Digital Technology for Data Management in the Built Environment

The architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry is entering a new phase of digital transformation, where data is now a strategic asset for decision-making, collaboration, and innovation. As projects become more complex and interconnected, large volumes of information are generated from diverse sources, including sensors, drones, Building Information Modelling (BIM) platforms, and enterprise management systems. Across the full asset lifecycle, from design and construction to operation and maintenance, the ability to produce, manage, and exchange accurate, interoperable, and real-time data is becoming essential to improve efficiency, adaptability, and sustainability.

Despite major advances, the sector still faces barriers that limit its ability to capture full value from data. Data fragmentation, limited interoperability, inconsistent standards, and growing cybersecurity concerns continue to restrict effective information management and collaboration. In parallel, gaps in integrated data infrastructures and coordinated information exchange among project partners hinder whole-of-life value creation and data-driven intelligence across the lifecycle of built assets. Addressing these challenges is critical to building connected and intelligent data ecosystems that support both immediate productivity gains and long-term sustainability outcomes in the built environment.

This Research Topic aims to advance theoretical, technical, and practical understanding of how digital technologies and multi-technology integration can strengthen data management in the built environment. It will feature cutting-edge research, conceptual frameworks, analytical approaches, and case studies that show how digitalisation can improve data acquisition, organisation, sharing, and application across construction and asset management lifecycles.

We welcome submissions that address the technical, organisational, behavioural, and governance dimensions of digital data management, with a focus on approaches that improve data reliability, transparency, and usability for decision-making. Manuscripts may include original research, conceptual and methodological contributions, analytical models, computational methods, or empirical studies that advance both theory and practice and deepen understanding of data-centric digital transformation in construction.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to)
1. Digital technologies for data acquisition, capture, and sensing
2. Data processing, integration, and real-time predictive or adaptive analytics in dynamic construction environments
3. Data interoperability and information standardisation across digital platforms
4. Data governance, stewardship, and lifecycle management approaches
5. Development and implementation of data standards, regulatory, and policy frameworks
6. Advanced data analytics, machine learning, and decision support tools
7. Cybersecurity, data privacy, ethics, and trust in digital ecosystems
8. Data-enabled collaboration and visualisation tools supporting multidisciplinary teamwork
9. Human, organisational, and behavioural factors influencing digital data management adoption

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review

Keywords: capture, integration, Data processing, adaptive analytics, dynamic construction environments

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.