在艰难的一年之后，艰苦的课程和令人鼓舞的迹象是2021年BuildTech虚拟会议的首要线，Enr年度对建筑技术和管理状况的年度介绍。新利18备用承包商，工程师和其他行业专业人士就他们如何通过大流行而进行了见解，以及他们在艰难时期发现了古老问题的新解决方案。

ENR special correspondent Tom Sawyer, who was drafted to help develop the first ENR BuildTech conference in 2019, says the planners this year studied feedback from readers and the attendees of ENR events and realized that people really wanted to meet across disciplines and share practical tips for finding synergy among different professions. But the challenges of working through the pandemic were an underlying current throughout the conference.

索耶说：“当然，共同的19日大流行和去年的突然建筑停工和疏远使燃烧器在所有这些问题上都散发出来。”“我们始终希望大流行在会议开始时会在后视镜中，但事实证明不是镜子，而是一个镜头，将许多问题集中在一个炎热，明亮的点上。”他说，这不是“共同会议”，但肯定会继续上映。”

3月9日至11日进入虚拟阶段的主持人代表了基础设施生产的公司，从美国Skanska美国建筑的C级高管团队到总部位于诺福克的NEB. NEB，45位雇员Beckenhaur Construction，所有这些都提供了有关的帐户他们的公司如何通过大流行而应对，适应甚至蓬勃发展。

Often, as exemplified by presentations from keynoter Katie Haydon Perry, of Phoenix-based Haydon Building Corp., the key to success turned out to be in a sharper focus on the people side of the equation, and not only the protection of employee health, but in a larger sense, employee well-being. “We did not have a work-from-home policy, we did not have virtual platforms set up,” recalled Haydon Perry, whose company had to move fast as the pandemic spread. “Soon I had a new [virtual] team, and felt we were able to get to know each other on a different level.”

Embracing new communication tools to keep working in a time of crisis came up in a keynote by management consultant Fred Hencke, senior vice president at Segal. He said that working through uncertain times creates a space for misinformation and confusion, and companies have an obligation to keep their own people well informed. “Prepare targeted messages…know which audiences you are trying to reach and communicate effectively,” recommended Hencke. “And when things are really critical, push those alerts out, don’t wait.”

But advances in crisis management soon gave way to exciting new technologies. Matthew Carli, head of material operations at ICON and a former executive at Laticrete, explained how, in partnership the U.S. Marine Corps and the Defense Innovation Unit, ICON 3D-printed a large vehicle-hide structure at Camp Pendleton without a foundation. Using additive manufacturing to deliver concrete structures and forms, Carli explained, extends to the home building industries and even to space exploration where NASA sponsored a competition to create structures on the surface of the moon for future manned lunar projects.

Carli stressed that the acceleration of 3D printing in construction is already underway with more start-ups, corporate investment and government-support 3D concrete printing (3DCP) and that the scale of adoption is already disrupting traditional construction in places such as Singapore. What was seen as a curious lab experiment only a few years ago is now entering the market as a viable alternative to other building methods. “It’s a highly engineered mortar, really over-engineered for this application,” he explained. The speed and consistent quality of 3D-printed concrete is at a point where it could be an acceptable alternative in certain markets. “Compared to building-grade stick frame or CMU block, this is definitely a premium product,” he said.

And as to the question of whether there are code considerations that might impede broader use of 3D-printing in construction, Carli says the hurdles may be easier to clear than previously thought. “Are U.S. building codes ready for this technology? I don’t see why not,” he added.

To watch these presentations and other BuildTech content on demand,visit the official ENR BuildTech website.