Semester Projects: AI, BIM, and Digital Construction Processes
Today, buildings generate enormous amounts of data even before the first shovel hits the ground. Designs become digital building models, documents become structured collections of information, and sets of rules become machine-readable knowledge systems. At the same time, the complexity of construction projects is constantly increasing. Information must be exchanged between different disciplines, verified, and kept up to date.
The Digital.Design and Production degree program addresses this challenge. At the intersection of civil engineering, computer science, and artificial intelligence, students develop digital tools for the planning, review, and management of construction projects. The goal is to make workflows more efficient, transparent, and reliable.
This results in applications that automatically evaluate standards, intelligently analyze BIM models, transfer information between different software systems, or fully digitize paper-based processes. The projects demonstrate how modern software development and construction engineering expertise work together to actively shape the digital transformation of the construction industry.
A particular focus is on Building Information Modeling (BIM). BIM models contain not only geometry but also information on materials, properties, costs, sustainability, and usage. The quality of this data increasingly determines the quality of subsequent planning and construction processes. That is why the projects are investigating how AI systems can supplement incomplete information, how models can be automatically verified, and how different software platforms can communicate with one another.
In addition to technical model editing, digital tools for knowledge transfer and documentation are also being developed. Whether it’s an AI-powered chatbot, a web-based learning platform, or a digital certification system, the focus is always on how information can be made available more quickly, made easier to understand, and made usable for different user groups.
Detailed information can be found in the respective project PDFs.