The global market for digital twin buildings is now on track to reach a projected market size of $20.2 billion by the year 2032, skyrocketing via a 32.6% CAGR from its current market of $1.6 billion. This is according to the latest reporting from Astute Analytica. The companies leading the charge include Siemens, AG, IBM, Microsoft, General Electric, and Dassault Systèmes SE. Asian countries will be among the key drivers for growth due to their accelerated pace of urbanization.
From an interview we published back in 2021 with Alessio Grancini: Designers in Tech: How Architecture Is Unlocking the Potential of New Emerging Technologies
Digital twin is a term I'm seeing used in the context of architecture. What are digital twins and how is it applied to our industry?
The switch toward the management of physical assets through a digital proxy entered the profession of architecture through the BIM technology. But, an important distinction we should make is the one between BIM and digital twins. “BIM” is a process that defines the generation and management of digital representations. A “digital twin” refers to the most accurate digital replica of any physical assets.
As BIM refers to a temporary technologically-specific integration, the concept of digital twin seems to be opening the door for a new phase of “unlimited” maintenance of a project looping information back and forth. It almost seems to be referring to a “second life” of the building as we consider “second life,” our digital identity on social media. Digital Twin is not a concept bonded to design, it is an application of digital management to design as it could be an application of it for many other fields. Chris O’Connor from IBM describes the digital twin as “the ability to virtually visualize elements and dynamics of how an IoT device operates.” He also says that if done correctly a digital twin can influence design choices, becoming the driving element of a design process.
Meanwhile, this shouldn’t be interpreted as a replacement of a creative process, it should be more taken into consideration as a transformation in the way we think about design and how much of this digital transformation we would like to take into consideration during the process.
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What dies "digital twin" mean?
From an interview we published back in 2021 with Alessio Grancini: Designers in Tech: How Architecture Is Unlocking the Potential of New Emerging Technologies
Digital twin is a term I'm seeing used in the context of architecture. What are digital twins and how is it applied to our industry?
The switch toward the management of physical assets through a digital proxy entered the profession of architecture through the BIM technology. But, an important distinction we should make is the one between BIM and digital twins. “BIM” is a process that defines the generation and management of digital representations. A “digital twin” refers to the most accurate digital replica of any physical assets.
As BIM refers to a temporary technologically-specific integration, the concept of digital twin seems to be opening the door for a new phase of “unlimited” maintenance of a project looping information back and forth. It almost seems to be referring to a “second life” of the building as we consider “second life,” our digital identity on social media. Digital Twin is not a concept bonded to design, it is an application of digital management to design as it could be an application of it for many other fields. Chris O’Connor from IBM describes the digital twin as “the ability to virtually visualize elements and dynamics of how an IoT device operates.” He also says that if done correctly a digital twin can influence design choices, becoming the driving element of a design process.
Meanwhile, this shouldn’t be interpreted as a replacement of a creative process, it should be more taken into consideration as a transformation in the way we think about design and how much of this digital transformation we would like to take into consideration during the process.
In other words, a “digital twin” is a virtual copy of a real-world object that updates in real-time, allowing people to monitor, test, and improve it without affecting the real object (or building).
Now that's called job security!
enhanced BIM, what I don't understand is how it would inform the design process.
Let's see what the evil empire has to say about it!
What is a digital twin—and why is it so valuable? | Autodesk Tandem
"He also says that if done correctly a digital twin can influence design choices, becoming the driving element of a design process." Lol. Ridiculous statement. So doing it incorrectly doesn't influence design choices nor does it become the driving element of a design process? I think most would prefer not having this become the driving element of a design process.
Very few developers are willing to pay for a live digital twin. Owner occupied institutions maybe.
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