From Building Information Modelling to Digital Twins: Digital Representation for a Circular Economy

Building information modelling (BIM) has ushered in the era of symbolic building representation: building elements and spaces are described not by graphical elements but by discrete symbols, each with properties and relations that explicitly integrate all information. Digital twinning promises even more: a digital replica in complete sync with the building and its behaviour. Such technologies have obvious appeal for circularity because they accommodate the rich information it requires and link circularity goals to other activities in AECO (architecture, engineering, construction and operation of buildings).

Present implementations of BIM may fall short of the promise, and digital twinning may be hard to achieve, but they remain crucial not only for circularity but for all AECO disciplines. To realise the potential of such representations, information should be treated not as a product of integration but as the integrator of all activities. Similarly, digitalisation should be at the core of business models and deployment plans, not an additional or even optional layer at a high cost. This calls for a coherent approach that includes the full capture of building information, supports the detailed exploration of circular operations, uses the results to constrain decisions and actions and does so throughout the life cycle.