What does the future hold for the construction sector in 2026? No one has a crystal ball that can predict what will happen with 100% certainty. But we can make intelligent forecasts based on industry trends and expert insights.
And so far, the data is clear. Autodesk’s State of Design & Make: Construction Spotlight report shows that construction leaders are grappling with many of the same pressures hitting other industries. Economic uncertainty, labor shortages, rising costs, and supply chain delays are just some of the headwinds we’re all facing.
But it’s not all doom and gloom, especially for firms that have invested in digital maturity and more connected ways of working. The research shows that 62% of leaders still feel positive about the future of the construction industry overall.
This finding tells us that companies that embrace technology, data, and process improvements feel better equipped to navigate uncertainty and adapt to what’s coming next.
So what exactly *is* coming next?
To better understand what that future could look like, we caught up with 25+ construction experts to hear their perspectives on what’s ahead for the industry.
Check out what they have to say.
"In 2026, the construction industry is expected to see a significant increase in modular construction and prefabrication solutions. The design and engineering phase will need to be more precise and clash-free, utilizing highly accurate 3D models. This will allow construction teams to focus on execution and deliver projects faster while managing increasingly complex designs.
We will also see a growing number of projects focused on storing both virtual and physical assets—such as data centers for digital information and facilities dedicated to preserving human heritage, including museums and similar institutions.
The adoption of IoT technologies will accelerate, making smart buildings the new standard alongside digital twin implementation. Sensors embedded throughout facilities will monitor energy consumption, structural health, and environmental conditions in real time. This data-driven approach will improve efficiency, reduce maintenance costs, and enhance occupant comfort and safety, while supporting sustainability goals through optimized resource usage."
"In 2026, construction will continue moving toward a stronger focus on project outcomes, communication, and operational excellence. Owners in the public and private sectors are expecting contractors to bring more clarity, more professionalism, and more consistency to every phase of a project.
I also predict a significant shift toward upgrading and modernizing existing facilities. Many organizations are choosing to renovate and improve what they already have instead of pursuing large new developments. These types of projects often take place in active environments with complex logistics and multiple stakeholders, so fundamentals like planning, documentation, schedule management, and transparent communication will be more important than ever."
Steven Bloomer
GHD
"I believe that during 2026 we’ll see a major shift in how construction projects are designed, managed, and delivered. Safety on site will continue to improve as systems get better at spotting risks early and helping teams respond before an incident occurs. The focus will be on prevention rather than reaction. I see design tools will finally move beyond the traditional point-and-click approach. With AI working quietly in the background, we’ll be able to describe what we want, set the intent, and let the tools build out the detail, check requirements, and handle the repetitive tasks for us. The value won’t be AI itself, but the time it frees up.
I also believe that project information will be easier to find than ever before. Instead of digging through folders, file structures, or old emails, we’ll be able to pull up the exact drawing, decision, or piece of data we need in seconds. The time we currently lose searching for information will drop dramatically."
"Digital transformation will remain a key trend in the construction industry in 2026, with organizations continuing to invest in automation and advanced technologies to improve asset planning, delivery, and operation. Additionally, best practices emerging from sectors such as healthcare and datacenter are expected to influence the broader industry, promoting more integrated workflows and automated quality control. This evolution reflects a growing commitment to leveraging technology and lean processes for improved project delivery.
In response to economic uncertainties and workforce shifts, companies will place greater emphasis on data analytics to enhance risk mitigation and support informed decision-making. Owners will play a more active role in driving the adoption of digital solutions such as Common Data Environments (CDE), fostering collaboration among stakeholders, and enabling more connected construction practices."
"By the end of 2026, the construction industry will make a shift toward connected, data-driven project delivery. Successful organizations are already moving away from fragmented systems and adopting unified platforms where models, schedules, cost data, quality workflows, and field execution operate together. This level of connectivity will become the new baseline for high-performing teams.
Schedule certainty will rise to the forefront. With advancements in site capture, progress analytics, and integrated scheduling tools, project teams will rely on objective data to understand performance and forecast outcomes. Owners will increasingly expect transparent schedule health metrics, updated continuously, not monthly."
