ABSTRACT
This chapter describes an early application of the semantic web, the lessons learned, and the research done afterwards on elements needing improvement. It focuses on private house owners that want a contractor to build an extension to their home for an enlargement of their living room. The semantic web brings challenging opportunities for improved information and knowledge sharing which, in time, will change Building-Construction as we know it into an industry that intensively co-operates to truly fulfill the clients’ demands. As the Building Construction industry is strongly fragmented, instead of developing a single huge ontology it seemed a good idea to create multiple smaller cooperating ontologies, each for a certain domain. Ultimately domain experts have to create the ontologies for their own domains. With the concepts stored in the ontologies, a prototype web application was made that supported the client in his awareness and decision process.
