Environmental impact assessment of Pinaceae airborne pollen and green infrastructure using BIM

Abstract

Abstract Urban air quality is a parameter that plays a major role in human health at the local scale. Consequently, in urban planning, the behavior and potential risk of allergenicity for some pollen grains coming from ornamental trees and green spaces surrounding newly built buildings, should be considered. This paper aims to study how pollen exposure, influenced by weather parameters, can be assessed and integrated in the designing and building of constructions as other component of air quality assessment beforehand, by using BIM. Based on a comparative aerobiological study at the height over a building (sampled by two traps at ground and at 16 m), a 3D local dynamic parametric scenario was modelled using BIM, and hourly average Pinaceae pollen concentrations (due to the closeness of pine trees to the samplers). From continuous recording (2009–2011) influenced by height and the influence of wind direction and speed was analysed. Additionally, a map of pine trees geolocated around the studied building was produced and the hourly average Pinaceae pollen concentrations were represented by Revit. BIM together with aerobiology can be a novel and useful tool for the construction of buildings considering airborne biological particles. This represents a first step towards the integration of some unusual environmental parameters in urban planning. Pollen grains modelling as an environmental health criterion for the construction of new buildings will allow technicians to avoid possible future isolation points in the design of building envelopes, and high pollen exposure rates could be avoided, creating ‘allergy-free’ buildings.