A digital ecosystem for generating and evaluating circular digital twins

By 2030, more than the equivalent of two Earths will be needed to meet the demand for natural resources, making a transition to circular systems essential, particularly in the construction industry. The digital "Circular Twin" ecosystem enables early implementation of the circular economy's goals as well as comprehensive digitalization in construction through the use of Digital Twins, Generative Design algorithms, and Virtual Reality.

Project Description

By 2030, more than the equivalent of two Earths will be required to satisfy human demand for natural resources, with the construction industry responsible for 60% of global raw material extraction and 25% of total global waste generation. Since waste management and reduction are not considered in the early planning phases—the stage with the greatest impact during the entire lifecycle—50% of construction and demolition waste is generated at the end of a building's lifecycle. To reduce raw material extraction and the amount of waste generated, it is crucial to increase recycling rates through the reuse of materials and building components, thus enabling a circular economy. A transition to a circular system is necessary, especially in the construction industry, which is responsible for about 38% of all CO2 emissions and has a significant impact on resource depletion. The European Green Deal has developed the "EU Taxonomy," a classification system aimed at six environmental objectives to assess the sustainability of investments and check EU Taxonomy compliance. By creating a digital ecosystem based on the components of circular Digital Twins, Generative Design algorithms, and Virtual Reality (VR), this research initiative aims to support decisions that enable the circularity of building structures and integrate end-of-life concepts into designs from early planning stages. Building on the research project "Housing 4.0 – Digital Platform for Affordable Housing," the "CircularTwin" project aims to utilize and enrich the knowledge base generated in "Housing 4.0," including BIM object libraries and associated Material Building Passports, through the criteria of the circular economy. The framework for BIM-supported Material Building Passports was already developed in the predecessor research project "BIMMaterial." Regarding building modeling and lifecycle changes (adaptability and flexibility), "CircularTwin" envisions the use of BIM-based Digital Twins, which are generated and evaluated in various forms during the early planning and reuse phases through Generative Design. In addition to Generative Design methods, which enable automated and variant-rich generation of Digital Twins linked to a BIM object database, algorithms are also designed to evaluate circularity, Material Building Passports (MGP), and EU Taxonomy compliance. By visualizing the end-of-life (EoL) scenarios of the generated Digital Twins on a VR platform along with user interaction and variant formation, the decision-making process of stakeholders involved in planning and construction is supported. The digital "Circular Twin" ecosystem thus enables early implementation of the goals of circular economy and sustainability as well as comprehensive digitalization in construction.