Abstract
At present, sustainable design is experiencing energy consumption and cost-effectiveness challenges in the building industry. A recent body of literature argues that the development of emerging smart digital technologies, such as Building Information Management (BIM) and blockchain (BC), offer immediate benefits to the industry. However, the current application of BIM and BC in the sustainable design and construction process focuses on smart energy and construction management, with little attention to addressing challenges for applying BIM to sustainable design and proposing strategies in terms of the usability of these technologies in the management of building construction projects. Therefore, this paper sets out to explore the potential roles of an integrated BIM and BC approach for sustainable building design information management. The first attempt is presented to use BC aided BIM for sustainable building design coordination and collaboration in multiple building stages. BC has the potential to address challenges that hinder the industry from using BIM for sustainable design, which has been unearthed. An innovative BC enhanced transaction process in BIM is required for sustainable building development. Roles of a user level driven smart contract system of BC can be used to enhance BIM system in the sustainable buildings process. The role of BC is primarily at user level driven smart contracts and their record value exchange capabilities. A user level (BIM stakeholders) driven BC technology for transaction in BIM process flow is revealed, and the user level (sustainable building design project stakeholders/BIM clients) driven and the smart contract enabled BIM+ BC architecture to address challenges of BIM for sustainable design has been further circulated according to the literature. Subsequently, a conceptual architecture of BIM + BC for Sustainable Building Design Information Management Framework in building project management has been proposed, validated, and refined. The Framework has two level encompassing structures and flow. The high-level framework is focused on strategy, whilst the low-level framework demonstrates technical components in detail. This architecture supporting project stakeholders in managing information, has the potential to achieve and ensure the realization of sustainable design goals through the interactive realization of smart contracts integrated into the user level driven BIM + BC system and its recording value exchange function through three user-driven levels, namely user, system, and transaction.
Highlights
Sustainable building design is no longer an emerging topic
Location, relative spatial relationship and other information, the model can serve as a central addition to the size, location,information relative spatial relationship and and othercost information, model can serve index, which links to further of material, quantity to achievethe goals of sustainable as a central index, which links to further information of material, quantity and cost to achieve goalsis building design [6,7], The user level driven Building Information Management (BIM) for sustainable design information management of sustainable building design
The main applications of blockchain in the process of sustainable building design and construction projects focus on: BIM workflow [21], the future life framework driven by network [22], building construction management [14], construction material allocation policies [23], greening supply chains [24], digital built Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem [25], and smart energy systems, such as digital intelligent transition of urban energy systems [26], up-scaling energy control from building to districts [27], urban energy systems and the transition to zero carbon [28]
Summary
Sustainable building design is no longer an emerging topic. The understanding of architecture design in the construction industry has expanded from the relationship between ‘building and user’ to a Electronics 2019, 8, 724; doi:10.3390/electronics8070724 www.mdpi.com/journal/electronics. With the development of digital technologies, such as Building Information Management (BIM), and smart digital technology, e.g., blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and big data, the industrial digitization era is gradually approaching. The digital age, such as industry 4.0, is constantly updating users’ cognition and lifestyles, and at the same time bringing about more efficient working methods. In the original fragmented construction industry, its production, business and management levels can be effectively integrated, project data and management information are interconnected, and the era of sustainable building design and construction under the BIM+ smart digital technology will come
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