Reno-Inst: An ontology to support renovation projects planning and renovation products installation

Abstract

Abstract While the use of semantic models has been explored in different areas of the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry to map and formalize knowledge and support different tasks, building renovation seems to be a neglected area in this field. Therefore, this paper presents the Renovation-Installation (Reno-Inst) ontology, which maps knowledge from the renovation domain considering different requirements, constraints, and other elements related to the installation of common renovation products such as windows, thermal insulation panels, and heat radiators. The development of the Reno-Inst ontology relies on an approach combining input from experts and knowledge from related engineering documents. The verification and validation process includes a content evaluation workshop with experts, a verification design stage, and the analysis and implementation of a real case study. The paper provides another example of the power of ontologies as a method for mapping and representing knowledge, gathering, and retrieving relevant information. Particularly, renovation projects encounter diverse challenges that lead to cost and schedule overruns, making their performance typically low. Therefore, the proposed Reno-Inst ontology provides a basis from which new applications can be developed, tested, and deployed to support improvements in the building renovation field, especially in the planning and execution of renovation activities.