Digital Innovation Thrives At Digital Construction North
Digital Construction North made a confident return to Manchester Central, celebrating its second edition with a strong turnout from across the architecture, engineering, construction and operations sectors. The event drew professionals eager to witness the latest breakthroughs reshaping the built environment and to explore how digital transformation is gaining momentum across the North.
Building on its impactful launch last year, the show strengthened its position as the region’s leading digital construction gathering. Energy across the theatres, exhibition floor and networking sessions reflected a shared ambition to accelerate smarter ways of working. The event delivered hands-on demonstrations, informed debate and practical insight, showcasing how technology is redefining collaboration and project delivery.
Event Director, Karolina Orecchini, noted the value of this year’s momentum: “This year’s Digital Construction North was a powerful reminder of the talent, ambition and innovation thriving across the region. Our community came together to share ideas, tackle challenges and champion the future of our industry – something we’re incredibly proud to support.”
She added: “My sincere thanks go to our supporters – their collective effort is what drives this event forward. We’re already looking ahead to next year, inspired, full of ideas, and perhaps a surprise or two up our sleeve!”
A Keynote Session That Set The Tone
The day opened with a compelling keynote panel titled ‘Reimagining the built environment: Technology driving change in the North,’ bringing together some of the most influential voices in digital construction:
- Nasrine Tomasi, Head of AI at Mott MacDonald
- Dr Ben Jowett, Head of Digital Transformation at SES Engineering Services
- Dr Claire Handby, Management Consultant
- Henry Fenby-Taylor, CEO at Athenophilia
- Jane Goodman, Sustainability Consultant at iDea
- Dr Mohamad Kassem, Professor of Digital Construction at Newcastle University
The session explored how data, automation and leadership are converging to modernise project development and delivery. Speakers discussed the transformational potential of AI, integrated information systems, and digital project oversight.
Nasrine Tomasi highlighted sector progress: “We’ve been known as being a little bit late when it comes to technology adoption. But I’m really excited to see people on their journey in this event actually adopting technology, adopting AI, working on their data to make informed decisions.”
Co-panellist Dr Ben Jowett agreed: “The North’s an exciting region to be in right now when it comes not to just construction, but also the digital element of it. There’s such a dense talent pool within the region ready to seize its opportunities.”
The Exhibition Floor Showcased Real-World Innovation
Across the show floor, digital twins, AI tools, automation systems, information management solutions and workflow optimisation software drew strong crowds. Over fifty leading exhibitors unveiled pioneering platforms reshaping AECO project delivery.
Major names included Elecosoft UK, Glider Technology, IFS UK, Revizto and Trimble UK, each demonstrating solutions that are already driving measurable gains in construction efficiency, safety and sustainability.
New voices added fresh energy through the Start-up Zone, where emerging innovators presented digital offerings tailored to complex project challenges. Material Index, PlanLab.ai, Costify and Inframatic each attracted interest with tools that streamline analysis, cost planning, engineering calculations and infrastructure lifecycle management.
Procore’s Enterprise Specialist, Chris Saunders, praised the event’s regional focus: “We attend quite a lot of events that we’ve got around the UK, but having something like Digital Construction North as a regional event just makes it more personable. You get to have real conversations.”
AI Took Centre Stage In Every Discussion
The technical programme delivered a full day of thought-provoking insight. BIM, data governance, asset management and tendering strategy resonated strongly, but artificial intelligence dominated discussions.
Theatres were full as participants explored how AI is now influencing design workflows, asset lifecycle planning, safety compliance, operational risk, and commercial decision-making. Hundreds attended the session led by Mott MacDonald’s Nasrine Tomasi and Mettle’s Alex Bone titled ‘Our journey with EMMA: Lessons from bringing LLMs into the real world.’
The presentation examined friction points facing traditional project processes and demonstrated how the AI-driven chatbot, EMMA, enables faster analysis, better documentation and more consistent information transfer.
Alex Bone explained: “From our session, I’m hoping that people aren’t too intimidated by using AI and it hopefully feels achievable and not too overhyped, not too big a challenge, but something that people can get on board and start working with.”
A second highly attended session hosted by Procure offered an honest look at how digital construction must lead its own technology revolution. The panel unpacked how structured deployment, clearly defined strategy and improved user adoption can unlock lasting transformation.
Networking Created The Day’s Biggest Wins
Digital Construction North placed strong emphasis on meaningful connections. The Meeting Hub, sponsored by Revizto, offered an informal space to encourage genuine collaboration between suppliers, contractors, designers, asset owners and technology adopters.
Meet-ups organised by Women in BIM, nima and Constructing Excellence delivered valuable peer-to-peer learning. Attendees shared adoption experiences, discussed workforce challenges and debated how smaller organisations can gain equal access to digital advances.
Vicki Reynolds, Technical Director at One Creative Environments, recognised the value of community: “There are so many people that I’ve spoken to today who can support each other’s services delivery and provide better value to clients. Getting to know what everybody else is doing, what’s going on, and building those relationships is so important.”
A lively Happy Hour closed the day, bringing together attendees and exhibitors for relaxed conversations that often built on ideas first discussed in earlier sessions. The event’s atmosphere underlined the collaborative character of the North’s construction ecosystem.
Strong Feedback Confirms Growing Demand
Participants widely agreed that having a regional forum dedicated to digital construction delivered real value. Many described the format as “inspiring,” “a true 10/10,” and “just what the North needs.” Exhibitors and visitors praised the show’s practical nature, its focused audience and its commitment to knowledge-sharing.
The streamlined organisation, strong content mix and supportive environment left attendees confident that Digital Construction North will continue to accelerate digital adoption and help nurture regional leadership in advanced infrastructure delivery.
A Strong Foundation For The Months Ahead
Digital Construction North’s second edition sets the stage for an exciting 2026. Its sister event, Digital Construction Week, returns to ExCeL London on 3–4 June 2026 and is expected to draw an even broader cross-section of built environment stakeholders seeking best-practice guidance, hands-on technology insight and strategic direction.
As digital tools advance, the demand for regional learning platforms, practical case studies and community-led transformation will continue to grow. Digital Construction North has now firmly established itself as a catalyst for that progress.
