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Centre for Digital Built Britain completed its five-year mission and closed its doors at the end of September 2022

This website remains as a legacy of the achievements of our five-year foundational journey towards a digital built Britain
 

CDBB Week 2019 brought together key stakeholders from the Centre’s academic, industry and public sector networks to celebrate our collaborative and joined-up approach towards a digital built Britain that is fit for the future. The week will consisted of digital and in-person events that brought together those involved in the Centre’s wide-ranging networks to show how we are working towards our vision of digital transformation in the built environment. 

Summary Video of CDBB Week

 

Summaries and outputs from each day of CDBB week are outlined below:

NDT Day - Monday 9 September 2019

The Centre for Digital Built Britain’s inaugural National Digital Twin Day called for industry alignment and collaboration to drive the creation of the National Digital Twin Industry innovators from a range of infrastructure sectors attended the Centre for Digital Built Britain’s (CDBB) inaugural event of CDBB Week – National Digital Twin Day.The full-capacity event, presented in partnership with and hosted by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) at its London HQ, featured contributions from digital pioneers from government and industry delivering expert guidance and practical insights on UK digital twins development. Digital Twin Day also marked the launch of the Centre’s Digital Twin Hub and the release of CDBB’s new viral animation ‘What is the National Digital Twin?’

News summary of NDT Day
Media Release for NDT Day
Presentations
Video Capture of Presentations
Flikr photos from the day
SME Blogs

 

Transforming Construction Challenge - Launch of Construction Innovation Hub Blog
Tuesday 10 September 2019

As part of ongoing work under the UK’s Transforming Construction Challenge and the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, a new thought-leadership blog from the Construction Innovation Hub was launched on Transforming Construction Challenge Day. The blog will be a focal point to drive collaboration and to feature success stories in the development, commercialisation and promotion of digital and manufacturing technologies for the construction sector.  Partners from across the Transforming Construction Challenge programme were featured, including the Active Building Centre (ABC), Transforming Construction Network Plus, Construction Innovation Hub and UKRI, and they provided insights into the programme and how the initiatives are transforming construction and delivering broader environmental and social outcomes. To access the blog, click here.
Preparing Construction for Lean Six Sigma - Sam Stacey
Only by understanding value will we really transform construction - Keith Waller
So much change, so little time – The Network Plus needs you! - Jacqui Glass
Meeting the Transforming Construction Challenge through Active Buildings - Dave Worsley

International Day - Wednesday 11 September

Online Training Programme

 

To celebrate the success of our International programme and Prosperity-funded Global Infrastructure Programme, we officially launched our online training programme to support international governments in the creation of their national BIM strategies. It is designed to support governments overseas in the planning and introduction of BIM to the public estate; it enables them to continue the training after we have returned home. They are also able to share it with remote teams and others who could not attend the in-person training sessions.  This open online course is aimed at public policy-makers and public clients that procure, own or operate built assets, and provides learning materials on standards-based, public sector-led Building Information Modelling (BIM) implementation which will support public officials through their BIM transformation.  To access the training programme click here.  Training for International of a National BIM Strategy 

Publication of Blog Series

The launch included the publication of a blog series from our country partners, featuring success stories from our colleagues in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Trade. Listed below are the International Blogs published during CDBB Week 2019

Mexico - Nayeli Mayorga, Policy officer for energy and infrastructure, British Embassy Mexico City
Chile - Carolina Soto, Executive Director of Planbim Corfo
Colombia - Juan Camilo Pantoja, Project Director at FDN (Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional)
Peru  - Gianina Caballero, Programme & Project Coordinator for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO)in Peru

 

BIM Roundtable Garden Party - Wednesday 11 September 2019

On 11 September, bathed in afternoon sunshine and amid the vibrant colours of St Catharine’s College’s gardens, CDBB and the Construction Innovation Hub hosted a reception for industry insiders, researchers and policymakers – all with an interest in making Building Information Modelling (BIM) ‘business as usual’.

More than 60 attendees joined us to network, meet old friends, make new connections and to demonstrate their support for BIM and its critical importance to the construction industry. Many of those present had taken part in a series of roundtables run over the last twelve months by CDBB and the Chartered Institute of Building in partnership with Construction Manager. The aim of the roundtables was to bring together key interest groups from across the industry to discuss the benefits of BIM and the barriers that are preventing its more widespread adoption.

Keith Waller, Programme Director of the Construction Innovation Hub (a collaboration between the Manufacturing Technology Centre, Building Research Establishment and CDBB) spoke about the Hub’s commitment to delivering the ambitions set out in the government’s construction sector deal. Keith said: “In the UK, we spend around £65 billion every year on economic and social infrastructure projects, building things like new schools and hospitals, roads and railways. The question for all of us is how can we do this in a way which delivers benefits for everyone while helping to decarbonise our economy and making our industry better, more attractive and more inclusive.” Stressing BIM’s pivotal role in moving us towards a digital built Britain and commending the work of CDBB and the UK BIM Alliance in promoting it, Keith introduced CDBB’s Terry Stocks. Stocks thanked all those who had given up their time to take part in the roundtables. “They were hugely powerful,” Stocks explained, “because we were able to get groups representing different sectors and services in the same room and ask them the same question: what do you need to make BIM business as usual? This meant we were able to build up a consistent picture of the issues facing the sector and focus on finding solutions.”

The eight roundtables ran from September 2018 to July 2019 and spanned academia and training, constructors, consultants, manufacturers, SMEs, technology companies and specialist BIM consultants. Stocks and his co-chair, Fiona Moore, are analysing the outputs from the roundtables, identifying the common themes and developing a set of next steps that will help BIM become ‘business as usual’. The final report will be available soon. In the meantime, you can read about all eight of the roundtables at www.cdbb.cam.ac.uk/BIM/UKBIM/CDBB_CIOBRoundtables.

 

CDBB Summer Research Showcase - Thursday 12 September 2019

CDBB held its second Summer Showcase in Cambridge on Thursday 12 September 2019. A large and appreciative audience joined us to hear about the progress CDBB is making and listen to a series of rapid-fire presentations demonstrating the huge range of CDBB-supported research. For a full summary of the day, including presentations and posters presented during the day click here. 

Summary Video from CDBB Week
Posters Presented - pdf booklet
Flikr Photos from the day
Video Presentations from Researchers - fast past videos presentations, plus presentation from Andy Neely introducing CDBB

 

Digital Roundup Day - Friday 13 September 2019

Rounding off the week, we highlighted the key headlines and outcomes of the week's in-person events and online activites via our social media channels, with links to videos, presentations and bonus content from each day's proceedings.  
Brazil - Andressa Mares Guia Milhonens, Ministry of Economy, Brazil
Mott MacDonald - Sean Kearney
Research Blog: Dr Gemma Burgess ~Reinventing Renting: The use of digital technology in housing for 'generation rent' 
Research blog: Dr Li Wan ~ A digital twin prototype for jouneys to work in Cambridge
Research Blog: Dr Tom Beach ~ Digitisation of Requirements, Regulations and Compliance Checking Processes in the Built Environment
Research Blog: Dr Timea Nochta ~ City Digital Twins for urban planning and management
Research Blog: Professor Patricia Tzortzopoulos - Recommendations for automated checking of regulations and requirements management in healthcare design
Research Blog: Dr Franziska Sielker