Mission and Vision
Mission
To foster interdisciplinary research in the built environment sector in order to provide effective responses to current challenges and contribute to a more sustainable, digitalized, and resilient construction industry.
Vision
It was created to be an efficient and competitive center capable of bringing together UPC’s expertise across all areas of emerging technologies applied to the AECO sector (architecture, engineering, construction, and operations).
Our ambition is to become a leading reference center in the field of the built environment at the national, European, and international levels.
BIM and Digital Twins
We promote the use of Open BIM and digital twins as a foundation for structuring and governing information on built assets. We work to ensure that models, documents, and operational data are no longer isolated elements, but instead become part of a single, coherent, interoperable, and up-to-date digital thread.
We develop queryable and governable digital twins that integrate project, construction, and operational information, connecting sources such as IoT, GIS, and maintenance systems. This improves traceability, facilitates asset monitoring, and supports decision-making throughout the entire lifecycle.
We validate these approaches through real-world pilots, ensuring they go beyond theoretical models and become practical tools for management, maintenance, and planning.
Technology and software
We develop and integrate technology to enable open, interoperable, and scalable digitalization. We advocate for solutions based on open standards that avoid unnecessary dependencies and allow organizations to retain control over their data and systems.
We work on platforms such as Open ECD and Open BDT for document management, operations, and the governance of asset information. We connect heterogeneous systems, from BIM models to sensors, databases, and operational tools, to build coherent digital ecosystems.
Our approach combines in-house development, integration of existing technologies, and validation in real environments, ensuring that solutions are practical, robust, and ready to scale.
AI in the AECO sector
We apply artificial intelligence to transform data into useful, actionable knowledge within the AECO sector. We do not see AI as an isolated layer, but as a tool integrated into data flows and digital twins.
We develop use cases focused on real-world challenges: energy optimization, water management, emissions reduction, predictive maintenance, and decision support. The key is to turn fragmented data into capabilities for analysis, prediction, and continuous improvement.
We validate these models in real-world contexts, ensuring their usefulness, reliability, and impact, while facilitating their adoption by public administrations and companies.
Industrialization
We promote the industrialization of the construction sector through the digitalization of processes, data integration, and the use of models to support production.
We work on connecting design, manufacturing, and execution, enabling continuous information flows that reduce errors, improve quality, and optimize time and costs. BIM and digital twins become key elements in coordinating these processes.
We support the definition of new production models based on prefabrication, modularity, and digital traceability, validating them through pilots and real projects to ensure their feasibility and scalability.
Data Spaces
We design and promote data spaces for the built environment that enable secure, interoperable, and scalable data sharing, governance, and exploitation. The goal is to overcome current fragmentation and facilitate the flow of data across organizations, systems, and asset lifecycle phases.
We work on defining governance models, architectures, and standards that ensure data quality, traceability, and control. This includes integrating heterogeneous sources such as BIM, IoT, GIS, technical documentation, and operation and maintenance systems within a shared environment.
Data spaces become the foundation for enabling advanced services, from monitoring and benchmarking to analytics and artificial intelligence. At CTDEC, we develop and validate them in real-world contexts to ensure their usefulness, feasibility, and scalability.
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