Business & Technology

The 4 next big things in buildings and real estate for 2026

As the real estate industry struggles with rising interest rates and ballooning material costs—thanks in part to tariffs—innovation is becoming more and more important. New technologies and construction methods are boosting margins for builders and helping to compensate for labor shortages. And in some instances, they’re dramatically reducing building times without sacrificing safety standards. AugmentaFor reducing waste and augmenting bottom linesSince late 2025, Augmenta’s AI engine has generated 3D building designs for electrical systems. That dramatically speeds up the design process, as it can take engineers hundreds of hours to manually model those systems. And it’s not just theoretical: Around 100 buildings have taken advantage of the technology so far, with the first, an elementary school, reducing material waste by 15% and cutting design time by 25%, the company says. Those real-world results are saving builders money and letting them automatically adjust plans as design needs change—a frequent occurrence in construction. Up next for the company is the inclusion of mechanical and plumbing system designs, which should further reduce costs for builders. LightTableFor spotlighting ways to dramatically speed up construction timetablesIt normally takes three to six weeks to analyze an architect’s or engineer’s construction drawings for potential errors. Using LightTable’s AI platform, it takes just three to five days. To date, the company says it has reviewed more than 20 million square feet’s worth of documents, representing $10 billion in project costs. As real estate projects get more complicated, this is a technology that could streamline the building process before the first shovel breaks ground. TerraFirmaFor bypassing labor shortages through autonomyFounded by former SpaceX engineers, TerraFirma sees similarities between building rocket ships and building infrastructure. The company uses autonomous technology that lets a single worker operate multiple excavators, bulldozers, loaders, and other vehicles simultaneously. That doesn’t require designing new construction equipment: Retrofit kits can be installed on existing machines in under five hours to automate them. It’s a technology the company hopes to use off-world as humanity looks to build a presence on Mars, and the idea is catching on fast. TerraFirma has already seen commercial demand from data centers, industrial sites, and residential developments. And the company has generated more revenue year-to-date than it raised across all seed financing. WillowFor spotting problems before they happen—and saving millions in the processEquipment failures can be a major cash drain for building operators. Willow’s technology uses AI to detect and anticipate building equipment failures before they happen, proactively alerting management systems to the problem. And it’s generating big savings for its commercial clients. To date, the company says it has saved Walmart $1.4 million by preventing more than 800 failures and Georgia Southern University more than $1 million. Its technology is already being used in 38 countries, putting it on a strong growth trajectory. The real-world effect is that infrastructure such as airports, hospitals, and other facilities can anticipate and repair problems ahead of time rather than reacting to breakdowns. The companies and individuals behind these technologies are among the honorees in Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech awards for 2026. Read more about the winners across all categories and the methodology behind the selection process.