Organisation profile

Head of research group: Kjeld Svidt

Societal Challenges
The research group focusses on challenges in the building industry with respect to digitalisation as well as methodologies and work processes for integrated design and development of buildings in light of the continuously emerging demands set for sustainability and circular economy in the industry. The increasing demands to the industry include a call for more interdisciplinarity and interoperability between buildings and their technical systems and the actors involved in the design, construction, operation and use of buildings.

The need for new knowledge
This has led to increased demands and a need for new knowledge regarding digitalisation of information management between the involved actors and IT-systems in the various phases of a building project. This includes:

• Representation of data structures of building, system, component, and material information.
• Methodologies for efficient exchange of information between modelling, analysis and communication tools across disciplines of building projects.
• Development of user interfaces for efficient communication of complex information in interdisciplinary collaboration between actors in the building industry.

Research effort
The research group for Building Informatics primarily focuses on interdisciplinary system development, and the synergies in-between modelling and analysis tools during design, calculation and simulation of energy consumption, indoor environmental performance and environmental impact of the building industry. This includes current and previous research projects in industry 4.0 technologies such as, Building Information Management (BIM), Digital Twins, Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR), Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) for BIM based building design, development of interdisciplinary learning at The Digital Days, and interdisciplinary documentation and exchange of design rationale. Through use of both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies human and non-human actants participating in development, use and implementation of digital tools throughout designing, building, and operational phases are investigated. How digitalisation effect and is affected in an organisation, and which challenges and solutions regarding, classification, modelling discipline, interoperability and communication arise when human, building and analysis models must work in unison, are additionally studied.

Cooperation
The research group collaborates interdisciplinarily with other research groups within and outside of Aalborg University, to ensure a cross-disciplinary execution of our research as well as a continuous development of our competences. The group also seeks to collaborate with all relevant actors in the building industry, including architects, engineers, contractors, facilities managers, vendors, building owners and managers as well as national and international governments and non-governmental agencies.