[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/11861\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EBuildings leap to the future with new logbooks \u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the southern Italian town of Ruvo di Puglia, a school that opened in 1924 is getting a 21st century upgrade.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe building is being digitally scanned and fitted with sensors. They count people, measure ambient temperature and detect levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) inside.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDashboard designs\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrom his desk in Brindisi about 200 kilometres farther south, Italo Spada can open a file on his computer to monitor the air quality of the school and its energy consumption.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Our system can give those who run buildings a simple dashboard so that they can see what energy is being consumed or inspect the facilities or see when routine maintenance is due,\u2019 said Spada, head of the new technologies and design department of the European Research Center for Technologies, Design and Materials, or CETMA.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe activity is part of a project that received EU funding to move from what have traditionally been paper files containing the technical specifications of buildings to a dynamic 3-D picture of them. Called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/101092161\u0022\u003EopenDBL\u003C\/a\u003E, the project runs for three years until the end of 2025.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMoving to \u201cdigital building logbooks\u201d, or DBLs, for new or old buildings will help Europe\u2019s planned transition to climate neutrality by mid-century.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMore than four-fifths of EU buildings date from before 2000 and three-quarters of them have poor energy performance.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECollectively, buildings are responsible for 40% of the EU\u2019s energy consumption and more than a third of its greenhouse-gas emissions. Building emissions stem mainly from construction, usage, renovation and demolition.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E3-D scanning\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EArchitects and building managers moved away from books and blueprints to using 2-D plans and computer-aided design \u2013 CAD \u2013 software in the 20th century.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EOur system can give those who run buildings a simple dashboard.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EItalo Spada, openDBL \u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut the future lies in an approach known as Building Information Modelling, or BIM. This is easier to use and more dynamic, according to Spada.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs part of openDBL, a cultural and sports centre in the Spanish city of Mislata and two buildings \u2013 the town hall and a kindergarten \u2013 in the Greek municipality of Kifissia north of Athens will also be scanned in 3-D. All relevant information will be compiled in one file that can be updated whenever something is done to the building, with DBL blockchain used for data security.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe cost of installing sensors at each of the three pilot sites including Ruvo di Puglia is around \u20ac10 000, according to Spada.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe DBL becomes a living record that gets updated over time, just as historically a ship\u2019s logbook recorded important changes and other events when the vessel was at sea.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Each part of a building, in a 3-D view \u2013 maybe a pillar or a door \u2013 is enriched with information,\u2019 said Spada. \u2018If I click on the pillar in my 3-D model of the building, I can see its shape, but also the material it is made of and any maintenance activity.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the Italian school in Ruvo di Puglia today, if the air quality deteriorates to a certain level, a building manager receives a warning.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor example, people breathe out CO2 and it can build up in rooms that are poorly ventilated. Teachers and students can suffer from fatigue, headache or difficulty concentrating when CO2 levels rise.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow that the school is equipped with sensors, it has even been \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.opendbl.eu\/experimentation-of-the-opendbl-palazzo-parlante-project-on-the-bovio-school\u0022\u003Ereferred to\u003C\/a\u003E by the project as the \u2018talking building\u2019.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECompetitive edge\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EIn openDBL, Spada and his team are also working on a web-based software module that will allow users to inspect a building in virtual reality, or VR. The module will be integrated into the openDBL platform and support users through immersive navigation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESimilarly, one day someone interested in buying or renting a home or an office could put on a VR headset and walk around virtually in a building and find out about insulation or energy use without visiting in person.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project\u2019s ultimate goal is to make a basic online logbook available for free to builders and building managers. The logbook would cover the 3D layout of a building in digital form.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBecause such advancements are crucial for building maintenance and energy-savings upgrades such as better insulation, the industry as a whole needs to anticipate greater use of digital information, according to Spada.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If you work in this sector, you must digitise,\u2019 he said. \u2018Otherwise you will be left behind.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELogbook lift\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDBLs are being introduced across Europe as part of a European \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.ec.europa.eu\/topics\/energy-efficiency\/energy-efficient-buildings\/renovation-wave_en\u0022\u003Erenovation wave\u003C\/a\u003E to accelerate energy upgrades of buildings.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EIf you sell your home, the next homeowner will know everything about the building.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Henk Visscher, Demo-BLog\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecent EU \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.ec.europa.eu\/topics\/energy-efficiency\/energy-efficient-buildings\/energy-performance-buildings-directive_en\u0022\u003Elegislation\u003C\/a\u003E aims for a fully decarbonised building stock by 2050.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEuropean \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/newsroom\/growth\/items\/690184\/en\u0022\u003Epolicy\u003C\/a\u003E is pushing EU countries to have some form of DBL for all buildings, according to Henk Visscher, a professor of housing and director of the Urban Energy Institute at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe lack of a common repository of data on buildings in Europe makes designing, constructing, operating and financing them slower and costlier.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition, the transparency and ready access to information resulting from DBLs are critical to ensuring that building renovations occur at the pace needed to achieve a climate-neutral building stock by mid-century.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESystem upgrades\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVisscher leads an EU-funded project to extend existing DBLs in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. Called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/101091749\u0022\u003EDemo-BLog\u003C\/a\u003E, the four-year project runs until the end of 2026.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe DBLs in the five countries cover 4.5 million buildings in total, supporting the push to make the structures more sustainable. Basic features of these DBLs include information on construction materials and energy performance.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Demo-BLog team is experimenting with extra features for all five DBLs and planning to test their appeal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese additions are designed for a range of users including the homeowners, municipalities, builders and architects.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe additions include user-centric automated renovation advice and a decarbonisation roadmap for each building. Also planned are a platform for community-driven decarbonisation projects and standards that will allow for easier and safe reuse of building materials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe idea is that digital logbooks will help with maintenance and repair as well as with renovations such as improving insulation and prolonging the life of older buildings.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If you have all this digital data and you give it to homeowners, they can easily make a start with renovations of their home,\u2019 said Visscher. \u2018And if you sell your home, the next homeowner will know everything about the building.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe said that, even with new and stricter EU energy-performance standards for buildings, most in Europe urgently need improved insulation and other upgrades that DBLs can facilitate.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Part of the energy transition is changing the way we operate our existing buildings,\u2019 said Visscher.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded by the EU\u2019s Horizon Programme. The views of the interviewees don\u2019t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. 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