BIM uses for deconstruction: an activity-theoretical perspective on reorganising end-of-life practices

Abstract

Despite that Building Information Modelling (BIM) is often praised as a whole life-cycle methodology, possibilities for deconstruction are consistently overlooked. This study demonstrates what those possibilities may be. Previous studies showed that: deconstruction practices pose several site-based challenges; BIM implementations may help practitioners to address such challenges; and activity theory offers a framework to understand BIM implementations. We aimed to explore how deconstruction practices can be reorganised with BIM by applying an activity-theoretical perspective to a rather unique case-study. The selected case concerned the deconstruction of a nursing home so that many of its elements could be reused to construct a school. During this project, we implemented BIM in three essential activities: analysing existing conditions, labelling of reusable elements and planning deconstruction. The implementations resolved initial problems related with the use of traditional drawings, schedules and instructions. They nevertheless also triggered several additional problems that we attempted to address in successive steps. The organisation of the activities so evolved, which culminated in the formation of three new BIM uses for deconstruction: "3D existing conditions analysis," "reusable elements labelling" and "4D deconstruction simulation". These concepts complement existing BIM use taxonomies and can be appropriated in future deconstruction projects.

Circular Digital Built Environment: An Emerging Framework

“…Although rarely seen, BIM can also be used in deconstruction activities where the digital copy of the building does not exist. To this end, van der Berg et al [170] demonstrated in a case study that BIM could be used for analysing the existing condition of the site, labelling reusable elements and performing deconstruction planning simulations.…”

Taxonomy supporting design strategies for reuse of building parts in timber-based construction

“…Deconstruction or selective deconstruction or selective, systematic dismantling, also known as construction in reverse, is a strategy which, unlike mechanical demolition, aims to maximize the recovery of building parts when taking apart a building for future relocation and reuse and, consequently, to minimize construction waste (Bertino, 2021; Forghani et al , 2021; Marzouk and Elmaraghy, 2021; O’Grady et al , 2021; Bukunova and Bukunov, 2020; Jockwer et al , 2020; Kibert, 2016; Rios et al , 2015; Thomsen et al , 2011). The term deconstruction has been associated with the removal of demountable building parts to claim their residual value for reuse (Cambier et al , 2021; Akinade et al , 2020) and to building disassembly for material, element or component reuse (Guerra and Leite, 2021; van den Berg et al , 2021; Akinade et al , 2015). Cambier et al (2021) distinguish deconstruction from disassembly by the possibility to claim the value of a building part or to reuse it as is.…”

DeCO - Guidelines for the deconstruction of recent buildings

“…Queheille et al [6] suggested a Multi-Objective Optimization algorithm that works out a deconstruction strategy according to predefined cost, time, and recovery rate goals; the obtainable results strongly depend on Deconstruction companies' assumptions and predictions on the work efficiencies. Different authors also highlighted the role of BIM in supporting CE-oriented decision-making during the pre-demolition phase [7,8,9,10]. BIM helps in analyzing the existing conditions of the demolition site, scheduling demolition/deconstruction activities, classifying or quantifying CDW, and tracking reusable components; however, on-site workers of demolition companies could be unprepared for using BIMbased methods [7], and BIM reconstruction of a demolition site and related reverse engineering process can be challenging (e.g., data capturing devices as 3D Laser scanner [9] may be necessary).…”

“…Different authors also highlighted the role of BIM in supporting CE-oriented decision-making during the pre-demolition phase [7,8,9,10]. BIM helps in analyzing the existing conditions of the demolition site, scheduling demolition/deconstruction activities, classifying or quantifying CDW, and tracking reusable components; however, on-site workers of demolition companies could be unprepared for using BIMbased methods [7], and BIM reconstruction of a demolition site and related reverse engineering process can be challenging (e.g., data capturing devices as 3D Laser scanner [9] may be necessary). These approaches are time-consuming and often affordable only for large projects and/or big companies.…”