3 Construction Trends to Watch in 2020

The world of construction moves fast, and new trends are constantly emerging and disappearing. However, there are three key construction trends that we think don’t just reflect passing fads, but a deeper realignment of the whole industry.

Efficiency-Efficient Design

Environmental concerns are now at the top of the agenda around the world. Businesses who aren’t taking their environmental commitments seriously risk alienating an increasingly large portion of their customer base. Construction businesses are not exempt from this; in fact, consumers are more aware than ever before of the ways in which industries like the construction industry are contributing to climate change.

Construction businesses that aren’t able to point to specific steps that they are taking to reduce their carbon footprint are going to find their opportunities drying up over the next decade or so. For example, many construction businesses are now designing homes so that they can use energy more efficiently and therefore do not require nearly as much heating or cooling, irrespective of outside temperatures.

Environmentally-Aware Building

It would be nice if we were able to build all the stuff that we need without having to cause damage to the world around us. However, realistically, while we can be as careful as possible when we are constructing new homes, at some point we will have to disturb the nature that lives there.

However, we now have a very good understanding of the ways that construction affects local ecosystems, and it is therefore well within our power to construct buildings in a much more environmentally aware way. Instead of trying to hide the fact that constructing new buildings will require you to disturb local wildlife, it is much better to be able to tell people exactly what you are going to do to minimise that disruption.

We have already seen a marked difference over the last decade or so in the way that construction plans are presented to local governments and to the general public. Specifically, construction businesses are already much more eager to stress the steps that they are taking to protect the environment. This is something that we expect to become even more important in the future.

A Golden Age for Consultancy

As technology begins to play a bigger role in the construction process and construction businesses look to leverage new technologies, they are increasingly going to be turning to consultancy services. Building consultants can offer a range of services to construction businesses, and sometimes individual people, to help them make the right decisions about construction-related issues.

For example, businesses like Gerald Eve building consultancy can advise construction businesses on how to identify opportunities to lower their costs and improve the profitability of their new builds. Similarly, there are other consultancy businesses who specialise in eco-friendly builds. As buildings become multi-use environments, their design is becoming more complex. Consultancy businesses will plug knowledge gaps within construction businesses. The way that we approach construction changes with the times, reflecting our needs and our capabilities. The three trends we have highlighted above reflect the most significant change unfolding within the world of construction – the shift towards a more sustainable future. Construction businesses that can’t keep up are doomed to fail.