"Construction in 2026 will be defined by divergent market conditions and accelerating technology adoption. Data centers and specialized infrastructure—driven by hyperscalers—will command focused investment and aggressive deployment of AI and automation tooling. Traditional commercial sectors will experience more subdued activity, with potential pickup towards the end of 2026. Persistent labor shortages will make digital transformation and automation essential for survival, not optional. Companies that invest strategically in these areas, secure key partnerships, and adapt to rising material costs will thrive, while those clinging to legacy approaches will struggle."
"Looking ahead, the construction industry is set to be transformed by several emerging trends in 2026. There will continue to be an increasing shift towards earlier and more integrated decision-making driven by the need to build faster, safer, and with greater certainty, while reducing rework and material loss. Teams will seek tools that make processes more efficient and help to eliminate ambiguity. There will also be a surge in extended reality enabled planning, where teams validate logistics, safety and project phasing before breaking ground.
Firms will continue to want more confidence in projects. The tools that thrive will be those that help people step inside of their decisions—together."
"I believe the construction industry will continue to adopt technology at a greater degree in 2026 as it has for the last few years now. A big way I think this will manifest is through greater adoption of robotics and automation in construction. As retirements continue to vastly outpace the new blood entering the industry, increased use and capacity of robotics will be required to keep up with the demand for construction."
"I’ve been fortunate to sit in hundreds of customer conversations this year, and it’s left me more optimistic than ever about where technology adoption is headed. In 2026, construction won’t be resisting change — it will be leaning into it. Automation will start chipping away at long-standing inefficiencies, and platforms that connect design, construction, and operations will unlock stronger collaboration across the entire project lifecycle.
This isn’t just about doing things differently; it’s about doing them better, faster, and with less risk. We’ll finally start turning lessons learned from past projects into tangible improvements on future ones. Innovation has been accelerating every year, and 2026 will be the moment our industry truly capitalizes on that momentum and embraces meaningful, positive change."
"From a mission critical perspective, the biggest force shaping 2026 will be the continued surge in power demand. Data centers and battery plants are being built at a pace the industry has never experienced, and the megawatt requirements for each new campus keep climbing. This creates two major impacts. First, long lead times on critical equipment and materials will remain one of the biggest risks for project delivery, simply because so many of these mega jobs are being built simultaneously across the US. Second, the scale of electrical infrastructure needed to support this growth will push both engineering and construction teams to think differently about prefabrication, coordination, and speed to market. The power race is not slowing down, and the industry will be adapting in real time."
Emmanuel Graves
Autodesk
"In 2026, Digital Project Delivery (DPD) will continue to progress from an innovation strategy to a contractually expected standard across the construction industry. This shift will be most prominent on projects requiring regulatory approval. Owners, developers, and governing authorities are increasingly requiring projects to operate within a digital, model-based, data-driven framework that connects design, construction, and operations through a Common Data Environment (CDE).
What initially began as a push for collaboration and productivity is now evolving into a standard of care—reducing contractual risk, improving data reliability, and establishing clearer expectations for how projects are executed. Legacy delivery methods built on fragmented data, manual handoffs, and siloed teams are no longer sustainable as project complexity and regulatory demands increase."
"By 2026, I predict construction teams will actively integrate IoT technologies on site to improve safety, reduce risk, and capture real-time project insights. Sensors, wearables, and connected equipment will shift from optional add-ons to essential policy and contractual requirements. I also expect clients to increasingly mandate compliance with international standards such as ISO 19650, 7817, 16739 and others to ensure consistent, high-quality information throughout the asset lifecycle. Together, these changes will drive a more connected, data-driven, and accountable construction industry."
"As the global construction industry enters 2026, firms are navigating a complex mix of resilience and constraint. Public investment, digital maturity requirements, and persistent workforce pressures are reshaping how projects are planned, procured, and delivered. The following themes highlight the structural forces most influencing outcomes across major markets.
Infrastructure continues to outperform the buildings sector, driven by sustained government-backed investment in transport, energy, and utilities, which is helping to stabilise civil construction despite broader economic softness. At the same time, labour and skills shortages are intensifying across major markets, pushing up labour costs, extending project schedules, and accelerating reliance on automation and modular construction methods.
