Continuous BIM-based assessment of embodied environmental impacts throughout the design process

Abstract Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a suitable method to analyse and improve the environmental impact of buildings. However, it is complex to apply in the design phase. Building Information Modelling (BIM) can help to perform LCA during the design process. Current BIM-LCA approaches follow two trends. Either they use complex models in detailed design phases, when it is late for major changes, or they are based on simplified approaches only applicable in early design stages. This paper proposes a novel method for applying LCA continuously over the entire building design process to assess the embodied environmental impacts by using the data provided by BIM with as much accuracy as possible in each stage. The method uses different LCA databases with different levels of detail for the specific level of development (LOD) of the BIM. Since different building elements are not modelled with identical LODs in each design phase, the assessment of embodied environmental impacts is conducted by consistently mixing the LCA databases, which is possible as long as the databases use identical background data. The method is applied to five design stages of a building case study. The results show that it is now possible to calculate the embodied impacts in all design stages while being consistent with the results from the completed project. The environmental impact in a certain design phase is always within the range of variability of the previous phase. Therefore, the method allows to estimate the final embodied environmental impact with increasing accuracy and by that provide information for decision-making throughout the whole design process.

[1]  Ahmad Jrade,et al.  An Automated BIM Model to Conceptually Design, Analyze, Simulate, and Assess Sustainable Building Projects , 2014 .

[2]  Peter G. Taylor,et al.  The greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation options for materials used in UK construction , 2014 .

[3]  Sumiani Yusoff,et al.  A review of life cycle assessment method for building industry , 2015 .

[4]  Joseph H. M. Tah,et al.  Integrating BIM and new rules of measurement for embodied energy and CO2 assessment , 2017 .

[5]  Eslam Mohammed Abdelkader,et al.  Building information modeling-based model for calculating direct and indirect emissions in construction projects , 2017 .

[6]  Renate Fruchter,et al.  Sustainable target value design: integrating life cycle assessment and target value design to improve building energy and environmental performance , 2015 .

[7]  Matt Syal,et al.  Review of Life-Cycle Assessment Applications in Building Construction , 2011 .

[8]  Rahman Azari,et al.  Embodied energy of buildings: A review of data, methods, challenges, and research trends , 2018, Energy and Buildings.

[9]  Bernardette Soust-Verdaguer,et al.  Simplification in life cycle assessment of single-family houses: A review of recent developments , 2016 .

[10]  Seungjun Roh,et al.  Green Template for Life Cycle Assessment of Buildings Based on Building Information Modeling: Focus on Embodied Environmental Impact , 2015 .

[11]  Lukumon O. Oyedele,et al.  Lifecycle Environmental Performance of Materials Specifications: A BIM Enhanced Comparative Assessment , 2021 .

[12]  David A. Duce,et al.  Early stage multi-level cost estimation for schematic BIM models , 2012 .

[13]  Shady Attia,et al.  Simulation-based decision support tool for early stages of zero-energy building design , 2012 .

[14]  Matthias Haase,et al.  Life cycle emissions analysis of two nZEB concepts , 2015 .

[15]  Wenjie Yang,et al.  Performance-driven architectural design and optimization technique from a perspective of architects , 2013 .

[16]  Robert Le Roy,et al.  Reducing environmental impact by increasing the strength of concrete: quantification of the improvement to concrete bridges , 2012 .

[17]  Sébastien Lasvaux,et al.  Influence of construction material uncertainties on residential building LCA reliability , 2017 .

[18]  Zhihua Zhou,et al.  Building life cycle assessment research: A review by bibliometric analysis , 2017 .

[19]  Ahmad Jrade,et al.  Integrating building information modelling with sustainability to design building projects at the conceptual stage , 2013 .

[20]  Tarja Häkkinen,et al.  Reducing embodied carbon during the design process of buildings , 2015 .

[21]  Michael D. Lepech,et al.  Application of life-cycle assessment to early stage building design for reduced embodied environmental impacts , 2013 .

[22]  Jingling Yuan,et al.  The theory and framework of integration design of building consumption efficiency based on BIM , 2011 .

[23]  O. Edenhofer,et al.  Climate change 2014 : mitigation of climate change , 2014 .

[24]  Johan Braet,et al.  Life cycle assessment in the construction sector: A review , 2013 .

[25]  K. Gericke,et al.  Designing Sustainable Technologies, Products and Policies: From Science to Innovation , 2018 .

