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.
Highlights
The rate at which buildings are renovated across Europe is expected to increase to achieve the sustainable goals set by the 2030 Agenda and other international and local agreements in Europe [1]
This paper introduced an ontology that maps knowledge from the renovation domain considering different re quirements, constraints, and other elements related to the installation of common renovation products
The use of semantic models has been explored in other areas of the AEC industry, building renovation seems to be a neglected area in this field
Summary
The rate at which buildings are renovated across Europe is expected to increase to achieve the sustainable goals set by the 2030 Agenda and other international and local agreements in Europe [1]. The current renovation rate of existing buildings is low, even as renovation accounts for 57% of all construction activity, only about 1–2% of the building stock is renovated each year [2]. Increasing renovation rates calls for dedicated tools to support stake holders in renovation projects to enhance the performance of their activities. Particularities from renovation projects such as uncertainty in the existing conditions of the building and the presence of occupants can impact certain construction activities and change their conventional logical sequence. Integrating such particularities in the planning and execution of renovation projects might be challenging due to the lack of clear workflows and dedicated tools. To facilitate the reading process, the term renovation is used in this paper as a general term comprising building improvements in the form of renovation, refurbishment or retrofitting since a single project may gather multiple elements from one or more of them
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