Building Information Modeling (BIM) 02 Further exploration in Architecture, Engineering and Construction: Civil and Architectural Engineering

The technical report is a part of a research assignment carried out by students in the 5 ETCS course “Integrated Engineering Project”, during the 2nd semester of the master degree in Civil and Architectural Engineering, Department of Engineering, Aarhus University. This includes seven papers describing BIM for thematic subjects in Architectural Engineering and Construction Management

Building Information Modeling (BIM) for Indoor Environmental Performance Analysis

The report is a part of a research assignment carried out by students in the 5ETCS course “Project Byggeri – [entitled as: Building Information Modeling (BIM) – Modeling & Analysis]”, during the 3rd semester of master degree in Civil and Architectural Engineering, Department of Engineering, Aarhus University. This includes seven papers describing  BIM for Sustainability, concentrating specifically on individual topics regarding to Indoor Environment Performance Analysis

A holistic multi-methodology for sustainable renovation

A review of the barriers for building renovation has revealed a lack of methodologies, which can promote sustainability objectives and assist various stakeholders during the design stage of building renovation/retrofitting projects. The purpose of this paper is to develop a Holistic Multi-methodology for Sustainable Renovation, which aims to deal with complexity of renovation projects. It provides a framework through which to involve the different stakeholders in the design process to improve group learning and group decision-making, and hence make the building renovation design process more robust and efficient. Therefore, the paper discusses the essence of multifaceted barriers in building renovation regarding cultural changes and technological/physical changes. The outcome is a proposal for a multi-methodology framework, which is developed by introducing, evaluating and mixing methods from Soft Systems Methodologies (SSM) with Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM). The potential of applying the proposed methodology in renovation projects is demonstrated through a case study

A multi-methodology and sustainability-supporting framework for implementation and assessment of a holistic building renovation

