COMOTH: A BIM-Sustainability Integrated Model to Select Associated Construction Methods at the Conceptual Design Stage of Buildings

Abstract

Construction techniques and building practices have evolved significantly, driven by a growing focus on the principles of sustainability and circular economy, particularly in energy and resource conservation and innovative construction methods. However, in construction, sustainability is a complex concept that integrates economic efficiency, environmental performance, and social responsibility to optimize technical innovation, architectural quality, and design flexibility. Therefore, sustainable construction involves the use of construction processes, materials and methods to enhance sustainability efforts. BIM is a concept used to create and monitor a project's digital information throughout its life; it integrates numerous sustainable design criteria, contributing to sustainability's social, environmental, and economic agenda. Conventional on-site construction, modular prefabrication, and 3D concrete printing-based construction are currently the three essential methods used in the construction industry. However, in adopting the Industrial Production layer of Construction 4.0 (i.e., modular prefabrication, 3D concrete printing, and BIM), scholars are steadily addressing sustainable design, high-performance buildings, and circularity in construction and their associated ambiguities, questions and conflicts as a solution to the sustainability of buildings that meet the consistent demand for living space for the globally growing population. Hence, there is a need to define the sustainability challenges, determine the sustainability assessment methods, select its essential indicators and criteria, align the project's objectives with the various needs of stakeholders, and transform these inquiries into efficient design and construction strategies because most of the existing models have their sustainability's frameworks primarily based on the conventional design and on-site construction methods. Consequently, this thesis presents the detailed methodology adopted in the development, testing and verification of an integrated model to be used for the selection of associated construction methods at the conceptual design stage of buildings by linking BIM and sustainability tools to help professionals during the early design stage. The said methodology includes a broad literature review to collect the necessary data and information needed for BIM (Autodesk Revit©) and sustainability tools, model development and implementation. The presented model is designed in a modular format and consists of six modules: 1) a database management system (DBMS) module for storing and retrieving the collected design data; 2) a decision support system (DSS) module; 3) an energy and thermal simulation module that facilitates the analysis of the energy performance of buildings; 4) a circular economy (CE) module for construction and deconstruction waste (CDW) management strategies; 5) a Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) module, which is used to evaluate the environmental impact of the various stages of the building project; and 6) a Lifecycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) module, to facilitate a detailed valuation of the financial implications of the different design options throughout its life cycle. The developed model will contribute to advancing the process of developing a versatile and flexible BIM-sustainability integrated model by providing users with more options during the sustainable design process and, afterwards, identifying the associated construction methods for buildings.