Peri AI formwork on HS2 footbridge: design-to-fabrication lessons for engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Peri UK has launched an AI-enabled formwork service built on the DataB/PERI joint venture platform dataform.work, automating translation of 3D models into CNC-ready components and cutting concept-to-production time by more than half. First used on HS2 footbridge foundations near Coventry with 13 different facets and angles to optimise load paths and cut concrete volume, the system drove rapid, accurate fabrication of complex internal void formers via 5-axis CNC-milled plywood. A new joint design minimises screws, eliminates glue, and integrates striking elements, improving removal, reuse potential and programme certainty on intricate pours, particularly in high-rise work.
Technical Brief
- Dataform.work converts uploaded 3D models directly into CNC cutting data and assembly instructions.
- PERI engineers act as the interface, uploading contractor design models into the joint-venture platform.
- 5-axis CNC milling of plywood enables accurate realisation of multi-faceted void formers without manual templating.
- Automated nesting and cutting reduce workshop programming time and variability between repeated complex pours.
- Joint geometry is engineered to lock panels without glue, relying on reduced screw counts for restraint.
- Integrated striking features are targeted at window and door void formers, where damage risk is typically highest.
- Faster, more predictable formwork fabrication directly supports programme control on heavily reinforced, congested pours.
- Similar AI–CNC workflows are likely to be most valuable on architecturally driven, non-standard high-rise and infrastructure elements.
Our Take
Among the 733 Infrastructure stories in our database, only a small subset combine AI with physical fabrication like PERI and DataB’s 5‑axis CNC workflow, signalling that UK contractors on schemes such as High Speed 2 may be early adopters of tightly coupled digital–formwork toolchains.
A 50:50 digital construction joint venture structure between PERI Group and DataB suggests both parties are protecting core IP while sharing risk, which is typical of AI-focused construction JVs in our coverage where neither the tech firm nor the engineering group wants to become a pure service provider.
The claimed reduction of design-to-formwork time to less than half, if replicated across complex foundations with many facets, would mainly benefit high-volume, repetitive works on UK megaprojects, where programme compression is often more valuable than marginal material savings.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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