Purpose

The implementation of the European Union's Level(s) framework at Level 3 – focused on in-use performance – is hindered by fragmented tools and a lack of integrated digital workflows. To bridge this gap, this study proposes and develops a prototype Collaborative Digital Platform (CDP) designed specifically to address Level 3 requirements by integrating Building Information Modeling (BIM), Internet of Things (IoT), Digital Twin and Artificial Intelligence (AI) components.

Design/methodology/approach

Employing a Design Science Research methodology, the study conceptualizes, architects and demonstrates a functional CDP prototype. The platform is built using a modular, openBIM-based architecture to enable the merging of static design data with dynamic operational data streams.

Findings

The developed prototype successfully demonstrates the technical feasibility of integrating BIM, simulated IoT sensor data and a rule-based AI interface within a unified dashboard. It provides a proof-of-concept workflow for visualizing key Level 3 indicators – specifically operational energy use, carbon emissions and indoor environmental quality – in near real time. The findings highlight the platform's potential to support data-informed monitoring and enhance transparency for sustainability reporting.

Practical implications

The study provides a replicable architectural template and a functional prototype, demonstrated via a tutorial residential building case study. This foundational work offers a concrete starting point for developers and researchers aiming to build digital tools for Level(s) compliance and establishes a basis for future pilot deployments, empirical validation and the development of automated compliance-checking features.

Originality/value

The primary contribution of this research is a novel, problem-specific digital architecture designed explicitly to operationalize the reporting requirements of the EU Level(s) framework at Level 3. While the constituent technologies are established, their purposeful synthesis into a cohesive platform blueprint addresses a distinct gap in translating policy-led sustainability assessment into practical, integrated digital workflows.

Everyday light exposure plays a vital role in circadian entrainment, especially during twilight. Electric lighting can supplement daylight anytime, enabling unlimited human activity; hence, many struggle to combine a healthy sleep regime with social constraints. Dusk/dawn simulators have been developed to compensate for the lack of twilight exposure and are typically applied in residential environments, where people usually sleep. Innovations in tuneable lighting control enable home-integrated dusk/dawn simulation, but it is essential to understand their performance and acceptance in real-life situations. A pilot field study was executed in 14 Swedish apartments and tested 3 lighting control scenarios for effects on behaviour, well-being and sleep patterns during the winter. Data were collected using wearable actigraphy, weekly surveys and interviews. The light intervention influenced wake- and bedtimes and contributed to slightly more consistent sleep schedules. Subjective responses emphasised that the dawn simulation assisted in a calm and peaceful wake-up, providing extra time for morning activities. The dusk simulation was a reminder to go to bed, but not all participants appreciated the light quality. Satisfaction and acceptance of the pre-programmed dusk/dawn control system were very high, provided there would be increased control for the residents.

The relationship between lighting and human well-being is pivotal in architecture and environmental design. Adequate lighting enhances visual appeal and significantly influences occupant comfort, productivity, and satisfaction. This pilot study aimed to integrate digital occupancy assessment methods to understand indoor lighting conditions' impact on occupant well-being. Hypotheses explored the potential link between lighting conditions and occupant well-being, as assessed through physiological indicators and the influence of interior attributes on occupants' perceptions and physiological responses. The identified main components were satisfaction with artificial and daylighting, ambiance, and stimulation. The study explored the relationship between lighting conditions, physiological responses, and subjective assessments, revealing potential influences on occupant perceptions. A real-time data visualization could be valuable for data-intensive projects, enhancing comprehension and decision-making for facility management. While limited by the small sample size, trends, and moderate correlations were observed, indicating the need for larger, more diverse samples in future research.

This study explores the dynamic interplay of preparedness, task design, feedback, and collaboration in shaping student engagement and performance in architectural education, framed within the Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate (CDIO) standards. By integrating qualitative and quantitative methodologies, the research investigates how these factors influence the learning experiences of architecture students during two distinct design projects: a complex urban resort and a simpler ferry terminal. Coding and thematic analysis was employed to analyze focus group discussions, while statistical analyses validated relationships among key metrics such as enjoyment, effort, control, and openness. The findings reveal that academic preparedness plays a foundational role in equipping students to navigate the demands of architectural design courses, with prior technical exposure being a critical enabler. Task design emerged as a significant motivator, with structured and phased assignments promoting incremental progress and sustained engagement. Feedback was identified as a catalyst for growth, emphasizing the importance of clear, constructive, and timely communication in cultivating student confidence and skill development. Collaboration, while enriching peer learning and creativity, posed challenges related to group dynamics and equitable contributions. These insights align with CDIO Standards 2 (learning outcomes), 3 (integrated curriculum), 5 (design-implement experiences), and 7 (integrated learning environments), underscoring the value of interdisciplinary and practical approaches to architectural education. The study also highlights the importance of openness to feedback and new ideas as a driver of student engagement and performance.

This study introduces the Design Process Reporting Tool (DPRT) and its extension, the Grit and Vision Reporting Tool (GVRT), designed to evaluate architectural engineering students' engagement and motivation during collaborative design exercises. The DPRT was initially developed to assess students' perceptions of control and task openness within the Architectural Engineering Design Quadrant framework. It used locus of control assessments, focus group interviews and surveys to gather insights into student experiences. However, to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of motivation, dimensions of grit (perseverance and resilience) and vision (strategic goal-setting and creative alignment) were incorporated. The GVRT was framed by the examiners' four motivational dimensions: control, openness, grit and vision. It integrates task-specific evaluations, such as perceived control and effort, openness and enjoyment, peer helpfulness and long-term goal orientation. This tool development addresses limitations in traditional assessment methods and broadens applicability beyond architectural engineering to Problem-Based Learning contexts.

