Change beyond building information modeling to a “Digital Twin” in architecture

According to a white paper from the Cabinet Office of the Japanese government, a human-centered society that achieves both, economic development and resolution of social issues, is defined as "Society 5.0" based on a system that highly integrates cyber space and physical space (ie, real space).1 This designation refers to a new society following the hunting society (Society 1.0), agricultural society (Society 2.0), industrial society (Society 3.0), and information society (Society 4.0). Society 5.0 is a concept proposed as the target at which future society should be aimed. Industry 4.0, a concept from Germany, notes the importance of establishing a cyber-physical system (CPS) in which the cyber space and physical space are deeply linked to each other; hence, it can be said that this concept is similar to Society 5.0. However, Industry 4.0 specializes mainly in the manufacturing industry, and there is a significant difference between these because Society 5.0 emphasizes the construction of a wealthy human-centered society in addition to economic development. In a society that aims to realize Society 5.0, people and things are connected by Internet of Things technologies, knowledge and information are shared, new values and virtues are created, and finally, modern society will be distorted, that is, these new technologies will enable low birthrate and greater longevity, depopulation of local and rural communities, and overcome the wealth gap disparity. Although the concept of Society 5.0 may be considered a political catchphrase, it has important implications for science and technology innovation, which will have a major impact in architecture. As mentioned above, Society 5.0 is premised on the CPS, which is an advanced fusion of technology from the cyber space (virtual space) and physical space (real space). This CPS is defined as a service and system that aims to realize a higher society by integrating the real world and the cyber world. It might be that a large amount of information from sensors in the physical space is accumulated and transferred in the cyber space. In the cyber space, artificial intelligence analyzes these big data, and the analysis results are fed back to humans in the real physical space in various ways. In the CPS, which is the core technology of Society 5.0, objects in the physical space are directly copied to the cyber space, the sensor information in physical space is also directly linked to the simulation in cyber space, and finally, new values and virtues will be provided to real physical space. When this concept is applied to the field of architecture, it is essential that the real (physical space) architecture should be reproduced on computers (cyber space) including all relevant information, a Digital Twin should be developed. Realizing a Digital Twin requires reproducing a sophisticated digital building model on a virtual space and using it to simulate complex physical phenomena that may occur in the real world with high accuracy and high calculation speed. Whereas real-world building conditions in the physical space, operating conditions of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning equipment and facilities, and environmental information are collected in real time using complicated sensor networks, numerical simulation for a digital building model in cyber space will be conducted by integrating boundary conditions provided from physical space. Digital Twin technology is a solution that enables design improvement, operational instructions according to the environmental conditions, as well as failure and fatigue prediction. The simulation technology currently being researched and developed in the field of architecture will be consolidated toward the purpose of establishing a Digital Twin. In the field of architectural engineering, development from three-dimensional computer aided design to building information modeling (BIM) is rapidly advancing. Facility and attribute data such as cost, finishing, and management information are integrated into a four-dimensional digital building model that is created on a computer, and this integrated information is used in all processes, from the design and construction to maintenance and management. Currently, this workflow is being developed, and this BIM-related technology is exactly the core technology of a Digital Twin.2 In the near future, in addition to individual buildings, development of a Digital Twin including people, buildings, cities, and society will progress, at which point creation of a CPS is expected to rapidly develop. It will be necessary for Japan Architectural Review to devote continual efforts for becoming the main medium to disseminate information on CPS-related technology developed in Japan to the world's academia.