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CIB Conferences

Abstract

Additive construction (AC) is progressing beyond pilot applications towards structural, load-bearing use, yet its path to mainstream adoption remains constrained by a set of interrelated and persistent barriers. This paper examines the drivers and barriers to scaling AC through the analytical lens of Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations framework, reviewing academic and grey literature organised around its five adoption rate dimensions: relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, trialability, and observability. The review finds that the relative advantages of AC are well evidenced, spanning labour efficiency, delivery speed, design freedom, and embodied carbon reduction. Complexity and compatibility emerge as the critical constraints on diffusion, driven by gaps in performance requirements, unclear supply chain responsibilities, and the absence of harmonised regulatory frameworks. Trialability and observability are constrained but developing. To address these constraints, the paper proposes a three-level performance-based adoption framework comprising performance-based specification of outcomes, verification and certification through evidence of compliance, and systematic process qualification. The Tor Alva tower in Switzerland is examined as an early illustration of this framework in practice, and together these levels offer a viable pathway towards mainstream AC adoption.

Keywords

additive construction, diffusion of innovation, performance-based approach

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