About Us

The Future of Construction Symposium series was initiated in 2022 at ETH Zurich, by PhD and Postdoctoral Researchers from Design++ and the NCCR DFAB representing the departments of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. The symposium was designed as a platform to discuss construction robotics and computational design for sustainable construction. After a successful kick-off in 2022, it was held in TU Munich in 2023, and at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) in 2024.

The 2026 edition of the Future of Construction symposium is organized by ETH Zürich in association with NCCR Digital Fabrication and Design++. Concluding twelve years of pioneering research within the NCCR Digital Fabrication, this edition reflects on a decade of innovation and the emerging directions shaping tomorrow’s construction culture. Themed “Construction of Future(s)”, it explores the accelerating convergence of technologies in architecture, engineering, and construction, asking how emerging tools such as AI, extended reality, and robotics redefine practice and what futures they enable. The Future of Construction Symposium 2026  will take place in Zurich, from May 20 to 23, 2026 and it will be hosted at ETH Zentrum and ETH Hönggerberg.
The event will convene participants from from academia, start-ups, and the construction industry, with invited speakers and panelists from the fields of architecture, civil engineering, digital fabrication, heritage preservation, real estate, sustainability, computational design, immersive technologies and many more. Together, we will discuss the opportunities for interdisciplinary solutions to urgent and emerging challenges in construction.