starting point: 

How will the increasing sustainability pressures shape the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction sector and its business models, specifically considering the building life cycle? 

This topic may include consideration of initiatives that can accelerate digital sustainability in the sector and reach sustainability goals. 

project summary: 

This research investigates the concept of Digital Sustainability (DS) within the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector, addressing how digital transformation can be strategically aligned with sustainability imperatives to advance environmental, social, and economic goals. Positioned within the broader discourse of the twin transition, the study explores the convergence of emerging digital technologies—such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), digital twins, artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT)—with the pressing demand for sustainable development. Given increasing global pressures for the AEC sector to reduce environmental impact, understanding how these technologies can help achieve these goals is essential for industry stakeholders, policymakers, and researchers, offering transformative capabilities for data-driven decision-making, optimized resource use, and the implementation of circular economy practices. Despite the potential of these digital enablers, the study identifies critical barriers limiting the full adoption and scalability of digital sustainability solutions across the sector. These include organisational resistance, interoperability challenges, and a fragmented regulatory environment. To address these challenges, the research conducts an integrative review, synthesising insights from both Information Systems, Sustainability Studies and Built Environment research to conceptualise the core dimensions of Digital Sustainability, its digital enablers that support sustainability and to develop strategic frameworks necessary for successful DS implementation in the AEC sector. Findings contribute to the growing theoretical discourse on digital sustainability in Information Systems and the Built Environment while offering actionable insights for practitioners, and practical implications for stakeholders aiming at transforming sustainable practices by providing a structured understanding of how digitalisation can be harnessed to meet global sustainability goals in the AEC sector. Future studies are encouraged to empirically validate the core dimensions within the inductive framework of digital Sustainability, addressing the practical and theoretical gaps identified. 

Keywords: digital sustainability, AEC sector, digital transformation, sustainability imperatives, twin transition 

Research Design:

This research employs a mixed-method research design combining an integrative literature review with Action Design Research (ADR). The approach is grounded in interpretivist and constructivist epistemologies, emphasising the contextual and interactive dimensions of digital sustainability. The research is divided into three studies: 

Study 1: Digital Sustainability in the AEC Sector: A Literature Review 

• Method: Integrative Review, Thematic analysis 

• Objective: To establish a clear definition of digital sustainability in the AEC Sector, its digital enablers and its core dimensions, and to lay the foundation of digital sustainability framework for the AEC Sector. 

• Data status: Already collected, coded, and in process of synthesising. 

• Validation: Peer-reviewed journal publication. 

• Status: Ongoing 

Study 2: Establishing a Practical Model of Digital Sustainability for the AEC Sector: An Action Design Research (ADR) 

• Method: Action Design Research (ADR) Focus groups and qualitative interviews with industry and academic experts, grounded theory to develop the strategic drivers, and in addition to the literature Review from Study 1. 

• Objective: To identify the levers of the practical model, outline their challenges and opportunities, contribute to design knowledge and the ADR approach by generalising new activities and principles for designing analytics systems.  

• Data status: The interview data is collected, needs to be codded and synthesised.   

• Validation: Expert validation through iterative feedback of focus experts group workshop. 

• Partners & Collaborators: Arch Manu 

• Status: Yet to begin 

Study 3: Developing an Urban AI model to Predict Tree Canopy Growth: An Action Design Research​​​​  

• Objectives: Developing an urban AI model to predict tree canopy growth to empirically validate one of the practical model’s levers of digital sustainability in the AEC sector, by develop an AI model for specific to urban planning addressing how digital transformation can be strategically aligned with environmental sustainability goals., and to extract and test design principles for an urban digital sustainability system. 

• Data status: We started the first round of interviews with the team leaders and will continue to the second round.  

• Validation: We will assess the AI artefact that predict urban tree canopy growth and validate the approach in urban planning and sustainability contexts. 

• Partners & Collaborators: Architectus 

• Status: Ongoing