edited by DC5 Marina Montemuro Varela

One of the most inspiring researchers I know in the built environment once asked me this after looking at my LinkedIn profile. I thought it would be difficult to answer – especially since it came from a researcher who is a reference in Life Cycle Assessment and Digital Building Information Models, both central to our PhD project. Maybe I wanted to impress him – or to prove the relevance of our research. But do we really need that? Quantum concepts may seem complex and out of reach, but they are everywhere, especially in how we think, model, and interpret complex systems – even within PhD research. This is exactly where I would like to start our blog series within the QuiVal Project. During our first Summer School at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) last August, Prof. Juliane Fry introduced us to the theory behind this topic – which can seem daunting at first glance. She explored concepts such as the Hydrogen Wave Function – which illustrates this post – and the fundamental principles behind it. As Werner Heisenberg, Nobel Prize winner in Physics (1932), demonstrated through the uncertainty principle, it is impossible to precisely know both a particle’s position and momentum at the same time. Quantum mechanical calculations are used to quantify chemical gases, predict molecular structures, and, in quantum computing, encode information in the quantum states of electrons and photons. So, why shouldn’t we explore similar concepts within our PhD research?

The Real Estate Market is a super volatile and complex industry!

At the same internal QuiVal Summer School, Prof. Michael Peeters encouraged us to see connections between the quantum theory we had just learned and the complexity of the real estate environment. The table below builds on his examples, with a few additional reflections of my own, as an invitation to think about these relationships.

QUANTUM CONCEPT	THEORETICAL DESCRIPTION	APPLICATION ON REAL ESTATE
QUANTUM SUPERPOSITION	Particles occupy several possible states at once until measured, reflecting probabilities rather than fixed outcomes.	e.g. A single person can play different roles as a stakeholder in the Real Estate Market, depending on how we define the scope of our analysis.
WAVE-PARTICLE DUALITY	Depending on how we set up the experiment, quantum things can act like waves or like particles. So, the same entity behaves differently depending on the context in which it is observed.	e.g. The same property (building or project) can be perceived differently depending on who is assessing its value.
QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT	When particles are linked, measuring one instantly affects the other, no matter how far apart they are—what Einstein called “spooky action at a distance.”	e.g. Assets, stakeholders, and urban systems are deeply interconnected — changes in one dimension propagate across others, often non-linearly.
QUANTUM COHERENCE	Quantum coherence lets quantum systems stay in sync and keep their special quantum features.	e.g. Value and performance should stay consistent and aligned throughout all stages, stakeholders, and interactions.
QUANTUM MEASUREMENT / COLLAPSE	Quantum potential turns into actual reality when measured, causing probability waves to collapse into definite states.	e.g. Value remains only potential until it is captured, recognized, or monetized through specific mechanisms.
QUANTUM STATES (QUBITS)	Qubits use quantum states to store and process information, providing far greater processing power than classical bits.	e.g. Built assets and resources should be adaptable, reconfigurable, and able to support different functions and value states over time.
QUANTUM OPERATIONS / GATES	Quantum gates change quantum states all at once, making computations much faster.	e.g. Decision-making, design, and valuation should happen across multiple dimensions at the same time, not one after another.
QUANTUM INTERFERENCE	Quantum waves can add together or cancel each other out, depending on how their phases line up.	e.g. Interactions among actors, strategies, and systems can either enhance or diminish value creation.
QUANTUM DECOHERENCE	A system loses its unique properties—and optimal performance—when it interacts with its environment.	e.g. The potential value of an asset—especially a sustainable one—can fade over time due to things like poor management, rising costs, or misalignment.
QUANTUM TUNNELING	Systems can get past “impossible” barriers by taking alternative, probability-based routes instead of using direct force.	e.g. Some projects create value despite economic, regulatory, or market barriers by finding ways around the traditional system instead of confronting it directly.
COMPLEXITY	Systems consist of numerous interconnected components, and their overall behavior cannot be comprehensively understood by examining each part separately. Emergent characteristics arise from these interactions.	e.g. The dynamics of real estate markets and the built environment result from the interplay of economic, environmental, social, and regulatory elements, leading to outcomes that cannot simply be forecasted through linear analysis.
UNCERTAINTY	It is inherently impossible to ascertain all variables of a system simultaneously; outcomes can only be framed in terms of probabilities instead of precise values.	e.g. Real Estate appraisal carries intrinsic uncertainty, as future performance, user behaviors, and market conditions cannot be entirely anticipated, necessitating that decisions be made based on probabilistic scenarios.

Table 1. Quantum Concepts and their application into Real Estate Valuation

So, after all these explanations and examples of how real estate valuation can be understood through the lens of quantum concepts, I would say that: Quantum-Inspired Valuation of Circular Real Estate is about understanding the complexity of the industry. The built environment is already shaped by many conditions—but the lived built environment, even more so.