Integration of BIM and LCA: Evaluating the environmental impacts of building materials at an early stage of designing a typical office building

Abstract

This work integrates Building Information Modeling (BIM) with Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and presents the outcome of this integration in evaluating environmental impacts of building materials in the construction sector. A case study of a multi-story office building is applied to validate the development of design concepts and discuss the results generated by BIM and LCA tools. This research evaluates the LCA methodology of the case study based on ISO 14040 and 14044 guidelines within the available database, using Autodesk Revit as a BIM program and Green Building Studio and Tally applications in Revit as tools to achieve the objectives. This study indicates that BIM-LCA integration is an optimal procedure towards achieving sustainable development and environmental protection, and empowers the decision-making process in the construction sector. It sheds light on the current limitations that are facing the integration process. Moreover, this work outlines that most of the negative environmental impacts are occurring during the manufacturing and operation phases. Thus, it encourages reviewing the application of building materials in order to reduce the passive contribution to the environment.