THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

The construction sector is at a key turning point. All technical professions and stakeholders working in the construction sector are engaged in discussing the possibilities of integrating predictive diagnosis, and safety tools and processes, for the development of new sustainable Smart materials and digitization processes, based on the application of Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools and much more. 

The TekneHub laboratory is engaged in several active projects in this sector and applications on real case studies, to develop building and management models, in collaboration with the High Technology Network of Emilia-Romagna and Clust-ER BUILD.

With reference to the automotiver sector, today, when you get onboard a car, everything “talks” to you. 

And even when sensors and interfaces are apparently disabled and not communicating with you, they are actually engaged in recording and analyzing fundamental data to deliver car driving safety, consumption optimization of each one of its parts, interior comfort, etc. 

Whereas, if you think of the building sector, all this does not happen yet; everything remains “silent”. Each component tells nothing, or very little, about how it is interacting in integration with the other components, how it ages and deteriorates, how it reacts to the stress it is exposed to, in order to plan its life cycle, and maintenance, to assure safety, well-being and other services to the people living in that building. 

In the case of historical buildings, having a memory related value and playing a social role for the local community, everything becomes even more complex and relevant. 

These are the issues that are now taken into account by the Laboratory, in collaboration with private enterprises, also for the purpose of internationalization and export of the lab skills, competences and products. 

Contact persons: Marcello Balzani, Rita Fabbri, Nerio Tullini, Michele Bottarelli, Alessandro Massarente