The method can be used for building residential, school, office, hospital or other permanent (and sometimes temporary) buildings and go some way to balance the needs between the three components of a traditional construction project – time, quality and cost. In other words, volumetric construction comes into its own when there is a requirement to erect a building quickly, to a high-quality standard and at reduced costs. Clearly there will be pros and cons of this technique and they will be discussed here.

The remote work revolution The number of employees working from home in many countries was increasing even before the coronavirus forced our hand.

So we are aware of the challenge. The next step for humanity is to develop long-term solutions to ease, stop and even reverse these catastrophic effects. This is where engineering and engineers can play an important role. Why? Because many of the solutions for combating climate change will only be found in engineering innovations and use of new technology. It is true that some changes are societal and require behaviour changes (eating less meat, unplugging electronic equipment in the home etc) and some changes must be led by governmental policy.

However, despite pillaging the planet and endangering our existence, we still find time for solidarity and charity, betraying a nature seemingly as generous as it is destructive. Recent events draw attention to this paradox, Coronavirus triggering swells of heart-warming community spirit as well as the hoarding of toilet paper.