Invited Lecture: AI-powered digital twins of the built environments for strategic demolition planning

Innovative approach using Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Digital Twins (DT) has been recently adopted to revolutionise the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. Rapid increases in construction of built environments and infrastructures also causes enormous greenhouse gas emissions contributing directly to climate change. Therefore, BIM and DT have extended their capabilities from construction management to lifecycle asset management. This presentation will showcase the recent research beyond state of the art by considering strategic demolition planning at the end of life, in order to maximise reuse, repurpose and recycle. A three-dimensional architectural BIM incorporating three additional dimensions (time, cost, and carbon emissions) has then been created to virtualise the whole lifecycle performance of built environments. Digital twin (DT), driven by the BIM, that embeds demolition scenarios whose lifecycle cost and carbon footprint will be demonstrated in this presentation. Our study is the first to also demonstrate circular end-of-life management through strategic demolition planning that enhances circular economy practice. This aspect is novel and has not been commonly adopted in practice. This presentation will highlight recent advancements in the application of AI-powered digital twins for efficiently managing the assets and components within the built environments. Real-world use cases will be presented. This is well aligned with United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals.<br/><br/>Invited speaker: Dr Sakdirat Kaewunruen is a Reader in Railway and Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham. Dr Kaewunruen has extensive experience in both industry and academia. He is a Chartered Engineer and has over 25 years of experience within civil and railway industry (with over a decade practicing in industry). He has over 600 technical publications that have been translated for practical impacts and industry standardisation. He is the Fellow of Permanent Way Institution, Engineers Australia, and Engineering Institute of Thailand; and has actively served on many industry committees including ISO, CEN, BSI standard committees, PWI panel, Royal Society's International Exchange Committee, and Concrete Society Midlands; and is Chief Editor of Frontiers in Built Environment (Transportation and Transit Systems). He is a UK delegate in management committees of two EU COST Actions: CircularB and Eco4All, which are the world's largest networks for circularity scientists and practitioners. He has also been globally recognised in the World's Top 100 Most Cited Scientists in Civil Engineering by Stanford University and Elsevier.