CENTRE SCIENTIFIQUE ET TECHNIQUE DU BATIMENT (CSTB)

CSTB is a public research centre in the construction sector, employing about 930 staff including ~500 engineers, researchers and experts in building science, building technologies and advanced ICT. CSTB core business covers four main fields: research, technical expertise, quality assessment (Avis Techniques, Pass Innovation, Appréciations Technique d’EXpérimentation, Certifications…), and knowledge dissemination. Following a multidisciplinary approach, it contributes to innovation and problem solving for the industry, and to transfer knowledge and technology to the wider community, in France and beyond. It provides expertise to the industry at large and disseminates R&D results through various scientific media to practitioners and social and public authorities. CSTB is an active member of ENBRI (European Network of Building Research Institutes) which gathers main building RTD centers in Europe, and since 2004, CSTB is in charge of the General Secretariat of the European Construction Technology Platform (ECTP), which currently groups more than 230 members across Europe, including industry and public stakeholders of the construction sector.

CSTB is involved in the project through its ICT department (DTI – “Information Technologies Departement”). CSTB has a long track record in successful European R&D and support projects, including in IST/ICT FP4, FP5, FP6, FP7 and H2020 projects. Among a long list, it is worth mentioning especially the most recent like BIM4REN, BIM-SPEED, DR BOB and IRIS. These projects were mixing ICT solution, data acquisition & analysis (including semantic approach) and energy aspects linked with the BIM approach. CSTB/DTI has expertise in semantic modelling, simulation & Construction ICT, decision-support systems, as well as validation & replication models and Transfer & Dissemination. CSTB / DTI has relevant experience including applied R&D:

• In the field of ambient sensors and actuators infrastructures coupled with stochastic tools for automatic identification of correlation patterns between events – applied in various domains (including Energy optimization);

• Characterization of Buildings (typologies) in terms of retrofit priorities / adapted retrofit approaches / activity modelling and Building systems / process modelling – Parametric product modelling and product / catalogue configuration.

• In the cloud technologies, CSTB has developed the Kroqi platform (see www.kroqi.fr), a cloud solution dedicated to construction SMEs and hosting specific services (checkers for BIM files, QTO calculation, regulation checkers, etc.).

• In semantic web technologies. CSTB/DTI has developed under the umbrella of the French national plan for the digitalisation of the construction sector (the “Plan BIM 2022”), a full methodology and the corresponding prototype allowing users to check their BIM projects against the French regulation (fire safety and accessibility).