The Rise of BIM Smart Legal Contracts

Distributed ledger technology has the power to transform cashflow in AEC

From difficulties with auditing to delays in payment to outright corruption and theft, cashflow and supply chain management have long been challenges in AEC. Do you know how your materials were made and whether sustainable practices were followed? Can you see through the tiers of contractors and ensure that all workers were treated ethically—or even paid? Was there corruption in any part of the process? These questions have often proven difficult to answer using standard processes. Distributed ledger technology (DLT) such as blockchain has the potential to solve many of these problems and transform cashflow in the industry. Because distributed ledgers by definition guarantee the provenance of the data stored, they can bring new levels of accountability to the building process. These “scripts” could eventually replace conventional contracts and not only define the terms of an agreement, but enact and enforce them by automatically making and verifying payment. Conditions can be added to the tokens, so that payments can be used only in a specific geographical territory or only on delivery of a specific material or item. With greater visibility and traceability, we can make supply chains more sustainable and ethical. Abel Maciel, a senior research associate at University College London, shares what these technologies could mean for the future of construction.

About the speaker

Abel Maciel is an honorary senior research associate at the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, University College London. His research focuses on computational design, artificial intelligence, and distributed ledger technology. He is director of Design Computation Ltd., a specialist consultancy based in London, and a founding director of the Construction Blockchain Consortium (CBC). He has worked in architecture and research at Foster and Partners, Zaha Hadid Architects, and Heatherwick Studio.

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