? Although 3D Printing Technology is more advanced, it hasn’t yet been implemented on a large scale to see the real impact on project implementation and the environment. Both technologies reduce human efforts, thus reducing cost, wastage, and time to complete the project to a great extent.
However, unfortunately, developers and contractors in the GCC have yet to use them on a large scale. Offsite and Modular Construction technology reduces cost and project implementation time by around 50 percent while also eliminating construction waste to nearly zero. Modular and Prefabricated construction market value is growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.5 percent from $147bn in 2022 to an estimated $285bn in 2032, according to Global Market Insights.
In Saudi Arabia, Red Sea International, Amana Construction and Zameel Group have championed modular construction technology for the oil and gas industry, power, utility, and construction site offices – mostly to manage temporary settlements.
Sustainability and the use of technology in the construction industry are directly linked. In order to make the real estate development and construction business more environmentally friendly and sustainable, the industry stakeholders must embrace technology to reduce waste, reduce human efforts, reduce time to build homes and reduce cost.
However, in the absence of both, what could the developers do? At Danube Properties, we have undertaken several strategic decisions to make buildings environmentally friendly, and smart, reduce cost and waste, and pass on the savings to the property buyers. We have also initiated an industry-leading and trend-setting 1 percent monthly payment plan to help home buyers acquire their dream homes without seeking a bank loan. We are also fully committed to building green, comfortable, and sustainable homes and communities.
To keep construction costs at a minimum, we enforce what is known as a fixed-price contract – where we source, fix and buy the building materials – leveraging on our 30-year knowledge, clout, and our local and internal resources. We then supply the main contractor with the required quantity of materials to help them finish the civil construction.
This way, the main contractor doesn’t need to worry about the procurement of building materials and just takes care of the construction of the project. This has helped us to reduce costs to a large extent and helped the middle-income group to buy and own properties – which they could not even dream of. In addition to all the above, we adhere to the green building codes and deploy a space-saving architectural design. We also furnish homes with wall-mounted beds and space-saving furniture.
In this Year of Sustainability, as the UAE prepares to host COP28 later this year, I hope that regulators will upgrade the Unified Building Code with the latest green building, offsite, and modular construction technology, as well as 3D printing technology. This will allow the developer community, contractors, and other stakeholders to join hands in embracing technology and reducing carbon emissions, making the built environment more sustainable.
For instance, if more contractors adopt an offsite and modular construction model to develop our projects, it could result in significant benefits. If this approach could save 50 percent of construction costs, reduce construction time by 50 percent, and eliminate waste entirely, then there is no reason why we should not consider hiring them to build our projects.
The real estate industry is currently undergoing a transformation as it embraces new technologies. Proptech, or property technology, is also becoming increasingly important in the real estate industry recently because of two critical points:
- Improved efficiency: Streamlining processes and increasing efficiency in various stages of the development cycle, including site selection, construction, marketing, and leasing.
- Personalised customer experience: Enhancing transparency and convenience through virtual tours and 3D models also pushes potential buyers to take a 360-degree tour and easy payment options through multiple online platforms.
These innovations are not only reducing costs, time, and waste, but they are also contributing to making buildings more environmentally friendly and sustainable. As we move towards a future that prioritises sustainability and innovation, it is crucial for developers, regulators, and other stakeholders to continue working together to create a built environment that caters to present needs while guaranteeing a brighter future for generations to come.