The latest technologies in construction

When using up-to-date technologies, developers pursue several main objective:

• Make the house of as high quality as possible.
• Reduce construction time.
• Reduce the house construction expenses.

What innovative changes have occurred in recent years?

In the last 10-20 years, a lot of technologies and solutions have appeared in construction, which are often used by developers. Let's consider several innovative changes that are now actively used by Ukrainian developers, and ten years ago Ukrainians hardly knew anything about them:

1. BIM (Building Information Modeling). This is information modeling that makes it possible to assess the project profitability. Thanks to the program, the developer can quickly prepare the necessary documents, and also calculate the profit to be received from construction.
2. Application of 3D printers for construction. Only leading construction companies use printers to make some of the house's elements. But there are several houses in the world already that are built exclusively using a 3D printer. The difficulty of using this technology lies in its high cost.
3. Solar panels on the roof. Companies increasingly use green energy to provide it in their homes. It is often impossible to fully meet the needs of residents for electricity using solar panels, but partially it can be done. Such a project allows the residents to be somewhat independent from the city's central power supply. Besides, the panels have a long service life.
4. Use of drones. With the help of drones, you can take pictures from up high, assess the scale of construction, and find problem areas. The drone also helps evaluate the infrastructure nearby and take several beautiful publicity stills for investors. These devices are also used for safety. When it comes to a large object, it is quite difficult for guards to get around it, so 24/7 drone patrolling is an excellent solution.

There are other new technologies in the construction of high-rise buildings. We have considered only the most interesting and those that are mainstreamed by Ukrainian construction companies.

Standards

The latest technologies in construction are used by many developers, including  RIEL Real Estate Corporation. However, the current building codes remain the same. Three main technologies are used in the construction of buildings:

• Cast-in-place technology. Its feature is the use of removable formwork made of wood panels, plastic, foam. The formwork is cast with ready-mixed concrete, which is booted with a special construction vibrator. As soon as the mixture is completely dry and hardened, the formwork is removed. Due to this technology, a residential building becomes a reliable monolithic object, to which water supply, ventilation, heating, sewerage and power supply systems are connected.
• Precast panel construction of the building. Panel high-rise buildings are structures made of solid reinforced concrete slabs, which have recently been increasingly replaced by so-called sandwich panels (a three-layer product made of two layers of reinforced concrete and a layer of insulation between them). Many high-rise buildings of the last century were built using panel technology in Ukraine. Many developers use it now. The main advantage of this technology is the high speed of construction, because the building is assembled as a Meccano set.
• Brick building technology. Brick houses have long been considered the most comfortable and reliable. In summer they heat up just a while, and in winter they provide good sound insulation. Today, brick construction technology is used mainly in the construction of houses up to 4-12 floors. This is due to the high cost of such houses and not exactly the quickest speed of construction. Besides, in cases of using low-quality bricks and non-compliance with the masonry requirements, the tightness of the walls can be violated.

Which new technologies are extensively used by construction companies?

The latest technologies in construction have helped construction companies to simplify many processes, as well as achieve the highest quality. Many technologies are aimed at reducing construction time and, as a result, reducing costs.

• Water Repellent Sealer. The essence of this technology is to impregnate concrete with a special solution that penetrates into pores and crystallizes. Due to this, the penetration of moisture is blocked, and the service life of the structure is significantly increased.
• Stay-in-place formwork. This development is now very popular in the construction of houses. Its advantages are low cost of housing and high construction speed. This development provides monolithic walls, but the formwork itself does not need to be removed.
• Smog absorption. Such houses absorb all harmful impurities deposited on the surface of the building. Now this technology is actively used in Japan, but it is relevant for large cities, including Kyiv.
• Tensioned reinforcement. This is the steel quenching method, thanks to which the reinforcement is extremely powerful and able to withstand heavy loads. This technology is increasingly used in the construction of buildings with heavy loads on walls and ceilings.