Stakeholders’ perspectives on BIM and LCA for green buildings

Abstract

There is growing concern about the environmental impacts of buildings on climate change. In this regard, the concept of integrating building technologies and environmental assessment methods, namely Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), has arisen as an innovative approach to improve building environmental assessment at the design phase. Recent studies made attempts to develop theoretical frameworks for BIM and LCA integration focusing on the technical aspects and the challenges of this integration. However, the stakeholders' perspectives on this integration of BIM and LCA for building environmental assessment have been overlooked. Therefore, there is a pressing need to understand the stakeholders' perspectives on BIM and LCA and their value for improving green building design and assessment. This study contributes to the existing knowledge on the potential implementation of an integrated BIM-LCA framework for building environmental assessment. To this end, this study investigates (1) the current applications of BIM and LCA in green buildings from the stakeholders' perspectives and (2) the stakeholders' level of awareness and agreement on the significance of BIM and LCA for green building design and assessment. In order to achieve this goal, a national survey was conducted among multiple stakeholders in the New Zealand building industry. The results indicate that BIM and LCA applications for green buildings are still immature. A statistically significant correlation is observed between the importance of BIM and LCA applications for green buildings. The stakeholders perceive BIM and LCA potentials and their integration positively. However, the current practices and applications of BIM and LCA do not align with the stakeholders’ perceptions. Massive efforts are still required for a wide implementation of BIM and LCA and their potential integration for green buildings.