This issue presents future scenarios for construction by bringing together advances in decentralised intelligence in robotic systems, collective behaviors in natural systems and recent cutting-edge developments in computational materials. A number of developments in macro-scale assembly have demonstrated the viability of decentralized, large-scale assembly systems. As opposed to top-down and centralised fabrication systems (industrial robotics, CNC machining, 3D Printing), autonomous systems can now offer on-the-fly and on site self-assembly and reconfigurable or adaptable solutions. Distributed control leads to more robust solutions and enables resilience in the case of design and environmental changes. Contributors: Ryan Luke Johns, Roland Snooks, David Benjamin and Jose Sanchez. Architects: Phillip Beesley, Gramazio Institute for Computational Design (ICD) at the University of Stuttgart; Mediated Matter research group, MIT Media Lab; Architecture and Digital Fabrication Lab at (ETH) Zurich; and the Self-Assembly Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)