GRIDD in figures

Beyond the numbers, a team dedicated to exploring technological advances in the architecture, engineering and construction industries.

36

Research projects

39

Students involved

33

Published articles

11

Published reports

GRIDD news at a glance

GRIDD’s most recent activities are presented below:

News

Content overview :

While the adoption of open Building Information Modeling (open BIM) standards continues to grow, the inherent complexity and multifaceted nature of the built asset lifecycle data present a critical bottleneck for effective information retrieval. To address this challenge, the research community has started to investigate advanced natural language-based search for building information models. However, the accelerated pace of advancements in deep learning-based natural language processing research has introduced a complex landscape for domain-specific applications, making it challenging to navigate through various design choices that accommodate an effective balance between prediction accuracy and the accompanying computational costs. This study focuses on the semantic tagging of user queries, which is a cardinal task for the identification and classification of references related to building entities and their specific descriptors. To foster adaptability across various applications and disciplines, a semantic annotation scheme is introduced that is firmly rooted in the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) schema. By taking a comparative approach, we conducted a series of experiments to identify the strengths and weaknesses of traditional and emergent deep learning architectures for the task at hand. Our findings underscore the critical importance of domain-specific and context-dependent embedding learning for the effective extraction of building entities and their respective descriptions.

Event

Content overview :

PDF : acfas-227-colloquevf.pdf
The construction industry is one of the pillars of the global economy. However, the industry faces many issues and challenges. Its low productivity and large environmental footprint have an impact on the value this vital industry generates for society. To increase this value, it is essential to rethink working methods in an industry traditionally regarded as resistant to change and slow to adopt new approaches and technologies. These are human, procedural and organizational issues, which go beyond the technical ones generally cited to explain this gap between science and practice. By adopting a systemic and socio-technical approach to innovation in the construction sector, this symposium will enable participants to exchange views on this topical issue.

The symposium will address topics related to innovation in the construction sector, including the needs and potential for innovation, the challenges to be overcome, and the trends and levers for accelerating it. It will also provide an opportunity to advance knowledge in the field of construction, particularly with regard to the systems and mechanisms to be put in place
to support innovation in this sector, as well as lessons learned from past and current efforts.
It will also enable participants to unveil the results of their research and exchange views on emerging practices.

The committee will receive proposals for papers on the following six themes:

  1. Innovation in construction
  2. Production methods / Integrated project management
  3. Construction methods
  4. Building data modeling
  5. Industrialization of construction
  6. LEAN construction

The co-leaders will receive the proposals via this online form following these
modalities :
- Proposal title: 180 characters maximum, including spaces;
- Summary of proposal: maximum 1,500 characters, including spaces (approx. 200 words)
- Proposal theme(s);
- Identification: Name(s) of author(s), Email(s), Affiliation(s), Status(s)
professional(s);
- Participation methods: Online or in person (The ACFAS 2025 conference is organized in hybrid mode. All scientific activities will be accessible on site and online, upon registration);
- Deadline for receipt of proposals: February 14, 2025;
- Conference date: Tuesday, May 6.

Selection criteria will include :
- the relevance of the topic to the session in question;
- the potential for advancing knowledge and making it transferable;
- the quality, clarity and conciseness of the presentation.

Selected speakers will be :
- professors, graduate students or post-doctoral fellows affiliated with a recognized institution and with expertise in issues related to the identified themes;
- representatives of Quebec-based public, private or civil society organizations whose activities influence or are influenced by the symposium issues.

Co-managers

Érik Poirier
ÉTS - École de technologie supérieure
Ivanka Iordanova
ÉTS - École de technologie supérieure
Gabriel Jobidon
ÉTS - École de technologie supérieure
Luciana Gondim de A. Guimarães
ÉTS - École de technologie supérieure
Nathalia De Paula
ÉTS - École de technologie supérieure
Charlotte Dautremont
ÉTS - École de technologie supérieure

Thank you for your submission to symposium #227 - Innovation for the renewal of the
construction industry: perspectives and trends. If you have any questions, please contact us:

Clément Blanquet Du Chayla
ÉTS - École de technologie supérieure
E-mail: clement.blanquet-du-chayla@etsmtl.ca

Research domains

Six areas of research to contribute to the development of the construction industry.

Research team

The GRIDD research team consists mainly of four professors. Discover their expertise by browsing their respective profiles, and don’t hesitate to contact them!

Erik Poirier
Ivanka Iordanova
Ali Motamedi
Gabriel Jobidon

Our address

The GRIDD laboratory is located in A-1540 at École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS). If you’d like to get in touch with the laboratory, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

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