[26]  Guillaume Habert,et al.  Design-Integrated LCA Using Early BIM , 2017 .

[27]  Margaret Jollands,et al.  Life cycle assessment and life cycle cost implication of residential buildings - A review , 2015 .

[28]  Oscar Ortiz,et al.  Sustainability in the construction industry: A review of recent developments based on LCA , 2009 .

[29]  Matthias Haase,et al.  A zero emission concept analysis of a single family house , 2014 .

[30]  Nasir Shafiq,et al.  Carbon footprint assessment of a typical low rise office building in Malaysia using building information modelling (BIM) , 2015 .

[31]  Paris A. Fokaides,et al.  Integration of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for sustainable constructions , 2016 .

[32]  Agnès Jullien,et al.  LCA allocation procedure used as an incitative method for waste recycling: An application to mineral additions in concrete , 2010 .

[33]  Tim Johansson,et al.  An integrated BIM-based framework for minimizing embodied energy during building design , 2016 .

[34]  Xiangyu Wang,et al.  A mixed review of the adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) for sustainability , 2017 .

[35]  Changhai Peng,et al.  Calculation of a building's life cycle carbon emissions based on Ecotect and building information modeling , 2016 .

[36]  Márcio Minto Fabricio,et al.  Life cycle assessment and environmental-based choices at the early design stages: an application using building information modelling , 2018 .

[37]  Dejan Mumovic,et al.  BIM-embedded life cycle carbon assessment of RC buildings using optimised structural design alternatives , 2018, Energy and Buildings.

[38]  Rolf Frischknecht,et al.  Zielwert Gesamtumweltbelastung Gebäude: Machbarkeitsstudie , 2014 .

[39]  Ignacio Zabalza Bribián,et al.  Life cycle assessment in buildings: State-of-the-art and simplified LCA methodology as a complement for building certification , 2009 .

[40]  Mingming Hu,et al.  Building-information-modeling enabled life cycle assessment, a case study on carbon footprint accounting for a residential building in China , 2018 .

[41]  Kate Carter,et al.  Sustainable BIM-based evaluation of buildings , 2013 .

[42]  Jani Mukkavaara,et al.  An Integrated BIM-based framework for the optimization of the trade-off between embodied and operational energy , 2018 .

[43]  Joaquín Díaz,et al.  Sustainable Construction Approach through Integration of LCA and BIM Tools , 2014 .

[44]  Dejan Mumovic,et al.  Life cycle energy efficiency in building structures: A review of current developments and future outlooks based on BIM capabilities , 2017 .

[45]  Bernardette Soust-Verdaguer,et al.  Critical review of bim-based LCA method to buildings , 2017 .

[46]  Christopher R. Iddon,et al.  Embodied and operational energy for new-build housing: A case study of construction methods in the UK , 2013 .

[47]  Kyuman Cho,et al.  BIM Application to Select Appropriate Design Alternative with Consideration of LCA and LCCA , 2015 .

[48]  Luisa F. Cabeza,et al.  Life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle energy analysis (LCEA) of buildings and the building sector: A review , 2014 .

[49]  T. Park,et al.  Project Cost Estimation of National Road in Preliminary Feasibility Stage Using BIM/GIS Platform , 2014 .

[50]  Johnny Wong,et al.  Enhancing environmental sustainability over building life cycles through green BIM: A review , 2015 .

[51]  Alexander Hollberg,et al.  LCA in architectural design—a parametric approach , 2016, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[52]  Bilal Succar,et al.  Building information modelling framework: A research and delivery foundation for industry stakeholders , 2009 .

[53]  Ben Amor,et al.  Recent developments, future challenges and new research directions in LCA of buildings: A critical review , 2017 .

[54]  Assed Haddad,et al.  Integration of BIM and LCA: Evaluating the environmental impacts of building materials at an early stage of designing a typical office building , 2017 .

[55]  English Version,et al.  Sustainability of construction works - Assessment of environmental performance of buildings - Calculation method , 2010 .

[56]  Cheng Zhang,et al.  A BIM based tool for assessing embodied energy for buildings , 2018, Energy and Buildings.

[57]  Guillaume Habert,et al.  LCA and BIM: Visualization of environmental potentials in building construction at early design stages , 2018, Building and Environment.

[58]  Tugba Kulahcioglu,et al.  A 3D analyzer for BIM-enabled Life Cycle Assessment of the whole process of construction , 2012 .