Owners are also tightening expectations around digital delivery, with ISO 19650 compliance, structured data, and demonstrable common data environment (CDE) usage increasingly embedded in procurement requirements across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and APAC. Despite these rising digital standards, hybrid delivery models remain the reality in 2026, as most contractors continue to rely on DWGs, PDFs, spreadsheets, and partially modelled data due to inconsistent and variable upstream design information—less a matter of preference than a practical response to input quality. Compounding these challenges, supply chain volatility persists, with material cost fluctuations, import delays, and geopolitical instability prompting firms to embed supply risk modelling more deeply into project planning and delivery strategies."
"The industry is moving from a traditional, fragmented model to one that is more integrated using digitalization, prefabrication, and data-driven methods, where the right expertise is integrated into the project delivery process at the right time. Some things stand out, including acceleration of mega projects in the mission-critical, life sciences, and healthcare sectors; the industrialization of building with modular and prefabricated construction becoming the norm; and the ongoing skilled labor shortage remaining the most critical long-term challenge, compounded by an aging workforce."
"In 2026, the construction industry will continue accelerating its shift toward digital-first and data-driven project delivery. We’ll see a major rise in modular and prefabricated construction as owners push for faster schedules, stronger cost certainty, and reduced environmental impact. Digital twins will become more mainstream—linking BIM with real-time schedule, cost, and field progress data for better risk mitigation and transparency.
With skilled labor shortages and material cost volatility still present, contractors will adopt smarter planning and leaner workflows supported by technology like drones, 3D scanning, robotics, and AI-based project controls. Ultimately, technology will evolve from a support function into the operational backbone of construction, driving productivity, quality, and collaboration across all phases of a project."
"My core prediction for 2026 is the transformation of the job site into a "smart jobsite." To power this, AI needs better data, and the industry will finally invest heavily in retrieving that data directly from the builders themselves. We'll see more physical tech in the field—like dedicated stations for interaction, QR codes as simple entry points to digital tools, and large-screen displays that provide thoughtful, actionable guidance for teams instead of just lagging metrics. This turns the construction office into a "mission control center," using real-time field data to guide the project, much like controlling a rocket launch."
"In 2026, AEC companies will respond to industry pressures on cost, waste, and efficiency by embracing productization for building components. Many AEC companies have recognized that traditional methods prevent them from scaling their business and are exploring new means to build more effectively, reduce waste, and serve more customers, resulting in increased margins. Repeatability is the core principle required to change the AEC industry.
This pattern is used to define a component as a building product. Productization allows subcontractors, fabricators, and building product suppliers to define the components they make as configurable products that an architect or general contractor can design with. Designing with these building products ensure geometric accuracy during design, that any given component will always be manufacturable, and reduces risk across the entire project lifecycle."
"In Canada, the construction industry is entering a phase where technological, geopolitical, and security considerations are becoming structural. Growing reliance on foreign digital platforms, combined with the current global political climate, is accelerating interest in digital sovereignty, data security, and technological independence, influencing how digital infrastructures and information flows are governed across projects. At the same time, increased investment in defense, critical infrastructure, and resilience is raising expectations around data protection, traceability, and risk management. In this context, data has become a strategic asset. Architects, as major producers of building data through BIM models and technical documentation, are increasingly positioned as responsible stewards of that data."
"I think there’s evidence that increased AI, machine learning and robotics will continue to permeate the industry, both in terms of preconstruction, bidding, and estimating, through operations and finance. Construction and infrastructure rehabilitation will continue, primarily funded by the federal government (see airports, bridges, train stations, etc) but commercial construction will see mild growth as well. However, margins on commercial construction projects will continue to be thin, as pressures on labor and materials continues to persist."
"In 2026, the APAC construction industry is expected to experience selective and uneven growth, with strong momentum in sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and data centers, while traditional office and retail markets remain relatively subdued. Data centers in particular will play a major role in driving recovery, as hyperscale and AI-ready developments accelerate across key hubs including Singapore, Tokyo, Mumbai, and Sydney, fueled by cloud adoption, AI demand, and data sovereignty requirements.
At the same time, the industry will continue to face persistent challenges such as skilled labor shortages, power constraints, and cost escalation, though earlier contractor engagement is expected to unlock greater benefits from modular construction and Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA). In Australia, regulatory pressure will also increase, with climate-related financial disclosures becoming mandatory from 1 July 2026 for medium-sized entities across all sectors, requiring construction businesses to produce audited sustainability reports aligned with AASB standards and comprehensive Scope 1–3 emissions reporting."
