All building professionals have the most anticipated meeting in the sector high on their agendas, which this year will take place at IFEMA Madrid from March 19 to 21. Since its first edition, REBUILD has served to publicize and expand a new model in our country: industrialized construction, an innovative offsite system that is already becoming established in the most advanced countries, in which most of the elements necessary for the building are created in a factory and then transported for assembly.
After the consolidation of this procedure – more sustainable, safe, agile and efficient – ??the time has come to accelerate its implementation, as stated in this year’s motto: Accelerating Building Revolution. REBUILD 2024 will position Madrid as the epicenter of industrialization and will turn the city into the new hub of the sector, which will be the backdrop for the new economic engine that is rising around industrialized construction in Spain. The work of the industries that are dedicated to this activity and the promoters that promote industrialized projects will play a fundamental role in this to respond to public plans that already support these models, as is the case of Plan Vive, in the capital.
These days, more than 24,000 professionals of different profiles (architects, technical architects, engineers, installers, developers, quantity surveyors, interior designers and also investors) will meet in the two IFEMA pavilions to discover the latest innovations from 587 exhibiting firms ( 80% of them, dedicated to industrialization), in lighting, interiors, kitchens, bathrooms, enclosures, floors and surfaces, facades, energy efficiency, air conditioning, home automation, digital solutions or BIM, and industrialized systems in 2D or 3D .
For the first time, the event will have an area of ??more than 300 m2, the Matter space, in which a selection of brands will exhibit new materials and coatings that will serve to promote more innovative, sustainable and healthy forms of interior design and architecture. Among the large participating firms, we find prestigious names such as ABB, ACR, AEDAS Homes, Aldes, Aliaxis, Alpac, Baublock, Baxi, Cementos Molins, Componentes y Unidades Constructivas, CreoConcept, Deloitte, Domusa Teknik, Eurecat, ExSitu, Faveker, Finsa , Grupo Alumed, Grupo Lobe, Holcim, Jung, Lignum Tech, Mapei, Mitsubishi Electric, Multipanel, Peronda, Roca, Saint-Gobain, Saltoki, Schneider Electric, Siber, Sika, Sistemarq, Sodeca, Soler
In addition, the summit will be represented by administrations such as the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda, the Community of Madrid, the Madrid City Council or the Junta de Castilla y León. This last community has been selected by REBUILD as a European Innovative Region 2024, for its initiatives in the field of habitat and for promoting projects in sustainability, innovation and rehabilitation. As a novelty, the meeting will have a guest country, Italy, whose delegation will share success stories in industrialized building.
Within the framework of REBUILD, the National Congress of Advanced Architecture and Construction 4.0 will be organized, the largest forum for knowledge and trends in the sector with a unique conference program by 628 international experts in eight parallel auditoriums. The three axes on which the participations will revolve will be industrialization, sustainability and digitalization.
Regarding the first, the regulatory issue of industrialization will be addressed in detail to promote the arrival of legislative protection that serves to accelerate it. Specifically, the essential reform of the Technical Building Code will be discussed, to reflect the validity of the construction of buildings in a factory and through modules, so that this allows the developer to access bank credit in order to undertake projects. The options offered by the new construction model to respond to the lack of housing and public supply will also be examined; the possibilities of robotization to bring the profile closer to young and female sectors; or the need to categorize industrialization as it happens in other countries.
In the field of sustainability, emphasis will be placed on decarbonization measures, such as the new Energy Savings Certificates (CAE), and the potential for rehabilitation will be addressed, based on the extension of Next Generation financing, until July 2024 , or the National Building Rehabilitation Plan, which aims to transform all existing buildings into zero-emission buildings by 2050. Renewable energy sources and circular or biodegradable materials (such as wood or sustainable concrete) will also be subject of analysis, so that the sector can comply with Objective 55 of the European Green Deal, which seeks to reduce emissions by at least 55% in 2030.
Likewise, the forum will delve into how digitalization impacts the entire value chain. The incorporation of BIM in Spain will also be examined and the opportunities it offers for collaborative work will be analyzed. In addition, it will be announced how this methodology has been used in the large-scale remodeling project of the Santiago Bernabéu. The application of Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Virtual Reality, Digital Twins or drones in buildings will also be addressed.
Some of the leaders who will attend the Congress are Emilio Ortiz and Taba Rasti, architects and partners at Foster Partners in Madrid; Benedetta Tagliabue, one of the greats of Spanish architecture, who serves as Director of the Miralles Tagliablue Studio; or Andrew Waugh, world-class specialist in timber construction and Founding Director of the British studio Waugh Thistleton Architects.
REBUILD will have parallel activities such as the Advanced Architecture Awards 2024, awards that will distinguish the work of companies and professionals whose business model is based on transformation and innovation based on industrialization. And the Construction Tech Start Up Forum will bring together emerging companies that are leading the use of technology so they can present to investors and industry leaders.
In turn, ‘The Great Tomorrow of Industrialization’ will serve to establish a high-level open platform with segment executives who will share their points of view. There will also be a day called Installer’s Day, which will join recurring summits such as the Purchasing Directors of Developers, the Wood Construction Summit, the Engineering Summit, the Studio Interiores Summit or the Talent Market Place. The collaborative workshops will serve to strengthen a spirit of collaboration that already guides the work of all the actors involved in the field of building and industrialized construction, in order to take the sector towards a new scenario that offers effective responses to the great challenges that They await us.
