TITLE:
Building Information Modeling for Environmental Impact Assessment in Early Design Phases: A Literature Review
AUTHORS:
Marie-France Stendahl, Marie-Claude Dubois, Daniel Forgues, Eilif Hjelseth
KEYWORDS:
Building Information Modeling (BIM), Building Energy Modeling (BEM), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Simulations, Energy, Carbon, Design Process, Design Phases, Level of Development
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Applied Sciences,
Vol.12 No.1,
January
13,
2022
ABSTRACT: The building sector is the largest consumer of energy in industrial
countries. Saving energy in new buildings or building renovations can thus lead
to significant global environmental impacts. In this endeavor, building
information modeling (BIM) and building
energy modeling (BEM) are two important tools to make the transition to
net-zero energy buildings (NZEB). So far, little attention has been devoted, in
the literature, to discuss the connection between BIM, BEM, and Life-cycle
assessment (LCA), which is the main topic of this article. A literature review
of 157 journal articles and conference proceedings published between 1990 and
2020 is presented. This review outlines knowledge gaps concerning BIM, BEM, and
environmental impact assessment. It suggests that defining the process with the
right technology (at the right time) would result in a more integrated design
process (IDP) and bridge current gaps. The most efficient way to improve
process and technology is related to the competences of the architects,
engineers and constructors (AEC). The review also indicates that the IDP in the
early design phases (EDP) is in need of improvement for architects and
engineers, where a better connection between design phases, specific levels of
development (LOD) and BIM tools is needed. Competences,
process and technology are the three main themes addressed in the review. Their
relation to design phases and LOD is discussed. The aim is to propose
possible solutions to the current hinders in BIM-to-BEM (BIM2BEM) and
BIM-for-LCA (BIM4LCA) integration.