With the new year, comes new evolution of construction. From the expectations of the consumers, to the innovation of the developers, design trends are going to be pushing the limits this year.

2017 was challenging in the construction world—from massive retail closures to massive natural disasters, construction developers were left trying to come up with a new way to do things.

In that spirit, here are four design trends to watch for in 2018:

1. Prepping for the Future
It is in a developers DNA to try to get as much life out of a building as possible. With that comes a trend of sustainability. For example, what happens if the demand for more parking garages decrease? Engineers are projected that the United States may have already hit its peak. With the rise of shared ride servicers, can use may be leveling out.

2. Going Greener
In 2018, we are expecting to see a big trend towards going green. Eco-entrepreneurs are going to be replacing their incandescent bulbs with CFL or LED light selections, they will install solar panel heating, and occupancy sensors. Anything that is energy efficient will be in this year.

3. Different Materials

Architectural engineers are saying that materials such as adapted sheet metal are popular as a guaranteed pressure class for high quality.

4. Redoing Outdated Urbanizing
Suburban sprawl has led to the creation of boring, single-use homes and desolate downtowns. In response, many mixed-use projects are beginning to give the term “urban” an updated feel this year.

No matter what the trends may be this year, contact our offices in Joplin, MO to begin consulting with quality commercial builders on your next construction project.