BIM for Sustainability Analyses

Abstract

Buildings consume close to 40% of total energy used in the United States and account for 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. With the rising cost of energy and growing environmental concerns, the demand for sustainable buildings with minimal environmental impact is increasing. The most effective decisions related to the sustainable design of a building can be made in the early design and preconstruction stages. In this context, Building Information Modeling (BIM) can aid in performing complex building performance analyses to ensure an optimized sustainable building design. This research project investigated the viability of BIM-based sustainability analyses. The objectives were: 1) determination of current state and benefits of BIM-based sustainability analyses; 2) evaluation of various building performance analyses softwares; and 3) development of a conceptual framework to illustrate the use of BIM for sustainability analyses throughout the project life-cycle. Necessary data were collected via a questionnaire survey, a case study and semi-structured interviews. It is expected that the research findings would be useful for architecture and construction organizations interested in using BIM technology for sustainable design.

Keywords:

• building information modeling
• building performance analyses
• green building ratings
• sustainability analyses
• sustainable design

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Mr. Paul Hedgepath and Mr. Michael Hasamoh of Holder Construction Company, Atlanta, and Mr. Chirag Mistry of HOK, Atlanta for providing necessary data and feedback. The study is supported by the research grant from the Alabama State Licensing Board for General Contractors Construction Industry Fund.