Digital Twin architecture for heterogeneous fabrication and construction in AEC

Digital Twins (DTs) hold promise for Construction 4.0, yet current applications remain fragmented, especially at the fabrication and construction level, where heterogeneous machines and workflows must be coordinated in real time. This paper addresses this gap in two steps. First, by understanding what the requirements are for developing a DT architecture for fabrication and construction. Second, using the derived requirements to propose a DT architecture for digital fabrication and construction structured around three components: tasks with a semi-structured data schema, virtual–physical pairs that bridge machines through protocol-specific virtual actors, and modular services for monitoring, simulation, and adaptive control. An execution engine coordinates these components via an event-driven mechanism, ensuring real-time task management and robust traceability. The DT architecture is validated through three case studies: prefabricated timber assembly, collective robotic construction, and large-scale 3D printing, demonstrating its capacity to integrate diverse machines, manage sequential and adaptive processes, and support on-the-fly task injection. By combining flexibility, interoperability, and data integration, the proposed framework contributes a generalisable foundation for DT-enabled fabrication and construction workflows, advancing towards more adaptive and resilient Construction 4.0 practices. • Proposes a scalable digital twin architecture for fabrication and construction. • Introduces data cores and virtual–physical pairs for heterogeneous systems. • Integrates monitoring, simulation, and adaptive control as modular services. • Validates the approach in timber assembly, robotics, and large-scale 3D printing.