AI for Resource Mapping

The construction industry is facing a necessary transition in which transformation and renovation should be prioritised over new construction. This requires a much stronger focus on preserving and reusing building components and materials rather than purchasing new ones.

To enable this transition, it is essential to have structured data and accessible insights into the existing building stock. Such data can provide answers to questions such as: What materials does the building contain? Where are these materials located? What are their dimensions? And what condition are they in? Equally important is ensuring that this information is available early in decision-making processes.

With access to this knowledge, stakeholders can make informed decisions, unlock the potential for material reuse, and improve resource efficiency across the built environment.

In this pioneer project, ConTech Lab, together with partners including LINK Arkitektur, is exploring how mobile scanning technology, point cloud generation, clustering, and AI-based segmentation of building components and materials can support a more efficient and data-driven approach to resource mapping. The project's objective is to identify the specific needs of environmental and resource mapping specialists as well as project coordinators, and to explore how these needs can be supported through a digital tool that streamlines workflows, reduces errors, and enables greater scalability.

A digital tool for resource mapping has the potential to free up valuable time for specialists, who currently experience significant time constraints and often become bottlenecks in the process. This would enable the industry to move away from workflows that are either 1) highly manual and therefore time-consuming, or 2) technology-intensive and heavily dependent on specialist expertise. The ambition is to transition towards a more automated and digital process that supports the principles of the circular economy and contributes to a more sustainable built environment.

As of 1 July 2025, selective demolition has become a legal requirement for all buildings with a demolition area of 250 m² or more. The regulation requires materials to be identified, separated, and sorted to enable reuse and recycling, while hazardous substances such as asbestos, PCB, and PFAS must be handled appropriately. The purpose of the legislation is to reduce resource waste and support the transition towards a circular economy in the construction sector.

The construction industry is currently adapting to these new requirements and seeking effective ways to comply with them. This creates a need for new working methods and forms of collaboration across stakeholders, while also driving significant demand for tools that can support this transition. In particular, there is a need for mobile solutions that can quickly and intuitively provide an overview of a building’s materials and generate structured data for planning, design, and documentation purposes.

The pioneer project is founded on extensive expertise in environmental and resource mapping, a deep understanding of user needs, and the development of existing prototype solutions.

It builds on LINK Arkitektur's work with ReUseX. ReUseX has established the foundation for a backend solution that enables users to scan buildings using a mobile phone and assess the reuse potential of building components and materials.