Azhar, S and Brown, J (2009) Bim for sustainability analyses. International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 5(4), pp. 276-292. ISSN 1557-8771
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.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | building information modeling; building performance analyses; green building ratings; sustainability analyses; sustainable design |
| Index terms: | construction organization, building information modelling, case study, environmental concern, United States, interview, sustainable design, building performance, survey, sustainable building, sustainable building design, greenhouse gas emission, green building, environmental impact, questionnaire, conceptual framework |
| Subjects: | design practice, environmental health, information systems, data collection methods, energy systems, sustainable construction, design process, Geography, theoretical framing, quality assurance, environmental impact, environmental issues, organization |
| Topics: | Business Strategy, Research Practice, Digital Applications, Design Practice, Sustainability, Geographical Context, Quality Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here