Research projects

Change in building design: from drawing board to BIM

Since the introduction of CAD technologies, the building design industry has been transforming from drawing boards to digital systems. As a result, buildings and technical building equipment are increasingly being created in 3D software programs. In the process, a lot of data is generated by the numerous planning participants from architecture, building physics, statics, and planning of the technical building equipment. In order to centralize this diverse data and to be able to use it more efficiently, Building Information Modeling (BIM) is becoming more and more prevalent with the help of the ifc data format. In the course of the planning and execution phases of a building, a digital twin is created with the help of BIM, so that the building can be visualized for operational management and the decisive operational data can be clearly retrieved.

Energy-efficient planning in conjunction with BIM and digital twin

An essential factor in addressing the climate crisis is the efficient use of energy to condition buildings. To combine energy-efficient planning with BIM and digital twins, VRVis and InPlan are researching a new software tool, which integrates simulation algorithms into the BIM world and casts them into a handy digital tool. This tool supports planners in all aspects of energy efficiency and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and plumbing) during the planning process. The digital building twin not only contains data but also clearly shows the dynamic behavior on cold winter days or during hot spells. The focus of the planned software package is on standard-compliant designs that ensure comfortable temperatures on the coldest winter days on the one hand and the summer suitability of buildings on the other. These calculations are part of the daily planning routine of building physicists and building services planners. The project represents an important research contribution to raise the planning quality of energy planners and to further increase the energy efficiency of buildings.

The visualization and simulation tool provides a solution for various aspects of interactive real-time energy planning:

• The geometry, component layouts, and spatial relationships are captured automatically, eliminating the need for error-prone manual data entry.
• The influence of solar radiation and the shading of the building by the environment can be simulated and visualized realistically and in high quality.
• Clearly arranged variant calculations optimize construction methods, thermal insulation, sun shading devices, ventilation strategies, and heating/cooling devices.