The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry faces data integration challenges due to fragmented silos and diverse data representations, hindering cross-domain queries and early detection of design constraints. Semantic Web Technologies (SWTs) address data integration challenges. This paper evaluates the impact of SWTs on co-design workflows by comparing them with alternative approaches to assess their effectiveness in supporting interdisciplinary collaboration and design constraint detection. Using Design Science Research, a co-design methodology is developed that integrates SWTs with AEC tools for reasoning and federated querying. A component of this methodology is a bidirectional mapping strategy for translating object-oriented data models, demonstrated with the Building Habitat Object Model (BHoM), an AEC interoperability framework. Findings reveal that integrating SWTs enables reasoning and complex queries across federated datasets, improving co-design efficiency. These findings support AEC professionals in advancing co-design and data-driven decision-making, while also informing future research on integrating SWTs into AEC design workflows.
%0 Journal Article
%1 ELSHANI2025106226
%A Elshani, Diellza
%A Lombardi, Alessio
%A Hernandez, Daniel
%A Staab, Steffen
%A Fisher, Al
%A Wortmann, Thomas
%D 2025
%J Automation in Construction
%K peer ai
%P 106226
%R https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2025.106226
%T AEC Co-design workflow for cross-domain querying and reasoning using Semantic Web Technologies
%U https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926580525002663
%V 176
%X The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry faces data integration challenges due to fragmented silos and diverse data representations, hindering cross-domain queries and early detection of design constraints. Semantic Web Technologies (SWTs) address data integration challenges. This paper evaluates the impact of SWTs on co-design workflows by comparing them with alternative approaches to assess their effectiveness in supporting interdisciplinary collaboration and design constraint detection. Using Design Science Research, a co-design methodology is developed that integrates SWTs with AEC tools for reasoning and federated querying. A component of this methodology is a bidirectional mapping strategy for translating object-oriented data models, demonstrated with the Building Habitat Object Model (BHoM), an AEC interoperability framework. Findings reveal that integrating SWTs enables reasoning and complex queries across federated datasets, improving co-design efficiency. These findings support AEC professionals in advancing co-design and data-driven decision-making, while also informing future research on integrating SWTs into AEC design workflows.
@article{ELSHANI2025106226,
abstract = {The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry faces data integration challenges due to fragmented silos and diverse data representations, hindering cross-domain queries and early detection of design constraints. Semantic Web Technologies (SWTs) address data integration challenges. This paper evaluates the impact of SWTs on co-design workflows by comparing them with alternative approaches to assess their effectiveness in supporting interdisciplinary collaboration and design constraint detection. Using Design Science Research, a co-design methodology is developed that integrates SWTs with AEC tools for reasoning and federated querying. A component of this methodology is a bidirectional mapping strategy for translating object-oriented data models, demonstrated with the Building Habitat Object Model (BHoM), an AEC interoperability framework. Findings reveal that integrating SWTs enables reasoning and complex queries across federated datasets, improving co-design efficiency. These findings support AEC professionals in advancing co-design and data-driven decision-making, while also informing future research on integrating SWTs into AEC design workflows.},
added-at = {2025-05-21T14:22:17.000+0200},
author = {Elshani, Diellza and Lombardi, Alessio and Hernandez, Daniel and Staab, Steffen and Fisher, Al and Wortmann, Thomas},
biburl = {https://puma.ub.uni-stuttgart.de/bibtex/202d38b713bfb72dbee9e08535662b2d0/icd},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2025.106226},
interhash = {0417fe8a19728e0fda85a4c3293139e3},
intrahash = {02d38b713bfb72dbee9e08535662b2d0},
issn = {0926-5805},
journal = {Automation in Construction},
keywords = {peer ai},
pages = 106226,
timestamp = {2025-05-21T14:22:17.000+0200},
title = {AEC Co-design workflow for cross-domain querying and reasoning using Semantic Web Technologies},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926580525002663},
volume = 176,
year = 2025
}