The construction sector faces unprecedented challenges in meeting EU climate and circularity goals, with buildings accounting for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions. Despite available digital technologies, the industry struggles to implement sustainable practices, particularly among SMEs who represent over 90% of the sector. Current digital solutions remain fragmented and often inaccessible, creating barriers to widespread adoption of sustainable practices.
INTEGRATES addresses these challenges by developing an innovative framework that connects Building Information Modelling, Digital Twins, and data-driven services through an intelligent knowledge architecture. The project will achieve this through three key innovations:
– a unified ontology-based knowledge framework, supported by neuro-symbolic AI, bridging existing building data standards;
– user-centric digital tools for SME adoption, featuring AI-assisted workflows that reduce design and planning time, and facilitate operation and resource recovery;
– an integrated platform connecting building lifecycle phases through Digital Product Passports and Digital Building Logbook.
These innovations will be validated through four complementary demonstration cases spanning different building types: a public building end-of-life transformation in Italy, a residential renovation in Bulgaria, a smart district optimization in Belgium, and a new construction project in Spain.
The project targets reduction in renovation planning time, increase in material reuse rates, improvement in energy efficiency, and active implementation by local SMEs. Through participation in standardization committees and regional networks, INTEGRATES will drive lasting change in the European construction sector.
The consortium brings together 16 partners from 9 countries, combining research institutions, technology providers, and regional innovation hubs to ensure both technical excellence and practical implementation focused on SME need.