Digital manufacturing for earth construction: A critical review

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed a rapid adoption of digital manufacturing techniques in the architecture and construction industry, with a strong focus on additive manufacturing and 3D concrete printing. The increasing awareness of the undesirable environmental implications of cement-based products has led to reapproaching earth materials within a digitally based construction process. The attempts to digitise earth construction started in 2011; however, the past three years have seen a surge in the number of research projects that explore the potentials of digital earth construction. This paper collected, reviewed and analysed the state-of-the-art research on digital earth construction since 2011, then focused on highlighting the potential of, as well as the challenges associated with the process of adopting this new construction method on an industrial scale. The insights from this study will bridge the gaps in knowledge among disparate research threads and collectively provide critical information for an enhanced utilisation of digital techniques in earth construction in the future.