Advanced Sustainable Building Materials, Smart Construction and 3D Printing

Dear Colleagues,

The construction sector is experiencing rapid transformation, driven by the urgent need for sustainability, resource efficiency, and digital innovation. Growing environmental concerns, increasing material demands, and the digitalisation of design and construction processes are reshaping the way buildings and infrastructure are conceived, fabricated, and operated. In this context, advanced sustainable building materials, smart construction methodologies, and 3D printing technologies are emerging as key drivers for improving construction efficiency, reducing environmental impact, and enabling new design and fabrication paradigms.

These developments are closely linked to digital architecture approaches, including digital twins, Building Information Modelling (BIM), and computational and parametric design tools. Such digital frameworks enable data-driven optimisation of materials, structural systems, and construction processes, supporting informed decision-making throughout the entire lifecycle of the built environment. The integration of digital design, simulation, and fabrication technologies allows for improved precision, automation, and adaptability, while facilitating performance-based and sustainability-oriented construction strategies.

Sustainability has become a central pillar of smart construction and additive manufacturing, supporting reductions in material consumption, construction waste, and carbon emissions, while enhancing structural performance, durability, and resource efficiency. The development of innovative and multifunctional materials, combined with intelligent construction systems and digital workflows, offers significant opportunities to address both new construction and retrofit challenges, contributing to more resilient, efficient, and adaptable built environments.

This Special Issue, ‘Advanced Sustainable Building Materials, Smart Construction and 3D Printing’, aims to provide a high-level scientific platform for the dissemination of original research articles, review papers, and case studies addressing recent advances in sustainable materials, smart and automated construction systems, additive manufacturing technologies, and digital construction methodologies. Contributions covering experimental, numerical, and theoretical approaches, as well as real-world applications and implementation challenges, are welcome. Interdisciplinary research bridging materials science, civil engineering, architecture, and digital technologies is particularly encouraged to foster innovation and knowledge exchange in smart and sustainable construction.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Advanced sustainable building materials (cementitious, polymeric, bio-based, and composite materials);
• Low-carbon and eco-efficient materials for construction;
• Material characterisation, durability, and long-term performance;
• Smart and multifunctional materials for the built environment
• Three-dimensional printing and additive manufacturing technologies for construction;
• Development of printable materials and rheology optimisation;
• Structural performance and reliability of additively manufactured components;
• Smart construction systems and automated fabrication processes;
• Digital architecture and computational design approaches;
• Digital twins for materials, structures, and construction processes;
• Building Information Modelling (BIM) and data-driven construction workflows;
• Integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning in smart construction;
• Lifecycle assessment (LCA) and sustainability performance evaluation;
• Circular economy strategies and material reuse in construction;
• Case studies and real-world applications of digital and smart construction;
• Standards, regulations, and implementation challenges for 3D printing in construction.

Dr. Aires Camões
Dr. Rui Reis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sci is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• sustainable construction
• smart construction
• advanced building materials
• 3D printing
• additive manufacturing
• digital architecture
• digital twins
• BIM
• lifecycle assessment
• circular economy