September 2026, Volume 13 Issue 2

Preface


The Sixth European Structural Engineering and Construction Conference (EURO-SEC-6), hosted by Politecnico di Torino in Turin, Italy, from September 7 to 11, 2026, continues the international conference series promoted by the International Structural Engineering and Construction (ISEC) Society.  The theme "Cutting-edge Technologies and Management in Structural Engineering and Construction" reflects a period of rapid change in the way buildings, structures, and infrastructure systems are designed, constructed, monitored, managed, and renewed.  Digital technologies, artificial intelligence, Building Information Modeling, digital twins, advanced sensing, automation, and computational tools are increasingly becoming part of everyday engineering practice.

At the same time, the construction sector is being asked to respond to urgent and concrete challenges:  reducing environmental impacts, improving safety, extending the service life of existing assets, managing aging infrastructure, adapting to climate-related risks, and delivering projects more efficiently and transparently.

The papers in these proceedings address the main challenges shaping structural engineering and construction today, from artificial intelligence, digital twins, and data-driven decision-making to project delivery, safety, governance, and innovation management.  They also cover advanced and sustainable materials, structural analysis, seismic design and retrofit, building performance, infrastructure monitoring, geotechnics, adaptive reuse, heritage, housing, and sustainable urban development.  Despite their diversity, the contributions share a common aim:  to improve how the built environment is designed, constructed, operated, and maintained.  In this context, technological innovation is valuable not only for its sophistication, but for its ability to support better decisions, safer processes, more resilient structures, and more efficient use of resources.

EURO-SEC-6 provides a forum for researchers, practitioners, contractors, designers, public authorities, infrastructure owners, and technology developers to exchange knowledge and compare different approaches.  This interaction between research and practice is essential.  Many of the challenges facing the construction industry cannot be addressed by a single discipline or by isolated technical solutions.  They require collaboration across structural engineering, construction management, materials science, architecture, environmental assessment, information technology, and public policy.

The papers included in this volume were selected through peer review to ensure their relevance, methodological quality, and alignment with the conference themes.  We sincerely thank the authors, reviewers, keynote speakers, presenters, session chairs, committee members, editorial team, supporting institutions, partners, volunteers, and delegates whose contributions made EURO-SEC-6 and these proceedings possible.  We are especially grateful to Politecnico di Torino for hosting the conference and providing essential academic and organizational support.  With its strong tradition in engineering, architecture, manufacturing, and innovation, Turin offers an ideal setting for a discussion on the future of the built environment.

We hope that these proceedings will serve as a useful reference and foster new collaborations, research directions, and practical advances toward safer, more sustainable, and more resilient buildings and infrastructure.



Valentina Villa, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
Marco Domaneschi, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
Amarjit Singh, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA
Siamak Yazdani, California State University, Pomona, USA
Editors