Integration of environmental life cycle information in BIM objects according with the level of development

Abstract

The construction sector is a major contributor to global environmental impacts. This is one of the reasons why there is a political trend towards a "greener" sector. One indicator of this trend is the progressive application of life cycle thinking approaches and life cycle assessment of products, assemblies and buildings. The digitalization of construction projects, namely the use Building Information Modelling (BIM), can constitute a support to the automation of the application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) at the building's design stage. However, besides the complexity of LCA model and results interpretation, BIM models usually lack LCA data that allow environmental impacts calculation. Currently, few publications explicitly relate the integration of LCA and BIM with the specificities of distinct development stages in the design and construction process or Levels of Development (LOD) of BIM objects. This paper summarizes the possible sources of LCA information to include in BIM models and discusses the complexity of LCA information needed for distinct BIM objects' LOD. A parametrization of environmental information is proposed, to be included in BIM objects, based on an evolutionary level of detail in LCA information for increasing LODs.