Digital and Material Innovations in Construction: Interdisciplinary Approaches for Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Built Environments

The construction industry is undergoing a significant transformation to address pressing challenges posed by climate change, resource depletion, and rapid urbanisation. Conventional materials and approaches often lack the adaptability and efficiency required by today's dynamic built environment. Recent advances in material science and digital technologies are propelling the development of smart, sustainable, and resilient construction solutions. Innovations such as self-healing concrete, low-carbon composites, and sensor-integrated infrastructure are reducing environmental impacts while enhancing performance and durability. Concurrently, digitally-enabled design processes are enabling more efficient, adaptive, and lifecycle-aware decision-making.
This paradigm shift necessitates interdisciplinary research that integrates engineering, architecture, environmental science, and digital design. The convergence of smart technologies with sustainable strategies is not only reshaping the future of construction but is critical for achieving climate goals and long-term infrastructure resilience.

Scope and Aims

This Research Topic addresses the urgent need for innovative materials and design strategies that are:
o Sustainable: Minimising carbon footprint and resource consumption
o Smart: Integrating data-driven design, sensing, and adaptive performance
o Resilient: Withstanding environmental, social, and economic challenges
The construction sector remains a leading contributor to global carbon emissions and is increasingly vulnerable to climate-related disruptions, such as extreme weather, material degradation, and rising temperatures. Traditional practices often fall short in lifecycle thinking, adaptive performance, and data-driven decision-making.

Key areas of interest include:

o Low-carbon and circular materials
o Smart sensing and structural health monitoring
o Climate-responsive design methodologies
o Integration of digital twins, AI-driven material optimisation, BIM, and IoT
o Bio-based and recycled composites
o Lifecycle assessment and performance modelling

The objective is to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration and knowledge exchange that can drive the adoption of high-performance, intelligent, and climate-resilient solutions.

Submission Guidelines

We invite a variety of manuscript types:

o Original research articles
o Critical reviews
o Case studies demonstrating real-world implementation or policy significance

We encourage interdisciplinary contributions that bridge engineering, material science, architecture, and digital innovation.

Themes may include, but are not limited to:

o Development and characterisation of advanced construction materials (e.g., self-healing concrete, phase-change materials)
o Application of digital technologies (AI, digital twins, IoT) in material optimisation and lifecycle assessment
o Demonstrations of climate adaptation, resource efficiency, or long-term durability in construction
o Modelling, simulation, and performance evaluation
o Policy implications and pathways for mainstream adoption

Impact

This collection seeks to accelerate the transformation of construction practices toward a smarter, more sustainable, and climate-resilient built environment. By sharing cutting-edge research and best practices, we aim to catalyse the next generation of solutions for the construction sector.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: Construction, Climate-resilient, Sustainable, Digital construction, Lifecycle assessment, Circular construction, AI in material design, Data-driven construction

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.