ACORN has been named the 2nd most frequently read Product Stories of 2022 by the RIBA Journal
You can see it amongst the Top 5 here:
We were also highlighted as part of the “Five Material Technology Trends To Watch in 2023“ by Architect Magazine :
https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/five-material-technology-trends-to-watch-in-2023_o
ACORN has been featured in Issue 857 of L'Industria Italiana del Cemento, the Italian cement industry magazine.
You can find a detailed article on page 92, outlining our research in glorious technicolor … if you can read Italian.
The ACORN Team are excited to have been shortlisted in the Wild Card category (what else) of the 2023 Collaborate to Innovate Awards by The Engineer. Paul and all of our PhD Researchers will be attending the glamorous awards dinner in February to find out if we have won - Keep your fingers crossed!
The ACORN project has been cited by Prof Jacqui Glass in two HBR Reports into Leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Automation for Return on Investment in Innovation, as an example of innovation in sustainability. You can download these interesting and obviously insightful reports for free here:
This comes in the same week that DeZeen included ACORN as one of its 6 material innovations aimed at slashing concrete's outsized carbon footprint :
https://www.dezeen.com/2022/10/21/concrete-carbon-emissions-material-innovations/
On 30th June, Robin will share details of the construction and assembly of ACORN’s full-scale demonstration building.
Sign up free here:
https://www.istructe.org/events/hq/2022/fib-what-s-happening-2022/
ACORN has been present in a guest lecture at the University of Minho, Portugal, on 16th May 2022. The lecture focused on the work developed on the digital design of non-prismatic concrete building elements, shown to architecture students as an example of using computational design approaches in construction.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CdnaVP9sZ_9/
Paul will be presenting a talk titled “Computational Design - Are we missing an opportunity?” to the Chester & North Wales branch of the IStructE on Thursday 3rd March, and ACORN will feature heavily. You can sign up free here:
ACORN has made a splash in the press today following the success of our Demonstration Building. Such a great way to celebrate what we’ve achieved so far, and to thank all our Project Partners and Affiliates!
You can see the University of Bath’s official press release here:
and the University of Cambridge’s official press release here:
http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/reducing-concrete-buildings-decarbonise-construction
The first in-depth article was published as an exclusive by RIBA Journal here:
https://www.ribaj.com/products/acorn-research-robot-built-thin-concrete-arches-embodied-carbon
which was closely followed by DeZeen:
https://dezeen.com/2022/03/04/concrete-vaulted-floor-suggests-path-to-cutting-carbon-emissions/
and the Architects’ Journal
We have also featured in articles in Construction Enquirer and Innovation Origins and The Engineer and Eureka Magazine and Engineering Designer and Stone Specialist and Construction Management and Conviction News and E-Architect and E&T and The Bihar Engineering and India Education Diary and Vemma News and CSIC and Health Estate Journal and Better Society Network and Mental Health Design & Build and Knowledia and UK Recruiting and Specification Online and CAD Download and AI Architect and Tech Register and Construo and Bath Business News and IOM3 and English Times and Tecture Mag and Business Fast and Phone Week and Project Scotland and Wired Focus and Business Mayor and Projin News and Architect News and Home Deco Store and Concrete Institute Australia and Housing Association Yearbook and Ingenio
ACORN will be the main focus of Paul’s presentation to the ICE Bristol Club on 17th Feb. Tickets still available if you are quick…
https://www.ice.org.uk/events/computational-design-opportunity-online
Paul has been interviewed by Dr Claire Asher at part of the UK Robotics & Autonomous Systems Network’s monthly podcast, available from:
https://ukrobotics.libsyn.com/episode-twelve-manufacturing-robotics-onto-the-factory-floor
You can use the player below to hear him from 25m11s onwards, or listen to the whole thing for even more exciting robot-related news.
The close collaboration between ACORN and Cambridge University Department of Engineering’s In-House Design Team, which led to the successful and timely completion of our Robotic Pin-Bed fabrication system has been highlighted in the University’s newsletter.
http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/new-concrete-mould-system-uses-right-amount-concrete-and-no-more
ACORN has been included in the UKRI’s Transforming Construction "Story Catalogue”. You can see it here:
ACORN has been present at the 8th eCAADe Regional International Symposium, on 26th May and 7th October 2021, hosted by the POLIS University in Tirana. This online talk focused on the work developed on the digital design of non-prismatic concrete building elements in the scope of the symposium’s theme of Complexity Computations: Design processes and strategies addressing chaos and complexity. Another great opportunity to spread the ACORN word!
ACORN has been present in two invited lectures at the Lusiada University in Lisbon, on 26th May and 27th September 2021. These lectures focused on the work developed on the digital design of non-prismatic concrete building elements to architecture students, as an example of using computational design approaches in construction.
