Building information modelling application of material, water, and climate footprint analysis

Buildings are considered major drivers of resource use and climate change. This has initiated the development of design tools that could better reflect the environmental performance of buildings. This article describes the extension of building information modelling (BIM) through the development of the sustainable resource application (SURAP) that can be used to determine the material, water, and climate footprints of buildings at the design stage. The Python application programming interface (API) of openLCA software was used with the GaBi construction materials database for the preparation of footprint data. Footprints of construction materials were determined through life cycle assessments (LCA) on a cradle-to-gate basis, and the application was developed as a new tab in the Autodesk Revit software. The Revit API was used for data exchange between the Revit core system and the developed plug-in. The application prototype was tested for the design of a multifamily building. The results show that the developed tool can support building designers in quantifying and visualizing cradle-to-gate material, water, and the climate footprints of buildings within the BIM environment. The promotion of sustainability in the building industry and its current limitations are discussed.