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LNEC attended the 11th Euro-American Congress on Construction Pathology, Rehabilitation Technology and Heritage Management, held in Bilbao (Basque Country, Spain), where two papers were presented by Maria João Falcão Silva, an engineer from the Centre for Construction Economics, Management and Quality and a member of the event’s Scientific Committee.

The first paper, entitled “6D BIM for sustainable energy-efficient refurbishments: A case study of improvements to air-conditioning systems in commercial buildings”, was produced in collaboration with FCT – NOVA as part of a master’s student’s placement at LNEC. This thesis was awarded the prize for the best Master’s thesis in Civil Engineering – Building Renovation in 2022. The study explores the application of 6D BIM in the sustainable energy renovation of buildings, with a focus on improving heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. Through a case study of a commercial building in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, it develops and validates a BIM energy model, comparing actual consumption with different refurbishment scenarios. It also analyses energy performance, CO₂ emissions and costs, seeking to support decisions that balance energy efficiency, sustainability and economic viability.

The second study, entitled “Enhancing resilience for the rehabilitation of built assets in Lisbon”, is the result of a collaboration with the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) and Lisbon City Council (CML), as part of the GeoARMUR Project – Geospatial AI for Resilience Management and Urban Recovery, funded by the FCT (Project 2023.17276.ICDT). The study presented explores ways of enhancing the resilience of built assets in Lisbon in the face of multidimensional risks, notably floods and earthquakes. To this end, it integrates open data from INE and other sources with GIS techniques and statistical analysis, enabling the mapping of physical risks and socio-economic vulnerabilities within the municipalities. The study develops flood and seismicity risk maps, as well as a vulnerability index based on entropy weighting. The aim is to create a visual tool to support the prioritisation of rehabilitation works, risk reduction, seismic retrofitting, flood mitigation and emergency planning.

Both contributions reinforce LNEC’s commitment to developing innovative, sustainable and data-driven approaches to the rehabilitation and increased resilience of the built environment, promoting the integration of BIM, energy modelling, geospatial analysis and GEOAI technologies in the assessment of risks, efficiency and vulnerability. Together, they highlight the potential of these methodologies to support decision-making, the prioritisation of interventions and the sustainable management of built assets, contributing to cities that are more efficient, resilient and better adapted to natural hazards.