openDBL Conference 2025 | Advancing Smart, Safe, and Sustainable Buildings in Europe

openDBL Conference 2025: Advancing Digital Innovations for Safer and Smarter Buildings in Europe

On May 8–9, 2025, the openDBL project held its international conference “Digital Innovations in the Building Sector for a Safer Europe” at the headquarters of project partner dormakaba in Ennepetal, Germany. The event gathered stakeholders from across Europe to explore how digital technologies, data standardization, and cross-border collaboration can transform the future of building management.

Co-funded by the European Union and involving 13 partners from 8 countries, openDBL (open Digital Building Logbook) aims to develop a new generation of digital building logbooks that can be adopted across Europe to support safer, more resilient, and sustainable buildings. These logbooks will enable transparent, standardized, and interoperable access to building data for public authorities, building owners, and citizens.

Two Days of Dialogue, Innovation, and Collaboration

The conference was hosted by dormakaba, openDBL’s industry partner, who welcomed over 70 participants to a program of keynotes, technical sessions, and project showcases.

Day 1 (May 8) focused on the strategic vision and technical foundations of openDBL, including:

The role of digital building logbooks in supporting the New European Bauhaus goals.

How openDBL addresses challenges around interoperability, data governance, and usability.

Insights from real-world pilot sites across Europe.

Presentations were delivered by the project coordinator and partners, followed by the project advisor from the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA).

Bringing Local Experiences to the European Stage

One of the highlights of the event was the showcase of openDBL pilot sites, which demonstrated how the project is being implemented in diverse urban contexts:

🇮🇹 Ruvo di Puglia – A focus on improving building safety in public schools, supported by municipal leadership.

🇪🇸 Mislata – A case study on civic transformation using DBLs in the La Fábrica Social sociocultural center.

🇬🇷 Kifissia – Piloting digital logbooks at the City Hall and kindergartens to enable better data-driven decisions.

These pilots exemplify how openDBL supports local authorities in managing building assets more effectively while aligning with EU digital policy frameworks.

Spotlight on European Collaboration: Europe Day Activities

Day 2 (May 9) coincided with Europe Day and served as an opportunity to strengthen collaboration between openDBL and other EU-funded projects.

During a dedicated Sister Project Workshop, representatives from:

CHRONICLE

AFCOS

COLLECTiEF

RECONSTRUCT

shared project updates and joined in discussions around common challenges and shared goals. Topics included standardization needs, emerging technologies, and pathways to align DBLs across borders.

At the same time, the second openDBL Hackathon gathered participants to co-create new features and tools to extend the openDBL platform. Solutions presented addressed real-world needs such as:

Emergency building access systems

Intelligent navigation using building data

Harmonized data input for large building portfolios

The winning concept, developed by a team of working students from dormakaba, proposed a practical way to integrate digital navigation and secure first responder access in emergency scenarios.

Looking Ahead

The openDBL Conference 2025 demonstrated the project's momentum and the strong interest from cities, researchers, and technology providers in adopting open, digital, and standardized approaches to building management. The event marked an important step in building a European ecosystem around digital building logbooks and laid the foundation for continued cooperation across sectors.

Together with its partners, openDBL remains committed to shaping a future where building data is accessible, actionable, and impactful — enabling smarter, safer, and more sustainable spaces for all.