The theme of the 7th CIB President’s Seminar Series is “The impact of research in the built environment sector”, and we have secured speakers from leading CIB members who are delivering significant impact through their research. Seminars from the previous series can be viewed here.
The impact of research in the construction and built environment sector is most critical in addressing the “triple bottom line” of sustainability, safety, and economic efficiency. Ultimately, impactful research bridges the gap between academic theory and sector application, whether through improving practice or policy, ensuring that every structure contributes to a safer, smarter, and more sustainable future. This builds on CIB’s existing emphasis on contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and on research that benefits society.
Applying AI in Building Services: From Design to Operations
June 16th 2026 11am (UTC+3)
Building services play a critical role in reducing emissions and improving productivity in the built environment. Through their impact on energy use and material-related emissions building services are central to achieving climate targets. At the same time, the thousands of systems, components and installations involved make building services a key driver of construction productivity, particularly in an industry where up to 80 percent of site work is estimated to be inefficient. This presentation explores how Granlund applies artificial intelligence in building services engineering and operations and outlines future ambitions through the AI Champion research project.
Speaker
Heikki Ihasalo, D.Sc. (Tech.), works as Innovation Director at Granlund and as Professor of Practice at Aalto University, Finland. He has over 20 years of experience in research and development as well as business leadership across both academia and industry. His research focuses on smart buildings, building analytics, and artificial intelligence.
He currently leads the AI Champion research project at Granlund, which aims to boost productivity in the construction industry by 10–15 percent through the deployment of 100 AI agents.
