ENCORE · Project

Cloud BIM Platform That Makes Building Renovation Faster, Cheaper, and Energy-Smart

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Imagine you want to renovate an old apartment building to save energy, but you have no idea what's inside the walls or how much the changes will actually help. ENCORE built a set of cloud tools that scan a building with drones and lasers, automatically create a 3D digital model, and then let architects test different renovation options on screen — showing exactly how much energy each option saves and what it costs. Tenants can even walk through the planned renovation in augmented reality before any work starts. After construction, smart sensors keep monitoring whether the building actually performs as promised.

By the numbers

consortium partners

countries represented

full service prototypes delivered

total project deliverables

SMEs in the consortium

43%

industry partner ratio

The business problem

What needed solving

Building renovation in Europe is slow, expensive, and unpredictable. Architects spend weeks manually surveying old buildings, energy savings projections often miss the mark, and tenants have no way to see what the renovation will look like before construction starts. The result: fewer buildings get renovated, budgets overrun, and energy performance disappoints after handover.

The solution

What was built

ENCORE built a cloud-based BIM platform with 13 integrated service prototypes: drone and LiDAR data acquisition, automatic 3D model generation with element classification, energy savings simulation, comfort simulation, augmented reality on-site verification, automated construction work planning, and post-renovation building monitoring and diagnostics. The final integrated platform was validated in both experimental facilities and real social housing buildings.

Audience

Who needs this

Social housing agencies managing large renovation portfoliosArchitecture and engineering firms specializing in energy retrofitsMunicipal governments with public building renovation mandatesConstruction companies bidding on renovation contractsFacility management companies responsible for building energy performance

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Social Housing & Public Administration

enterprise

Target: Municipal housing agencies and social housing providers managing large building portfolios

If you are a social housing provider dealing with aging building stock and tight renovation budgets — this project developed a cloud BIM platform that scans buildings with drones and LiDAR, automatically generates 3D models, and simulates energy savings of different renovation options before you spend a cent on construction. The platform was validated on real social buildings owned by a pilot partner across a portfolio of properties.

Architecture & Design

SME

Target: Architecture studios and renovation design firms

If you are an architecture firm spending weeks manually measuring and modeling existing buildings before you can even start designing renovations — ENCORE built tools that use LiDAR, photogrammetry, and UAV-captured data to automatically identify and classify building elements into a 3D BIM model. The platform includes 13 integrated service prototypes covering everything from data acquisition to comfort simulation and energy savings analysis.

Construction & Facility Management

mid-size

Target: General contractors and facility managers handling energy retrofits

If you are a construction company struggling with renovation project delays and energy performance gaps after completion — ENCORE developed automated work planning services that generate construction schedules from the validated BIM model, plus continuous building monitoring and diagnostics after handover. The system was built by a consortium of 14 partners including 6 industry players across 9 countries.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to adopt this BIM renovation platform?

The project's EU contribution amount is not available in the dataset, so specific development costs cannot be quoted. The platform was designed to be 'cost-effective' for building renovation, and as a cloud-based service, it would likely follow a SaaS pricing model. Contact the coordinator for current licensing or subscription terms.

Can this scale to large building portfolios or entire city districts?

The platform was designed as a cloud-based system specifically to handle scale. It covers the whole renovation life-cycle from data collection through project execution to monitoring. The pilot validation included both experimental facilities and real social buildings owned by a housing provider, suggesting it can handle portfolio-level deployments.

Who owns the intellectual property and how can I license it?

IP is distributed among the 14 consortium partners across 9 countries, coordinated by Institut für angewandte Systemtechnik Bremen GmbH in Germany. With 5 SMEs and 6 industry partners in the consortium, commercial licensing routes likely exist. Contact the coordinator for specific IP and licensing arrangements.

Does it comply with building regulations and BIM standards?

ENCORE is built on IFC (Industry Foundation Classes), which is the open international standard for BIM data exchange. The platform uses ontology-based approaches for information management, designed to facilitate information exchange among architects, designers, constructors, tenants, and public administration bodies.

How long does it take to go from building scan to renovation plan?

The platform integrates 13 service prototypes into one workflow: drone-based data acquisition, automatic 3D model creation with element classification, energy and comfort simulation, augmented reality validation, and automated work planning. Based on available project data, the end-to-end digitization significantly compresses the traditional multi-week manual survey and modeling process.

Does it integrate with existing BIM and energy management software?

The platform is built on open BIM standards (IFC) and includes a BIM Resources Repository Management Service for working with existing BIM libraries. The cloud architecture and ontology-based data model are designed for interoperability with standard design and construction tools.

What kind of support and training is available?

The consortium includes 4 universities and 2 research organizations alongside 6 industry partners, providing both technical depth and practical construction knowledge. The platform was validated with real end-users including a social housing pilot. Contact the coordinator at ATB Bremen for current support and deployment options.

Consortium

Who built it

The ENCORE consortium brings together 14 partners from 9 countries with a strong commercial orientation — 43% of partners are from industry and 5 are SMEs. The coordinator, ATB Bremen (Germany), is a research institute specializing in applied systems engineering. The mix of 6 industry players, 4 universities, and 2 research organizations means the technology was developed with practical construction and renovation workflows in mind, not just as an academic exercise. The geographic spread across Switzerland, Cyprus, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Portugal, and the UK gives the platform exposure to diverse building codes, climate conditions, and renovation markets across Europe.

INSTITUT FÜR ANGEWANDTE SYSTEMTECHNIK BREMEN GMBHCoordinator · DE
RTD TALOS LIMITEDparticipant · CY
CONSEJERIA DE INFRAESTRUCTURAS, TRANSPORTE Y VIVIENDA - JUNTA DE EXTREMADURAparticipant · ES
SVEUCILISTE U ZAGREBU FAKULTET ELEKTROTEHNIKE I RACUNARSTVAparticipant · HR
LAURENTIA TECHNOLOGIES SLLparticipant · ES
CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHEparticipant · IT
CONSEJERIA DE SALUD Y SERVICIOS SOCIALES - JUNTA DE EXTREMADURAparticipant · ES
EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICHparticipant · CH
UNIVERSIDAD DE LA LAGUNAparticipant · ES
UNIVERSITA POLITECNICA DELLE MARCHEparticipant · IT

How to reach the team

Institut für angewandte Systemtechnik Bremen GmbH (ATB), Germany — applied systems engineering research institute

Order a report on this consortium See INSTITUT FÜR ANGEWANDTE SYSTEMTECHNIK BREMEN GMBH profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want an introduction to the ENCORE team to discuss licensing their BIM renovation platform for your building portfolio? SciTransfer can arrange a direct meeting with the technology developers.

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