CDI researcher in Urban Design Architecture, Professor Jane Burry is CoChair of Fabricate 2020 and co-editor of the Fabricate 2020 book in partnership with Prof Bob Sheil and Marilena Skavara at the Bartlett, UCL and Jenny Sabin, Cornell University.  

Image from the FABRICATE press release.

FABRICATE is an international organisation leading and promoting discussion on key themes in digital fabrication including: 

  • how digital fabrication technologies are enabling new creative and construction opportunities from component to building scales 
  • the difficult gap that exists between digital modelling and its realisation 
  • material performance and manipulation 
  • off-site and on-site construction 
  • interdisciplinary education 
  • economic and sustainable contexts.  


At Swinburne, digital fabrication technologies are one of our key strengths and is fueled by our focus on the contribution of Industry 4.0 skills and technologies at the interface between construction and manufacturing.  

Protolab is one of our state-of-the-art digital fabrication facilities that specifically supports research in this area. Construction accounts for up to 8 per cent of Australian GDP but has seen little growth in productivity, while the built environment is the greatest single contributor to carbon emissions.   

The triannual FABRICATE conference delayed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak will take place online over four evenings from 9 to 12 September.

The FABRICATE 2020 book published by UCL Press is available online (at no cost) and hardback by order from the UCL Press website.

Project timeframe 

2020 

Research team 

Professor Jane Burry

  • FABRICATE Booklet Cover
    Cover of the FABRICATE book, of which our Prof Jane Burry is a co-editor.
  • Photograph of ProtoLab through a window
    Protolab is one of Swinburne’s state-of-the-art digital fabrication facilities (image credit: Doris Dai).

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