Building It Twice: How Digital Twins Are Changing Construction And Management

Some buildings are now getting built twice: once out of steel, glass and an unreasonable number of site meetings, and once inside a computer, where nobody has to wait for the concrete to cure. That second version is a digital twin; a digital representation of a physical building that can be connected to data from the real one.

Unlike a typical 3D model, a digital twin can continue to receive information about the physical building throughout its lifecycle. Autodesk describes digital twins as dynamic models that can bring together information from design and construction with operational data, allowing the same digital representation to remain useful after a building is completed.

Using Digital Twins During Construction

Before anyone touches a shovel, digital models can give construction teams a way to test designs and explore potential problems before they reach the physical site. Depending on the systems connected to the twin, teams can examine building systems, simulate scenarios and understand how proposed changes could affect the finished structure.

This builds on Building Information Modelling, or BIM, which contains detailed information about a building and is widely used across design and construction. BIM provides a lot of the data foundation for a digital twin, while the twin can extend that information into construction and operations by connecting it with other systems and data.

That can help teams coordinate different parts of a project and identify potential clashes between systems before they become actual physical problems. Autodesk explains that digital twins can bring information from different sources together, which helps teams coordinate models and identify potential issues before they reach the physical building.

Digital twins can also be used to explore “what-if” scenarios. Autodesk describes using them to test design changes and assess their potential effects before they are implemented physically. The exact capabilities depend on the data and systems connected to the twin, but the principle is to give teams a digital environment in which they can examine different options before making changes to the real building.

Managing Buildings With Digital Twins

The digital twin doesn’t necessarily become irrelevant once construction wraps up. In fact, building operations are one of the areas where connected data can become quite useful.

A twin can bring together information from building systems, sensors and utility meters, which gives owners and facilities teams a clearer picture of how a building is performing. This can include data such as energy use, HVAC performance, occupancy and other changing conditions inside the building.

Maintenance is also where this information can be useful, as a digital twin can connect equipment and building-asset data with operational information, allowing facilities teams to monitor performance and maintenance requirements in one place. This doesn’t mean a digital twin always predicts every breakdown, but it can give teams more information when deciding which equipment needs attention and when.

The same data can also provide a clearer picture of occupancy and space utilisation, showing businesses how their buildings are actually being used rather than relying solely on assumptions made during the design stage. Tracking occupant behaviour and patterns could help identify spaces that are consistently underused or areas where the demand could be higher than expected.

There are already examples of this approach; Google Cloud says property technology company Properate has collected data from almost 680 buildings, using it to create digital replicas containing real-time sensor readings, energy consumption patterns, building schematics and maintenance information.

Samsung C&T is another example – its Bynd platform combines AI and digital-twin technology, allowing building managers to monitor and control facilities including air conditioning, electrical systems, lighting and energy use in real time.

Keeping The Digital Twin Useful

The value of a digital twin comes from how the digital model is connected to information about the physical building. A detailed model on its own doesn’t automatically become a digital twin; it needs relevant data from the physical building and the systems responsible for managing it.

Building systems can come from different manufacturers, data can be stored across different systems and information needs to remain accurate as the physical building changes. Connecting these sources of information can be a really important part of creating a useful digital twin, especially when multiple systems and teams are involved.

For businesses, there is also the cost of creating, integrating and maintaining these systems. A digital twin needs to be treated as an ongoing part of building management instead of being a one-off digital model.

From Construction To Management

Building it twice sounds like double the effort, but the digital version is meant to do more than sit in a folder as a pretty replica. When it’s connected to the right data, it can support decisions across a building’s lifecycle, from testing designs and coordinating construction to monitoring systems and managing the finished space.

The physical building may be the thing people walk into, but its digital twin can give owners and operators a connected view of information about what is happening inside it. That gives digital twins a role beyond construction and into the day-to-day management of the buildings themselves.