Housing of the Future: Housing Design of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Abstract

The housing problems of the 21st century that include continuous urbanization, overpopulation, pollution, energy deficiency, land shortage and lack of affordable housing cannot be solved by applying housing solutions of the 20th century. The paradigm shift initiated by the disruptive new technological development of the fourth industrial revolution is offering substitution to the conventional understanding of housing design, its production processes and radically change the way we live and work. This paper examines and describes new prospects, opportunities and limits of housing design by the use of innovative advanced 3D printing technologies with CAD/CAM systems that introduce new possibilities to the process of housing design, fabrication and construction. These new possibilities in housing design include research in form, function, structure and materials, and have profound influence on both architectural research design, its production process and significantly reduce overall investments, time and resources, materials and labour use, decrease pollution and energy use.