La ristrutturazione degli edifici in futuro dovrà essere condotta secondo una prospettiva più olistica legata alla sostenibilità vista in una più ampia gamma di obiettivi/criteri e facilitata dagli scenari di ristrutturazione possibili. La ristrutturazione degli edifici dovrebbe servire a migliorarne le performance al fine di soddisfare le esigenze degli utenti, rendendo questi ultimi meno vulnerabili in relazione ai futuri costi energetici. Vi è un grande potenziale per ridurre il consumo di energia negli edifici esistenti. Tuttavia, ciò non deve comprometterè i valori architettonici e di qualità che rendono particolari. Pertanto, non possono essere semplicemente rinnovati, ma devono subire una profonda trasformazione per rispettare una vasta gamma di obiettivi/criteri. Ciò conduce a perseguire in parallelo obiettivi/criteri "hard" (criteri quantitativi/misurabili, come il consumo di energia o la generazione di energia) e obiettivi/criteri "soft" (criteri qualitativi/non misurabili, come la qualità spaziale). Questi obiettivi possono essere raggiunti se vengono generati scenari di ristrutturazione olistici ogni volta che gli edifici vengono rinnovati, concentrando l'attenzione su entrambi gli obiettivi/criteri menzionati (“hard” e “soft”). In questo contesto, la principale differenza tra una ristrutturazione profonda ed una “ordinaria” consiste nell’adozione di un approccio olistico in cui gli obiettivi/criteri sono individuati sin dall'inizio delle fasi di progettazione e successivamente sono considerati per la loro interdipendenza attraverso un aproccio sostenibile. Recenti ricerche hanno rivelato che gli attuali sforzi non sono sufficienti per perseguire obiettivi sostenibili nei progetti di ristrutturazione edilizia. Ciò dimostra che la combinazione delle sfide tipiche di un retrofit sostenibile, dalla teoria alla fase di attuazione, manca di una metodologia di progettazione appropriata. Si dovrebbe prendere in considerazione inizialmente l'adeguamento dei progetti al fine di interagire con i diversi soggetti interessati e quindi perseguire pienamente gli obiettivi/criteri di sostenibilità. Si dovrebbe aiutare a identificare, gestire e valutare gli obiettivi olistici tra le varie alternative di retrofit durante le fasi iniziali di progettazione. In quest’ottica la presente tesi è stata sviluppata secondo i seguenti obiettivi: a) Considerare la ristrutturazione edilizia come un problema complesso.. In quanto tale, fornire dettagli su come combinando metodi ”soft” (Soft Systems Methodologies) e MCDM (Multi Criteria Decision Making Methods) si può essere in grado di far fronte alla sua complessità. Di conseguenza, sviluppare una metodologia, denominata “Multi-metodologia olistica per il rinnovamento delle costruzioni” - HMSR. L'HMSR è uno strumento che consente di strutturare i problemi di retrofit in conformità ai criteri di sostenibilità ,sostenendo il processo decisionale e contribuiendo a sviluppare scenari di retrofit più adeguati. b) Mettere a punto un nuovo quadro di supporto decisionale semplificato, sostenibile, olistico, che si applica alle strutture dell'ambiente costruito per progetti di ristrutturazione. Il quadro sviluppato può essere applicato in diverse fasi del progetto e contribuire alla considerazione delle questioni di sostenibilità attraverso il supporto del processo decisionale e della comunicazione con i soggetti interessati. Va notato che il quadro può essere considerato non solo come modello astratto, ma anche come metodo di progettazione, nonché per valutare e confrontare progetti di ristrutturazione. c) Esaminare lo sviluppo di un sistema di supporto decisionale - DSS per la generazione di scenari di ristrutturazione con l'obiettivo di rappresentare e identificare le dipendenze esistenti. Come tali, gli obiettivi/criteri di sostenibilità della ristrutturazione edilizia e l'intero elenco di approcci di ristrutturazione vengono esplorati e strutturati attraverso lo sviluppo di una “matrice di mappatura di dominio” - DMM. Il maggiore vantaggio del DMM consiste nella sua capacità di fornire una mappatura sistematizzata di voci (rappresentate da righe e colonne) chiare e facili da leggere, a meno della rispettiva dimensione. Essa considera e dimostra quali sono i valori (obiettivi/criteri di sostenibilità), come possono essere creati (applicazione di approcci di ristrutturazione) e dove il valore può essere aggiunto generando scenari di ristrutturazione integrati (utilizzo del DMM). d) Espandere un quadro concettuale nell'ambito del progetto “Tectonic Sustainable Building Design” (TSBD). Il TSBD persegue l'interazione tra architettura, obiettivi di sostenibilità e un processo di progettazione “attrezzato”. È quindi legato alla Tettonica (riferendosi alla teoria architettonica), alla sostenibilità (riferendosi agli obiettivi olistici) ed alla multi-metodologia olistica - HMSR (riferendosi alla metodologia di progettazione integrata). Focalizzandosi sulla TSBD nel campo della ristrutturazione edilizia è possibile definire una strategia che collega le intenzioni della trasformazione architettonica ed il modo in cui queste vengono percepite dall'utente/proprietario dell'edificio. Una volta stabilita la strategia, questa è destinata a servire da base per raffinare e migliorare l'industria dell'edilizia contemporanea vista alla luce della sostenibilità, sostenendo il processo decisionale nello sviluppo di scenari di ristrutturazione olistici. La strategia di ricerca impiegata in questa tesi presenta caratteristiche di due tipi: qualitativa e inter transdisciplinare. Richiede pertanto un approccio di ricerca induttivo e coinvolge un approccio interpretativo e un'analisi comparativa. Per arricchire e convalidare gli elementi e i principi degli obiettivi summenzionati, la tesi analizza 10 progetti europei di ricerca per la ristrutturazione, il database danese SIGMA (di Molio ), nonché un caso studio che collega un progetto di ricerca di ristrutturazione in corso, intitolato RE-VALUE . Il caso studio si riferisce alla sezione 3 di Skovgårdsparken situata a Brabrand, in Danimarca. È un complesso residenziale sociale (di nove blocchi) ed è stato ristrutturato da Brabrand Housing Association. Il futuro della ricerca condotta per l’elaborazione di questa tesi riguarderà l'espansione del quadro TSBD per la