Building passports in their role as building information systems - background, framework, implications

Abstract

Building-related information is essential for performing tasks and making decisions in the design, construction, and management of buildings as well as in transactions. This is increasingly recognized by actors of the real estate industry and by policy makers. As a result, there is a renewed interest in information management solutions and, in particular, building information systems (BISs) with an interface character for multiple tools, such as building passports (BPs) and digital building logbooks (DBLs). Gradually, a better understanding of their main goals and functionalities is evolving due to initiatives in politics, academia, and the real estate industry. However, for wider adoption, a sufficient level of common characteristics regarding the functions, covered data categories, and technical foundations is crucial. Therefore, an information system architecture (ISA) for BPs is proposed that builds upon basics of research on building-related information management and BISs. In addition, selected references are made to insights from business informatics, as this has only marginally been done in traditional approaches of the real estate industry. The ISA provides a holistic view on the relevant elements of a BP and thus serves as a basis for further developments, standardization, and harmonization. The findings are used to discuss practical implications not only for BP design, but also for their use. The authors conclude that the foundation is laid for BPs to become a very useful tool for the transformation of the building stock to support a sustainable development.