Baukongress 2026

The response is shown in practice: The interaction of clear digital standards, structured processes and interdisciplinary cooperation is a prerequisite for the efficient steering of complex construction projects and for making infrastructures effectively future proof.

VCE and its sister company FCP as well as their subsidiaries FCP IBU and FCP Germany presented two papers and had a booth and an active role in the BIM session at the Baukongress 2026 with a clear message which also reflects this year’s motto of the congress “ONE RACE. ONE GOAL. ONE SPIRIT.” Sustainability in civil engineering and digital engineering are central drivers of transformation – and only show their effect if all persons involved cooperate as partners during the whole project cycle.

Digital Collaboration in Large-Scale Projects: What Really Works

Together with project partners of Hertl and Alles wird Gut Architekten Daniel Watzl clearly showed how digital cooperation specifically works in highly complex projects based on the example of the technical administrative building Düsseldorf (TVG):

• 116 planners from 20 offices work at a central digital model in parallel
• The bases were open standards like IFC – which enable the recognition of complex connections.
• The coordination occurred via a Common Data Environment (CDE) – the Digital Project Universe DPU®
• Tools like Bimcollab enabled transparent coordination and efficient test processes

Central findings of the paper were:

• Digital collaboration is no question of tools but of structure and standards
• Automated test processes increase quality and reduce errors at an early stage
• Complex planning processes can only be handled by clear data structures and governance
• Apart from digital processes, communication, which must be shaped actively, is in the focus

At the same time the project shows: Digitization and sustainability are interactive – e.g. by means of green facades, geothermal and renewable energies.

Resilient Railway Infrastructure: What Climate Change Modifies

Extreme weather events are increasingly new challenges for infrastructures.
Martin Brandner and Gerald Zwittnig of ÖBB showed how resilience can be systematically built up in their paper “Klima im Wandel: Maßnahmen zur Resilienzsteigerung der Eisenbahninfrastruktur” (Climate change: Measures for an increase in resilience of railway infrastructure):

• Analysis of real damage events as starting point
• Identification of especially sensitive equipment
• Development and prioritization of specific protective measures
• Integration of findings into rules and standards and planning processes
• Implementation of structural measures

Visitors could also win insights thanks to a practical example:

• Resilience is created by systematic risk management, not by individual measures
• Data-based analyses are the basis for economically sensible investments
• The cooperation of practitioners, infrastructure operators and researchers (e.g. TU Wien) is decisive