ACORN was honoured to be invited to give a keynote presentation at the Digital Design & Computation e-Conference 2021, organised by the Institution of Structural Engineers.
In this online event, we showcased our digital design work to deliver efficient non-prismatic concrete elements, networked with academics and professionals using computational design across the globe and spread the word on ACORN’s quest to use just the right amount of concrete… and no more!
The work of ACORN has been highlighted in Daniel Summerbell’s article in the monthly Blog of Project Partner CSIC.
Until recently, much of the research and innovation on sustainable construction has been focused on the operational emissions associated with the building, particularly on improving thermal performance. However, there is increasing recognition that capital emissions, those emitted during the manufacture of construction materials and those embodied in the materials themselves, are of similar importance. As heating systems are electrified and countries decarbonise, their electricity generation and the emissions associated with heating and lighting decrease. This in turn increases the relative importance of capital emissions1. In addition, the lifetime of a building determines the split between operational and capital. Operational emissions are often calculated over the entire design life, however many buildings end up being demolished sooner than planned2. Concrete and Steel are the main source of capital emissions, and these industries are working towards decarbonisation, but rely heavily on carbon capture and storage to reach their targets3,4. Other sources recognise the need for material efficiency measures, but do not predict that they will be implemented in time to meet 2050 net zero targets5.
Early research by the ACORN team has highlighted the importance of categorising the opportunities for material efficiency in construction to avoid double-counting wherever possible. Areas where there are opportunities to reduce waste and improve efficiency in concrete construction are:
The estimated improvements achievable varies depending on material source, construction stage, and construction process. One of the biggest opportunities is in the Overdesign category, where waste can be as high as 50%. It is here that the ACORN project can deliver substantial advantages over conventional processes and designs.
The research team are not alone in seeing the huge opportunities for cost and carbon reduction, and productivity increase, that an ACORN approach can deliver. The project is working closely with its 12 Industry Steering Partners and another 12 Industry Project Affiliates, companies of all sizes spanning the entire AEC industry who have pledged active support for the project’s vision. If your company would be interested in signing up (for free) as an ACORN Affiliate, please get in touch via acorn@automated.construction or check out the rest of our website.
One of the key questions when it comes to sustainability and the construction industry is what proportion of the emissions associated with a building can be ascribed to the materials used in its construction versus the energy used to heat and light the building during its life.
Many factors and assumptions can affect the conclusion one comes to when trying to tackle this question, including the lifetime of the building itself, the future state of our electricity grid, and whether it matters when during a building’s life the emissions are generated.
In this post, we examine a statement in the recent CEMBUREAU roadmap (2020) shown in Figure 1 below that “72% of CO2 total emissions related to an average building come from the energy used during its working life”. This seems to suggest that embodied carbon makes up a proportion of the impact than other reports might suggest (Material Economics, RICS, LETI).
The source quoted by CEMBUREAU is a World Green Building Council report from 2019, which states:
“Currently, buildings account for 39% of energy related global CO2 emissions2, demonstrating the importance of the building and construction sector in fulfilling these ambitions [to deliver the Paris Agreement]. Of this sector contribution, 28% comes from operational carbon with 11%3 arising from the energy used to produce building and construction materials, usually referred to as embodied carbon”
The WGBC report states that buildings account for 39% of energy related global CO2 emissions, and that of this contribution 28% comes from operational carbon, and 11% from the energy used to produce construction materials. Twenty-eight percent out of 39% gives the 72% operational emissions quoted by CEMBUREAU.
However, the key phrase is that these are energy-related CO2 emissions. As a footnote to the WGBC article states, this does not include any process–related emissions. In the case of cement, emissions from the chemical process of clinker production make up approximately half of total emissions. Excluding these from the embodied emissions of the building is misleading, particularly as the CEMBUREAU report refers to “total emissions”.
The reader of the CEMBUREAU report is left with the impression that embodied carbon is much less important than operational carbon, because the numbers used are not telling the whole story. When examining the operational to embodied carbon split of construction using concrete, we must not ignore the process-based carbon dioxide emissions.
Mishael is joining the ACORN team to research a PhD under the supervision of John Orr at the University of Cambridge. His main research interest centres around the implementation of low-carbon, thin-shell elements in buildings to reduce material inefficiencies. His postgraduate work is being funded by the William & Margaret Brown Cambridge International Scholarship.
Mishael graduated from the Engineering Science program from the University of Toronto in 2020. His undergraduate research work focused on the shear behaviour and finite element modelling of concrete elements. During his placement year, Mishael worked at Arup in both the Toronto and London office as a structural engineering intern as well as a digital intern, focusing on interoperability of data in the AEC industry.
Welcome to the team Mishael!
