The Architectural Quality Act

The construction industry represents one of the most important pillars in the economic development of countries (around 6% of the world’s GDP). Despite this, the construction sector has traditionally been characterized by slow implementation and adaptation to new technologies, high resistance to change, a conservative approach to product design and delivery, leading to fragmentation of the industry. The digitization rate of construction is at 5%, the lowest indicator compared to industries such as basic and advanced manufacturing, retail, agriculture and telecommunications. It also represents the lowest annual productivity growth rate (-1.4%) compared to other industries. Clearly there is a proportional relationship between the digitization and implementation of new technologies and the productivity of a sector. As Klaus Schwab, author of the book “The Fourth Industrial Revolution”, points out, “We are on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally change the way we live, work and interact. In its scale, scope and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has ever experienced before.” For the Fourth Industrial Revolution there are three fundamental characteristics that transgress production systems, city management and governments, and they are: “the speed, scope and impact of systems”, this will greatly influence a new era of digital transformation and with it the way we communicate with each other and the way we connect with new technologies, cyber physical systems, machines/robots, sensors, prefabricated artifacts, among others that are changing our way of seeing the world in an unprecedented way. And we must bring this to the Architecture and Building sector.