Grant: College and Community Innovation Program

The construction sector accounts for an estimated 12% of Canada's GDP. This sector maintains over $2.9 trillion in assets and installs, repairs or renovates $150 billion of infrastructure annually. It utilizes a wide range of workers and skillsets, including skilled trades, architects, and engineers. The industry currently faces two challenges: (1) need for approximately 320,000 new jobs over the next decade with technology-savvy workers, and (2) adoption of new tools, technologies and techniques at a time when the pace of change has outstripped the capability to integrate them. Algonquin College has created the Construction Research Centre (CRC) to assist industry in meeting these challenges. The CRC will undertake applied research projects that develop advanced, digital technology and collaboration tools for the construction industry. This will include tools that enhance decision-making and design through improved data analytics as well as next-generation collaboration tools that improve the manner in which the construction workforce interacts. These initiatives will provide new opportunities in several domains, from enhancing life-cycle analysis of buildings, to the fostering of advanced 3-D scanning and data visualization tools for improved building design and monitoring, to the customizing of wireless communications for increased efficiency on the worksite. The CRC will be headquartered in Algonquin College's recently completed, LEED Platinum, Advanced Centre for Construction Excellence (ACCE) building, which features an energy-saving green roof and over 8,000 sensors providing a steady stream of building performance data. The CRC will help empower the construction industry while preparing the workforce of tomorrow.