As a global consultancy, we are always on the lookout for new technology that can improve performance, increase reliability and reduce costs. But even I was a bit taken aback when I saw the latest advances in the Netherlands recently.

Amsterdam has set itself the goal of being fully circular by 2050 and halving its use of virgin materials by 2030. One major source of waste comes from construction materials, including the bricks that pave the city’s streets. 

To help reuse some of the part-worn bricks, a robot has been designed to collect, sort and repave – a project that could be rolled out across other cities.

It may sound like a charming anecdote about tidy Dutch efficiency – will they start using AI to sort tulips I ask myself? – but perhaps this robot tells a deeper story? It signals a shift in how we build and how we think about the materials we use to do so.