Integration of BIM and design for deconstruction to improve circular economy of buildings

Abstract

Faced with the environmental impacts caused by civil construction, including the large consumption of resources and waste generation, the reuse of materials and construction elements in project's early stage is considered as a possible solution in this research, which draws on theoretical reference of Open Building and Circular Economy. In this way, integrated to these approaches, the concept of Design for Deconstruction (DfD) for the design of buildings addresses the elaboration of the project with the final objective of dismantling buildings, in a partial or total way, allowing and increasing material recycling and mainly the reuse of constructive elements in the circular construction chain. However, despite the knowledge developed about DfD, the application of this concept is still incipient and the deconstruction practice remains unsatisfactory and still can be improved in many ways. The operationalization DfD in a BIM environment has the benefit of supporting the design process and subsequent deconstruction management. In this regard, the aim of this study is to propose a solution to expand the practice of deconstruction through the use of a BIM tool in buildings design, implemented in Autodesk Revit using Dynamo. To validate the artefact, a case study was conducted.