In this episode of our podcast How to Build a Better World, our managing editor, Tina Perinotto, spoke with Amy Marks from Autodesk, the “queen of prefab”, on why building and construction is not an industry but an ecosystem.
If the world’s buildings and cities are set to triple their footprint, as forecasters predict, sustainability will be a mighty challenge. Firstly, where are we sourcing our diminishing natural materials from? And can we still build and construct the way we’ve done traditionally?
Amy Marks is head of Industrialised Construction Strategy and Evangelism at the global technology company Autodesk. She says so much needs to change.
Her job is to transform building and construction so that it’s way more efficient and sustainable. This would have multiple dividends for businesses and the planet, she says.
Amy is one of those brilliant American outperformers that rightfully stand out on the global stage. She’s educated at Harvard, she’s a successful entrepreneur, a great thinker and a great speaker.
Thankfully, for the building and construction industry, she’s made her voice one to be reckoned with.
She says building and construction is NOT an industry. It’s an eco system and this means it can’t be disrupted or reformed from the bottom up. It has to be disrupted from the top down.
She means by influential clients such as large corporates or governments who can demand new outcomes through different methodologies.
Amy is focused on the value and efficiency of digitalisation and prefabrication. These are the ways that we can start to be conserve and repurpose our dwindling natural resources.
In construction, a wastage rate of 30 per cent is common. New technologies can go a long way to solving that problem. And they can also help the sector integrate new building materials that are more sustainable and efficient.
Amy has construction in the blood. Her family owned a construction management company in New York and she grew up on construction sites. So it’s no surprise she is such a fascinating person to talk to about this sector.
This episode was produced with the support of our corporate sponsor, Autodesk.
