FasadDigital - Digital value chain for design, planning, production and assembly of prefabricated facade elements

Sweden has a long tradition of building in wood, and the use of wood in construction and the continued development of wood construction is of great importance for enabling green transition of the built environment and the construction market.

Suppliers of timber frames such as CLT frames or glulam column and beam systems experience a lack of façade element suppliers to refer to in procurement, as partners to quickly and safely climate-proof their delivery of frames. This creates uncertainty for the building contractor and can lead to lost business for the supplier of timber frames.

To increase the share and competitiveness of wood construction in the construction market, operators need to offer credible, resource- and cost-effective solutions in the same way as in steel and concrete construction.

The aim is to show that it is possible to achieve cost-effective, sustainable, and high-quality design as well as efficient assembly of prefabricated wooden facade elements on different types of wooden frame systems.Society demands that new products must be designed for maintenance, reuse, circularity and, not least, for design adaptation to different built environments.

Product development therefore becomes more complex and more knowledge-intensive.

Actors in the value chain for construction today often operate in professional silos, which leads to a lack of collaboration and knowledge sharing, which seriously hinders the development of new and improved solutions.

New ways of collaborating between actors in the value chain is crucial, as well as new tools and methods for collaboration and designing systems for digital information structures and flows.

One challenge with a digital value chain is to determine the level of information at each stage of the chain, i.e. how much and what information is necessary to share with other actors in the chain. In the best of worlds, everything is transparent, and no one is afraid to share information.

Different platforms and information needs make sharing difficult.Due to the complex requirements in the construction sector today there is a need for a more holistic approach in the development of products for the built environment.

Architects, who are responsible for aesthetic and functional design, are used to collaborate in collective processes and to "lift their gaze" in design processes and thus contribute to a more holistic approach.The aim of the project is to:Study and develop collaborative methods for efficient functional and aesthetic product development of prefabricated façade elements in which many actors from different professional backgrounds participate.

Collaboration methods that allow for all participants´ knowledge and starting points to be highlighted and not overlooked.Describe the need for information flow to ensure that the design intended for the building is maintained through the different stages of the construction process.The novelty value of the project lies in establishing ways to facilitate and coordinate the design, planning, production, and installation of prefabricated aesthetically pleasing wooden façade elements and in faster climate-proofing buildings with wooden frames.