"Like a skyscraper rising from steel and concrete, the construction industry in 2026 will build its future on technology. Automation and AI are no longer buzzwords; they’re becoming the backbone of modern job sites. Intelligent machinery and robotics are taking over repetitive tasks, while predictive analytics sharpen planning and execution. Digital twins, BIM, and immersive AR/VR tools are transforming collaboration, letting teams simulate, monitor, and troubleshoot projects in real time. Modular and prefabricated methods are speeding up timelines with factory-level precision, tackling labor shortages head-on. At the core of this shift is data: unified platforms are turning raw project information into actionable insights, reducing costly rework and boosting efficiency.
But tech isn’t the only game-changer; sustainability and talent are shaping the next chapter. Firms face mounting pressure to reduce their carbon footprints, adopt circular building models, and comply with climate disclosure rules. Low-carbon materials, recycling, and green design are becoming standard practice. Meanwhile, workforce investment is critical: companies are doubling down on upskilling programs to keep pace with innovation and close persistent labor gaps."
"The construction industry in 2026 is likely to see a major shift towards smarter, more automated and integrated project delivery. AI-driven planning, real-time digital twins and automated progress verification will accelerate how projects are coordinated and monitored, reducing delays and reworks. Prefabrication and industrialized construction will grow as companies push for faster, more controlled production environment, supported by robotics, automated quality checks and digital tracking. On-site, wearable tech or beacon tags, AR/VR tools and digital work instructions will improve safety, communication and precision. Procurement and contracts will become more transparent and data-driven, with analytics predicting risks earlier.
Overall, the industry will move toward a more connected ecosystem where digital delivery and automation work together to make project faster, safer, efficient and far more collaborative than today."
"In 2026, I think the big split in the industry will be between builders who treat data as core infrastructure and those who still treat it as paperwork. More contractors will narrow down to a few core systems for field operations and finance, then wire them together so quantities, changes, and costs flow automatically instead of being copied between emails, PDFs, and spreadsheets. That shift turns WIP and margin reviews from a backward-looking monthly ritual into something much closer to a live pulse on each project.
At the same time, “industrialized construction” will extend past the jobsite. The leaders will reuse workflows, data models, and playbooks across projects instead of reinventing them each time. They’ll still pour concrete and hang duct like everyone else; but behind the scenes, they’ll run much more repeatable, data-driven businesses that scale more efficiently."
"In 2026, the industry will take major steps toward fully connected project data. Integrated digital ecosystems will allow for design intent, field inputs, and cost information to interact in near real time, giving teams clearer visibility and reducing surprises. This shift will support earlier and more confident decision-making and help owners embrace delivery models that reward collaboration from the start.
The importance of sustainability will accelerate as early energy modeling becomes faster, easier to use, and far more reliable. At the same time, growing power demands from energy intensive technologies like AI are making power efficiency an even more critical priority for society than ever before. Better predictive tools will help teams evaluate performance choices with real confidence, guided by first principles thinking that links planning, design, construction, and operations in a more intentional way."
"The dominant themes for the construction industry in 2026 will be AI and robotics. For years, the industry has struggled with structural challenges such as labor dependency, rising wage costs, time constraints, and persistent safety risks. To overcome these limitations, the adoption of AI-driven tools and robotic systems has steadily accelerated across global project sites.
In 2025, we saw experimental but meaningful applications of robot-assisted construction, autonomous equipment, and AI-based inspection automation on various job sites. Looking ahead to 2026, these technologies are expected to expand beyond pilot programs and become integral to project delivery—optimizing repetitive tasks, reducing high-risk manual work, and enabling AI to support decision-making in scheduling, quality control, and safety prediction."
"2026 is poised to mark a significant transformation in the development practices of the construction industry. My professional experience in the digitally mature BIM sector in Scandinavia has shown me that distinctions between countries and regions within the international AECO industry are becoming less pronounced. The adoption of international standards will facilitate greater automation and AI integration, while knowledge sharing among industry experts will promote modular design and the use of BIM models for prefabrication and subsequent operational phases.
I anticipate a strong emphasis on sustainability (especially in European context) and maintenance considerations in future designs, leading to improved built environments."
