Decarbonising Building Construction Using Bio-Digital Fabrication: An ISM Approach

To embark on a truly sustainable path to have a greener environment, instead of putting electric motors on the building facades, an inherently natural resource should be opted for. Decarbonising the building construction, which is an energy-intensive process, needs a shift toward biomanufacturing integrated with innovative genetic engineering technology. This paper aims to examine the potential role of living microorganisms in making building materials through bio-digital fabrication. These bio-manufactured materials are bio-degradable and self-healing living spaces. The present study identified eight key success factors of bio-digital fabrication in the Indian context. From government policies to public awareness and technological advancements in bio-digital manufacturing, cost and scalability-related factors were among the identified factors. Further, an Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) based approach was used to evaluate the success factors that are interrelated and are part of a complex system. The results reveal that government policies and technological innovation are the root factors and independent factors.. Further, collaboration and education & training are the strongest strategic enablers on which all the structural and operational enablers depend. Reduced waste from construction demolition appeared to be a dependent variable, i.e., outcome variable. Overall, bio-digital fabrication is a promising solution toward decarbonising the Indian building construction industry.