A BIM–LCA Approach for the Whole Design Process of Green Buildings in the Chinese Context

Abstract

The integrated description of the building geometry and the element attributes of the building information model (BIM) can reduce the effort needed to acquire data for life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) at each design stage while supporting their potential for analyzing life cycle performances and feeding back to the design process. To support this, several methods and tools have been proposed that aim to obtain the life cycle performances of buildings following the level of model fidelity with the life cycle inventory (LCI) database at different scales. However, inconsistencies in decision-making caused by regional differences in LCA/LCC data sources, benchmarks, and building standards cannot be ignored. In this study, a scalable LCA/LCC method integrated with the BIM platform is proposed for the whole green building design process in the Chinese context, and it is implemented with a developed tool based on Revit. A national-/regional-specified database of building elements and materials is established. Referring to China’s carbon-neutral target and relevant standards for green buildings, the baseline values are deduced, and a reference building is defined accordingly to facilitate the evaluation and improvement of the design scheme. According to the Assessment Standard for Green Building (GB50378-2019) and the survey of architectural design practices in China, the key parameters at different design stages are defined. The method and tool are demonstrated using the case study of a school building, analyzing its life cycle carbon emissions and life cycle costs throughout the design process. The results show that the proposed method can facilitate the improvement of the scheme at different design stages and that it can cope with different data accuracies and different LODs in the building information model in the Chinese green building design process. Lastly, the uncertainties raised by the data quality and time-associated factors are discussed.

Quantifying BIM investment value: a systematic review

“…First, it provides accurate and detailed information about building systems, such as HVAC, lighting and energy usage, which can help optimize building performance (Choi and Lee, 2023). Building designers can use this information to make more informed decisions regarding building design, energy efficiency and resource usage, resulting in sustainable and environmentally friendly buildings (Choi and Lee, 2023;Li et al, 2023). Ferreira et al (2023) examined the impact of design optimization using BIM and concluded that enhanced energy consumption can result in a 2%-5% total savings (Ferreira et al, 2023).…”

“…The full terms of this license may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode BIM investment value projects through the use of three-dimensional (3D) models (Condotta and Scanagatta, 2023;Hasanain and Nawari, 2022). As part of the BIM-based project management process, a 3D model is created which contains information on the geometric and non-geometric attributes of the building, as well as digital replicas of products from the manufacturer (Li et al, 2023). Data are gathered into a shared data environment in which all project information is kept up-to-date and communicated to stakeholders in order to ensure the highest level of resource efficiency throughout the project life cycle (Feng et al, 2023;Lu et al, 2023).…”

The Evolution and Future Directions of Green Buildings Research: A Scientometric Analysis

“…The extended time frame can increase costs as well, potentially diminishing the appeal of these methods for the cost-conscious building sector [38]. However, by combining Building Information Modeling (BIM) and LCA, it is possible to reduce the amount of work required to obtain data at each stage of the building design, thereby mitigating the shortcomings of the time-consuming LCA evaluation process, and achieving a dynamic synergy between design and evaluation through the generation of models [40]. In addition, BIM-LCA research can assist designers in optimizing the design of sustainable building solutions, which take into account the environmental impact of building materials and operations [41].…”

Intelligent Modeling of Edge Components of Prefabricated Shear Wall Structures Based on BIM

“…In order to promote the application of BIM in the design of prefabricated buildings, Bhola J compared the BIM of collaborative design with traditional design methods and established a conceptual model of PCP collaborative design based on the requirements of the IDM BIM technology to determine the accuracy of the BIM model in different design stages [22]. Aiming at the process of green building design in China, Li Q et al proposed an extensible LCA/LCC method combined with the BIM platform and implemented the method with tools developed based on Revit [23]. Abd Razak studied the benefits of BIM integration with DfMA (Design for manufacturing and assembly).…”