BIM Will Improve Buildings vs. It Will Make No Difference or Degrade Them

As sustainability and green design are increasingly demanded by industry, BIM is becoming an invaluable tool for designing better buildings. BIM provides a platform able to track and analyze the interactions of the many components that make up high-tech buildings (Alcorn). Nameita noted in her blog post that this capability facilitates collaborative design on these complex projects and by doing so, allows greater innovation and creativity.

Apart from streamlining communication and information sharing between involved parties, BIM technology also permits energy performance modeling, as Ivan touched on in his post regarding the advantages of BIM over traditional CAD. This enables the optimization of a project's lifecycle efficiency because the most sustainable choices can be identified and implemented relatively early in the design process (Rowe). The Miami Science Museum provides an interesting case study. Grimshaw Architects, the firm responsible for the design of MiaSci utilized BIM to produce a highly energy-efficient building as an examplar of environmentally-conscious architecture. Specifically, BIM was used to model and assess the efficacy of solar strategies, water catchment, and the effect of building form on air flow and ventilation. From the resulting data, the architects were able to determine optimum roof shape, rainwater harvesting systems, photovoltaic panel placement, and building orientation to take advantage of the site's natural features. They were then able to successfully integrate this information to achieve their client's energy targets (Fehrenbacher).

Additionally, BIM can help identify appropriate sustainable building components in design. For a recent hospital design project, Stockholm-based green construction company Skanska used BIM software to calculate lifecycle costs and carbon emissions of building equipment and materials being considered. With this data, the project's carbon footprint-reduction goals were successfully met  (Rowe).

The potential of BIM to enhance lifecycle efficiency does not end with the design phase either. The technology can also contribute to a higher level of operational performance by providing relevant information to facilities personnel. Access to timely data regarding building performance can facilitate proper regulation and maintenance of equipment (Alcorn).

In summary, there are already existing projects that provide solid examples of how BIM can contribute to greener construction. As the technology develops further, its potential regarding the design and maintenance of better and more efficient buildings will only increase.

References

Alcorn, Terence. "How BIM Can Improve Building Efficiency." Facilitiesnet. N.p., Sept. 2013. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.

Fehrenbacher, Jill. "How Building Information Modeling (BIM) Helps Buildings Go Green."Inhabitat. N.p., 30 June 2011. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.

Rowe, Lauren. "How Skanska Uses Building Information Modeling to Design Better Buildings." Triple Pundit. N.p., 2 Aug. 2013. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.