progettazione degli edifici in generale. Ciò significherà spostare l’attenzione dalla ristrutturazione degli edifici alla progettazione del nuovo.Future building renovation concerns more holistic perspectives related to the sustainability seen in a wider range of objectives/criteria facilitated by the renovation scenarios. Renovation should be a means of improving and developing buildings to meet the needs and challenges of the future and of making homeowners and tenants less vulnerable due to rising energy costs in the future. There is a great potential for reducing energy consumption in existing buildings. However, that does not mean compromising on the quality and architectural values that make the buildings special. Therefore, existing buildings cannot simply be renovated, but must undergo a deep transformation to comply with wider range of objectives/criteria. That includes and addresses the “hard” objectives/criteria (quantitative/measurable criteria such as energy consumption or energy generation) and the “soft” objectives/criteria (qualitative/immeasurable criteria such as spatial quality) in parallel. These objectives both can be achieved, if holistic renovation scenarios are generated each time the buildings are renovated by focus on addressing both the mentioned objectives/criteria. In this framework, the major difference between a deep building renovation and an ordinary one is a commitment to a holistic approach in which objectives/criteria are targeted early in the design stages and subsequently are considered for their interdependence throughout sustainability perspectives. A review of recent research has revealed that the present efforts on sustainable objectives fulfilment in renovation projects are not sufficient. It demonstrates compounding the typical challenges of a sustainable retrofitting from theory to implement stages is lack of an appropriate design methodology. It should take into account retrofitting projects initially in order to interact with the different stakeholders and then to embark on the sustainability objectives/criteria in its full sense. It should assist to identify, manage, and evaluate the holistic objectives among various alternative retrofitting solutions during the early design stages. In this perspective, the present thesis has been developed according to the following objectives: a) It primarily considers building renovation as a complex messy/wicked problem. As such, it gives details on how combinations of methods that are parts of SSM (Soft Systems Methodologies) and MCDM (Multi Criteria Decision Making Methods) are able to cope with its complexity. It consequently develops a methodology, which is entitled Holistic Multi-methodology for Building Renovation – HMSR. The HMSR serve as a means to structure retrofitting problems in accordance with the sustainability in its full sense to support the decision-making and help to develop most appropriate retrofitting scenarios. b) It addresses a new simplified holistic sustainability decision-making support framework, which applies to the structures of the built environment for building renovation projects. The developed framework can be applied during different project stages and to assist in the consideration of the sustainability issues through support of decision-making and communication with relevant stakeholders. It should be noted that, the framework can be considered not only as an abstract model but a bound method of planning and design as well as evaluating and comparing retrofitting projects. c) It investigates development of a Decision Support System - DSS for generating renovation scenarios with the aims to represent and navigate across existing dependencies. As such, the renovation sustainability objectives/criteria and the entire list of renovation approaches are discovered, explored and structured through development of a Domain Mapping Matrix - DMM. A major advantage of the DMM is in its compactness and ability to provide a systematic mapping among the items (represented in rows and columns) that is clear and easy to read regardless of size. It considers and demonstrates what the values are (sustainability objectives/criteria), how they can be created (application of renovation approaches), and where the value can be added by generation of the integrated renovation scenarios (use of the DMM) in renovation context. d) It expands a conceptual framework under the topic of Tectonic Sustainable Building Design (TSBD). The TSBD seeks for interaction between architecture, sustainability objectives and an equipped design process. It is therefore attached to the tectonics (refers to architectural theory), the sustainability (refers to the holistic objectives) and a holistic multi-methodology - HMSR (refers to the integrated design methodology). By focusing on TSBD thinking in the field of building renovation, one forms a strategy of establishing a link between the intentions embedded in the architectural transformation and the way these are perceived by the user/owner of the building. Once this is established, the framework is intended to serve as a platform for refining and improving the contemporary building industry seen in the light of sustainability, by supporting the decision-making in the development of holistic renovation scenarios. The research strategy employed in this thesis presents characteristics of two research types, namely the qualitative research approach, and the inter- or transdisciplinary research throughout mode 2. It therefore calls for an inductive research approach and involves an interpretive approach and comparative analysis to its subject matter. In order to enrich and validate the elements and principles of the above objectives, the thesis analyses 10 European renovation research projects, the Danish SIGMA database (by Molio ), as well as a case study linking to an ongoing renovation research project which is entitled RE-VALUE . The case study is Section 3 of Skovgårdsparken located in Brabrand, Denmark. It is a social housing complex (including nine blocks), and has been renovated by Brabrand Housing Association. The future of the research in this thesis concerns expanding of the TSBD framework for Building Design in general. That means move from building renovation to design of new buildings

