BIM for Healthy Buildings: An Integrated Approach of Architectural Design based on IAQ Prediction

Abstract

The relationship between users and the built environment represents a fundamental aspect of health. The factors that define the properties linked to health and well-being are increasingly becoming part of building design. In these terms, building information modelling (BIM) and BIM-based performance simulation take on a priority role. Among the key features for the design of Healthy Buildings, indoor air quality (IAQ) plays a central role. There are numerous indoor pollutants with significant health effects; volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are to be mentioned among these. The paper presents the proposal of an integrated workflow in the BIM process for the check and control of VOC emissions from building materials and their concentration in confined environments. The workflow is developed through the systematisation of IAQ parameters for the open BIM standard, the integration in the BIM process of a numerical model for the prediction of the VOCs concentration in the indoor environment, and the development of model checkers for performance verification. The results show a good adhesion between the numerical model and the implementation in BIM, providing the designer with a rapid control instrument of IAQ in the various phases of the building design. The present study is the first development focused on TVOC, but implementable concerning other aspects of IAQ, as needed for the effectiveness of performance building-based design for health and wellness issues.

The Analysis of Indoor Air Pollutants From Finishing Material of New Apartments at Business Bay, Dubai

“…Hazardous substances in buildings are emitted from various building materials such as wood, plywood, and furniture, and volatile organic compounds are emitted from textile products of household appliances and various clothes (Fonseca et al, 2019;Dodson et al, 2017;Maddalena et al, 2015). In particular, the main cause of the release of formaldehyde (CH 2 O) is the adhesive used to attach the finishing material in Table 1 (Kanazawa et al, 2010;D'Amico et al, 2020).…”

The Relationship between Sustainable Built Environment, Art Therapy and Therapeutic Design in Promoting Health and Well-Being

“…As a computer-aided design paradigm, BIM is used as a tool to diagnose and correct the defects of building structure design, so as to bring benefits to the whole process of building design, such as safety, cost improvement, timesaving, quality improvement, project management, and implementation [39]. In addition, the combination of the numerical model and BIM can enable designers to quickly control air quality during the life cycle stage of architectural design, which reflects a new paradigm of environmental sustainability from the concept of "healthy building" [40]. In addition, BIM that creates and manages the building information process is an essential catalyst of smart cities as it promotes the sustainable development of the city by improving the energy and cost-effectiveness of buildings [41], which has potential value for the realization of SDGs.…”

Modelling VOC Emissions from Building Materials for Healthy Building Design

“…It was decided to carry out this simplification as it is known from the literature that the emissions from multilayer materials are comparable with those of the outermost toplayer material [43]. At the same time, because over the years the phenomena of diffusion within multilayer materials have been extensively investigated [24], the integration of this modelling into the BIM process represents a field of sure interest and possible future development [44].…”

“…What is presented is a first step of the research "BIM4H&W: BIM for Health and Wellbeing" (POR FESR LAZIO 2014/2020-Integrated projects) and in another contribution by the authors presented in this special issue, the application of this VOC prediction model is developed by integrating it with digital aided design systems such as BIM (Building Information Modelling) [44].…”