Reimagining Built Environment through the Convergence of Technologies 4.0, Education and Circularity

The built environment, taken in its broadest sense – ranging from the scale of individual buildings to that of infrastructure, cities and the wider territory – has undergone profound transformations, increasingly influenced by automation, the growth of new technologies, digital manufacturing, environmental imperatives and socio-economic challenges.This major shift is driving continuous improvement in approaches to construction, design and urban planning. It is also driving progress in the fields of BIM/CIM, Digital Twins, robotic construction, Additive Manufacturing for Construction, and the sustainable management, planning and governance of cities.Viewed critically, these advances give rise to a number of challenges. These include the central role of people, the specific challenges facing SMEs and developing countries, cybersecurity, and standardisation.At the same time, there is a strong demand for the implementation and integrity of solutions in order to create applications and approaches that encompass the entire life cycle, take into account contemporary challenges relating to resilience and decarbonisation, and enable good governance and decision-making support.The isolation and fragmentation of solutions are hindering the large-scale adoption of these advances. Furthermore, new AI-driven developments – whether in terms of digital twin predictions, or the design and management of infrastructure and cities – are broadening the scope of research.This Research Topic aims to bring these dynamics together in order to explore the new paradigms that are redefining the future of the built environment, whether at the architectural or urban scale. By bringing together theoretical, methodological and practical contributions focusing on technological advances in the built environment in the age of automation, AI, the circular economy and digital manufacturing, as well as on the central role of people and socio-economic challenges.With a particular focus on its applications in the context of the development of smart cities and regions, this issue provides a timely reflection to help us understand our current situation and define the future direction of built environments at all scales. Topic editors: Khalil Idrissi Gartoumi, Cédric Stéphane KOUMETIO TEKOUABOU, Saeed Reza Mohandes Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85657/reimagining-built-environment-through-the-convergence-of-technologies-40-education-and-circularity