The relationship between everyday light exposure and sleep was studied for office workers. The study was conducted during the upswing of the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling a comparison between Office and Home Workdays. Fifteen full-time office employees were monitored for a period of 4–6 weeks. They wore a light-tracking device on their clothes and had a sleep tracker at home. Compared to an Office Workday, light exposure was lower in the afternoon and total sleep time was almost 5 minutes longer on a Home Workday. Sleep efficiency was the same on both workday types. A higher median illuminance level in the afternoon was significantly related to later sleep onset on an Office Workday. Higher median illuminance levels in the morning were related to earlier awakening. Counter to expectations, higher light levels in the evening were also related to earlier awakening. Everyday light exposure matters for sleep quality but may affect circadian functioning differently than the often more extreme light interventions employed in laboratory experiments. Moreover, differences in outcomes between Office and Home Workdays signal the need for further investigation to provide supportive light levels during workhours.

Residential lighting control can assist in creating a comfortable atmosphere, providing information, and supporting well-being. Field studies are used to investigate lighting control, but study protocol customisation or personalisation may be required due to actual life events and situations. An 8-week field study tested three protocols for effects on behaviour, well-being, and sleep patterns and was executed in 14 apartments during the winter. Light amount and timing were controlled: residents woke up with a dawn simulation, experienced lights turn-off as an indication to leave for work, and were prepared for bed during a dusk simulation scenario. Sleep trackers results showed later and more wide-ranged wake-up and bedtimes than assumed. As expected, the apartments’ different floorplans challenged comparable light exposure. Unexpectedly, several participants requested a reduced wake-up frequency and reported sleeping elsewhere on Fridays and Saturdays. Everybody experienced a full dawn simulation, but some people left home soon after wake-up, calling for lighting control customisation. Real-time field applications may demand a certain level of customisation or personalisation, affecting intentions and results. Discussing and documenting (un)intentional adjustments during final interviews and in scientific publications can benefit in explaining findings and further research.

The amount of information on evidence-based design in lighting is mounting, however the facility managers, lighting designers, and researchers are struggling with an implementation of an efficient post-occupancy evaluation system. This research aims to establish a method for Digital Occupancy Assessment for Lighting Evaluation (DOALE) to strengthen evidence-based lighting research supporting value generation for stakeholders. A prototype has been implemented using Azure Digital Twin and the RealEstateCore ontology to investigate how an ontology and a commercial platform, developed to facilitate data integration for smart buildings, can be used for occupancy assessment. The prototype was evaluated using a post occupancy evaluation session where data concerning environmental factors (temperature, illuminance) and data concerning occupants (motion, galvanic skin response, and heart rate) were gathered. Questionnaires concerning occupancy perception were also carried out using mobile technology. Several interviews/discussions were also conducted with the lighting researchers using the prototype to perform the POE. The result indicates that it is possible to use current commercial digital twin technology to implement a post-occupancy evaluation system, but the technology is at present so complex that it is hard for a lighting researcher to adopt the system.

The integrative design process is becoming a fundamental part of courses offered at the Construction engineering and Lighting Sciences at Jönköping University, especially in the Architecture-engineering program. Various design processes are known, but the employed concept-test model is a good fit for the integrative design process. This study aimed to investigate how design learners' integrative design process works, and it was hypothesized that this approach fosters students' creativity. The integrative design process was separated into five tasks: Conceptualization with a mood board, Volume study, Floor-plans, Work in progress, and Poster. The quality of the design process was assessed in a Building renovation course using an online assessment platform called Design Process Reporting Tool (DIEGO). This tool measured hours spent on tasks, level of enjoyment, appraisal of the task's difficulty, perceived openness, control over the task performance, and perceived helpfulness of the peer. The results show that students suffer from performative tunnel vision and focus on the quantitative aspects rather than quality. Shortcomings in conceptual preparation and volume studies create frustration and place themselves in an uncomfortable zone. Two-thirds of the students could reach the creative zone with their peer in the process, and in the meantime control, opennes and enjoyment were experienced positively. The need to refine the conceptualization and volume study was made to unlock the full potential of the integrative design approach. Additionally, higher course grades were attainable for those individuals whose ratings on task enjoyment, effort, openness, control, and groupmate evaluation were less exaggerated.

In the built environment, both daylight performance and human behaviour are highly dynamic aspects. Therefore, they require a dynamic optimization approach to provide humans with the right amount of lighting at the right time of day. Building Information Management (BIM) and Digital Twin (DT) technology can optimize - with the help of Smart lighting systems - lighting used to support human health and well-being as well as the building’s energy performance. Where lighting simulation aims to represent a (static) reality DT technology can provide a dynamic two-way feedback between the physical and virtual environment to optimize the lighting environment using real-time and virtual sensor data. A fully detailed BIM model has the advantage of realism and as-built information but the disadvantage of heaviness and complexity that can slow down the data exchange. On the other hand, a simplified BIM model will be easier to manage and serve the simulation purpose but may oversimplify reality. However, light simulation validations have been done multiple times, but not many studies are performed using DT-driven light evaluation in which not only the realistic representation but also the exchange of information plays a crucial role. Therefore, this study investigated data exchange between a physical and real environment and focused on a scenario in which optimal interaction between daylight and electric light derives an optimized realization of a given light demand curve. Investigation and validation of a DT model was done using a virtual room simulated in the light simulation tool DIALux evo and its physical twin: an existing room equipped with light sensors. Data exchange was optimized for three levels of geometrical complexity (fine, medium, and coarse). The paper will present and discuss results regarding the influence of model complexity and consequences for the speed of information exchange as well as a first strategy for optimized daylight/electric light performance due to interaction between the DT components.