An industry in crisis. We face an estimated 13.5m housing shortage in the UK, EU and US today, with an estimated 2bn new homes needed globally by the end of the century. Lack of innovation. Inefficient use of materials, skilled labour shortages and slow building speed are creating huge bottlenecks and eroding profitability. Emissions. The buildings and construction sector is the single biggest emitter of GHGs, accounting for up to 37% of global GHG emissions.
AUAR automates the construction of timber homes at scale. The team’s proprietary building system allows flexibility, cost efficiency and beautiful design – without compromise. Coupled with MasterBuilder software and robotic micro-factories, AUARs full-stack solution delivers a low CapEx, scaleable & highly adaptable solution for residential construction. By providing this technology to incumbent contractors and developers, AUAR will scale by adding value and upgrading productivity throughout existing supply chains. A win for builders, consumers and the planet.
AUAR is built on heritage. Mollie, Gilles and their team are industry-leading voices in how we can apply automation and intelligent design to build better homes around the world. Decades of disruptive thought leadership and research have culminated in a systematic redesign of the status quo, with an approach that tackles the industry’s biggest challenges head on. They have the tenacity, technology and boldness of vision to enable the construction industry to transition to a new era of both profitable AND sustainable homebuilding.
By 2060, global demand for new building space is expected to reach 230 to 400 billion m²—yet the construction industry, as it stands, is environmentally unsustainable. It contributes to 9% of global greenhouse gas emissions from materials alone and accounts for 37% when including building operations. Construction also drives massive resource depletion and generates vast amounts of waste, with inadequate recycling.
AUAR offers a scalable solution: their innovative timber frame systems for multi-level buildings significantly reduce the need for raw timber – using less than existing cross-laminated timber (CLT) solutions – while achieving net GHG avoidance, as shown in our life cycle assessment. In the European market, where timber construction is less prevalent, the shift to AUAR’s technology can lead to substantial GHG reductions, primarily by replacing more carbon-intensive materials like concrete and steel. The average net avoidance is estimated at 291 kg CO₂-eq./m² for single-family homes (SFH) and 241 kg CO₂-eq./m² for multi-family homes (MFH).
In the US market, where timber frames are already dominant, the benefits come from increased material efficiency, reduced workforce transportation, and the incentivisation of sustainable insulation materials, resulting in average net avoidances of 141 kg CO₂-eq./m² for SFH and 135 kg CO₂-eq./m² for MFH. This approach lessens pressures on biodiversity and land use, enabling a more responsible path to decarbonising the built environment.
