BUILDWISE Belgium and ACS cutting-edge technology for the building sector
The ACS transmittance test chamber supports Buildwise’s core activity of improving quality & reliability in the sector, where another key factor to be achieved today is sustainability.
Buildwise is a non-profit company supporting the actors of construction sector in their daily activities. Founded in 1959, Buildwise has established itself as the reference centre for the building sector in Belgium. It provides building professionals with knowledge to improve the quality, the productivity and the durability, and foster innovation on site and in companies. Buildwise plays a unifying role for the construction sector in a pragmatic and multidisciplinary approach.
Buildwise’s ambitions are structured around three strategic axes:
- Skilled trades: answering daily questions and specific demands from construction companies to improve their technological and management knowledge.
- Green Deal: helping the construction sector through the environmental transition and the renovation wave required to achieve the ambitious goals of becoming climate neutral in 2050.
- Construction 4.0: supporting the construction sector in the incorporation of new digital technologies in their current activities.
With the necessity of high-performance insulation systems for renovation and new building and the growing use of biobased materials, there is an increasing need for equipment to measure precisely the performances and robustness of building facades. The ACS transmittance test chamber, renamed HAMSTER, is at the cutting edge of technology for measuring thermal and hygrothermal performances of real-sized building facades with high accuracy.
The versatility of HAMSTER makes it possible to meet modern and exciting challenges of the building sector:
- Investigate the impact of climatic change on existing and new ways of building.
- Check the durability and robustness of new commercialised insulation systems.
- Validate the performances of moisture-sensitive walls (e.g., biobased materials).
- Collect data to improve and refine numerical models.
This unique and advanced equipment provides Buildwise with a golden opportunity to create strong collaborations with universities, research centres, public authorities and other professionals of the building sector in Belgium and abroad.