The construction sector has evolved over the years and, with it, processes and products have gradually adapted to the needs of the market at all times. At CARTIF we have been researching and working in the field of infrastructures and building around thirty years to transform architecture and develop technological solutions focused on sustainable and intelligent construction.
We operate in different fields of application with special emphasis on the sensorisation and monitoring of infrastructures, the integration of renewable energies in buildings, as well as 3D printing technologies in construction, devices and IoT networks (Internet of Things).
On the road to the quest for the smart home, CARTIF researches in building rehabilitation and preventive maintenance, 3D digitisation and measuring, FEM simulation, the development of new materials with innovative properties and solutions for logistics and transport.
A proof of this is the METABUILDING Labs project, where we lead the construction of a network of test benches for façade components.
The main objective of this project, funded by the Horizon 2020 european programme and compound by a consortium of 40 partners proceed of 13 european countries, is contribute a Innovative European Ecosystem and a competitive, sustainable and inclusive grid of Open Innovative Testbenches, that stimulates the inversion of vanguard technologies for building envelopes.
With a focus on optimising the technical and environmental quality of building products, the project consortium is driving the development of these technologies by providing access to services and infrastructure for prototyping, testing and certification. The platform metabuilding.com serves as virtual and unique access to this powerful innovation ecosystem, that includes a wide grid of testing facilities.
In addition, innovative, replicable, standarised and cost-effective facilities known as O3BET (Open Source/Data/Access Building Envelope Testbench) have been desgined and developed during the project to test innovative envelope components under real conditions on a 1:1 scale.
CARTIF has been invovled in the definiton of the requirements and specifications of the prototype of this 03BET and has built the first and only test bench of these characterisitcs in Spain, which is located in the Boecillo Technolgoy Park, next to our facilities. The aim is to continue working on the start-up, the definition of tests and services, the development of the corresponding digital twin, as well as the replication of this test bench, which will be built in seven other countries in the European Union.
This is a milestone that we want to continue to pass on to all companies in the building renovation sector, especially SMEs, to facilitate their access to highly innovative testing tools. And, ultimately, to improve the sustainability of construction.
