Situation

The data available on the material composition of the building stock is extremely limited: A variety of building materials in different compositions and types of construction have been used, and structural alterations have been carried out over the years, which in turn are reflected in a different mix of materials (e.g. façade insulation, retrofitted drainage, roof renovation). This is a problem insofar as it is precisely these buildings that are now candidates for demolition and new construction; not only does this generate 70% of Austria's annual waste volume ( BMK2020 ), the construction sector per se is also responsible for 60% of newly extracted raw materials and 40% of energy-related CO emissions.

Problem

In order to ensure effective recycling and re-use and thus make an effective contribution to climate strategy, precise knowledge of the material composition is required in advance. To date, soundings and building surveys have been carried out individually by property developers without a plausibility analysis or a comparative "reality check" with other developers. Furthermore, the results end up in the data files of the respective parties involved and are not used for any other purpose, which is a pity because passing them on would be informative for many others in the same situation on the one hand, and on the other hand would not be contrary to any data protection concerns. In addition, a city-wide extrapolation is only possible to a limited extent in this way because there are simply too few data points available.

Idea

We are proposing a web-based platform that property developers can use to find out about material compositions in comparable properties and to check the plausibility of their own special features. The idea works like a data hub in which a wide variety of participants enter soundings and building surveys in their own (protected) area and receive feedback. The platform anonymizes this data and passes it on to other participants. In addition, a prediction of the material composition of similar objects is trained at a central point, with the help of which the participants can obtain an assessment for objects that have not yet been probed. By aggregating this data, it is possible to draw conclusions about the city's entire material depot for a specific object category - e.g. for use in material statistics. Furthermore, a separate module, which compares objects with each other, also checks the plausibility of the data entered by the user (feedback).However, the real highlight of the platform is that it grows over time through continuous input from participants and thus becomes more accurate - which in turn leads to increased added value for each participant. A neutral interface for marketplaces in the area of re-use/recycling increases this added value even further. The project also emphasizes integration with municipal processes (e.g. submission, building permit) and a repeatable workflow for use even after the end of the project.

Impact

In addition to property developers, our openly developed solution is also aimed at public administration, standardization institutions, research institutions and companies in the circular economy (topic of re-use and recycling). Ultimately, it will be hosted by the Chamber of Architects and Civil Engineers or the city administration (Vienna IT), for example, to allow open and equal participation. The advantages for participants and their institutions are

• The ability to quickly see an estimate of the range of material intensities and superstructures based on the characteristics of a property / object or to be able to compare their own measurements with previous measurements based on evidence.
• To be able to subject specializations to a plausibility check based on existing data (within / outside the reference range). Related object categories can also be found for a specific material composition.
• To be able to offer projections of the material composition of the building stock in a continuously improving form (e.g. for real estate development, research, material statistics).

The project puts the partners in a position to bring together the isolated approaches developed in previous projects and offer them for the first time in a form suitable for everyday use as added value.