What does the market look like apart from precast concrete elements? What degree of prefabrication is possible there?
Neubauer
Timber frame construction can be automated and industrialized very well. We are already in contact with companies in Brazil since timber construction is incredibly attractive there, among other things due to the availability of the building material.
Maier
Looking more closely at prefabrication with wood, the degree of automation there is nowhere near as high or advanced as it is in precast concrete. Hybrid construction, however, is going to increase. That is, combining the building materials of wood and concrete and creating new structures this way. Precast construction is only developing a little there as a combination of these materials is a challenge, of course.
Neubauer
The technical possibilities are there, though. I have seen facilities by Weinmann for highly automated production of wooden posts and beam structures where robots or machines cut, insert, and connect the wooden posts. We have also shown that it is technically possible with our project with the Holzinnovationszentrum in Austria. Let me further mention the cross-laminated timber ceiling as a special wood product. It is a remarkably simple and incredibly sustainable construction method since it can use even very poor-quality wood to avoid waste. The facilities we have built show that this can be done in a fully industrialized and automated manner. Carpentry also must be encouraged to move towards industrialization and automation. I see the potential to modernize the construction industry in many countries in this area.