Hi r/IAmA, I’m Paul Shepherd, a Chartered Mathematician, Civil Engineer, and Professor of Computational Design at the University of Bath. I use computers, robots, and digital manufacturing techniques to rethink how we design and construct the buildings and cities around us.
One of the central challenges behind my research is that construction has a huge environmental footprint. If we want cities to become more sustainable, we need to think differently about not just what we build but how we build it.
This includes 3D-printed buildings and robotic construction, more efficient material use and exploring how designs and construction methods could reduce waste, and how to make new forms of construction as sustainable as possible.
My research has explored questions such as:
- Could we actually 3D-print entire buildings?
- Will 3D printing genuinely make construction more sustainable, or could it create new environmental problems?
- What might construction sites look like in 10, 20, or even 50 years?
- And, most importantly, what would it take to make our cities genuinely more sustainable?
I’ll be here today, Thursday 1 October, between 14:30 and 15:30 GMT (07:30-08:30 PST) to talk about the technology, the research, the possibilities, and even the things that don't work as well as the headlines might suggest. AMA!
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