A multi-methodology and sustainability-supporting framework for implementation and assessment of a holistic building renovation: Implementation and assessment of a holistic sustainable building renovation

Future building renovation concerns more holistic perspectives related to the sustainability seen in a wider range of objectives/criteria facilitated by the renovation scenarios. Renovation should be a means of improving and developing buildings to meet the needs and challenges of the future and of making homeowners and tenants less vulnerable due to rising energy costs in the future. There is a great potential for reducing energy consumption in existing buildings. However, that does not mean compromising on the quality and architectural values that make the buildings special. Therefore, existing buildings cannot simply be renovated, but must undergo a deep transformation to comply with wider range of objectives/criteria. That includes and addresses the “hard” objectives/criteria (quantitative/measurable criteria such as energy consumption or energy generation) and the “soft” objectives/criteria (qualitative/immeasurable criteria such as spatial quality) in parallel. These objectives both can be achieved, if holistic renovation scenarios are generated each time the buildings are renovated by focus on addressing both the mentioned objectives/criteria. In this framework, the major difference between a deep building renovation and an ordinary one is a commitment to a holistic approach in which objectives/criteria are targeted early in the design stages and subsequently are considered for their interdependence throughout sustainability perspectives.A review of recent research has revealed that the present efforts on sustainable objectives fulfilment in renovation projects are not sufficient. It demonstrates compounding the typical challenges of a sustainable retrofitting from theory to implement stages is lack of an appropriate design methodology. It should take into account retrofitting projects initially in order to interact with the different stakeholders and then to embark on the sustainability objectives/criteria in its full sense. It should assist to identify, manage, and evaluate the holistic objectives among various alternative retrofitting solutions during the early design stages. In this perspective, the present thesis has been developed according to the following objectives:a)     It primarily considers building renovation as a complex messy/wicked problem. As such, it gives details on how combinations of methods that are parts of SSM (Soft Systems Methodologies) and MCDM (Multi Criteria Decision Making Methods) are able to cope with its complexity. It consequently develops a methodology, which is entitled Holistic Multi-methodology for Building Renovation – HMSR. The HMSR serve as a means to structure retrofitting problems in accordance with the sustainability in its full sense to support the decision-making and help to develop most appropriate retrofitting scenarios. b)     It addresses a new simplified holistic sustainability decision-making support framework, which applies to the structures of the built environment for building renovation projects. The developed framework can be applied during different project stages and to assist in the consideration of the sustainability issues through support of decision-making and communication with relevant stakeholders. It should be noted that, the framework can be considered not only as an abstract model but a bound method of planning and design as well as evaluating and comparing retrofitting projects.c)     It investigates development of a Decision Support System - DSS for generating renovation scenarios with the aims to represent and navigate across existing dependencies. As such, the renovation sustainability objectives/criteria and the entire list of renovation approaches are discovered, explored and structured through development of a Domain Mapping Matrix - DMM. A major advantage of the DMM is in its compactness and ability to provide a systematic mapping among the items (represented in rows and columns) that is clear and easy to read regardless of size. It considers and demonstrates what the values are (sustainability objectives/criteria), how they can be created (application of renovation approaches), and where the value can be added by generation of the integrated renovation scenarios (use of the DMM) in renovation context.d)     It expands a conceptual framework under the topic of Tectonic Sustainable Building Design (TSBD). The TSBD seeks for interaction between architecture, sustainability objectives and an equipped design process. It is therefore attached to the tectonics (refers to architectural theory), the sustainability (refers to the holistic objectives) and a holistic multi-methodology - HMSR (refers to the integrated design methodology). By focusing on TSBD thinking in the field of building renovation, one forms a strategy of establishing a link between the intentions embedded in the architectural transformation and the way these are perceived by the user/owner of the building. Once this is established, the framework is intended to serve as a platform for refining and improving the contemporary building industry seen in the light of sustainability, by supporting the decision-making in the development of holistic renovation scenarios.The research strategy employed in this thesis presents characteristics of two research types, namely the qualitative research approach, and the inter- or transdisciplinary research throughout mode 2. It therefore calls for an inductive research approach and involves an interpretive approach and comparative analysis to its subject matter. In order to enrich and validate the elements and principles of the above objectives, the thesis analyses 10 European renovation research projects, the Danish SIGMA database (by Molio[1]), as well as a case study linking to an ongoing renovation research project which is entitled RE-VALUE[2]. The case study is Section 3 of Skovgårdsparken[3] located in Brabrand, Denmark. It is a social housing complex (including nine blocks), and has been renovated by Brabrand Housing Association.The future of the research in this thesis concerns expanding of the TSBD framework for Building Design in general. That means move from building renovation to design of new buildings.[1] https://molio.dk/molio-prisdata/prisdata-footer/brug-molio-prisdata/[2] http://www.revalue.dk[3] https://www.bbbo.dk/projekter/skovgaardsparken

From Decision Theory to Informed Decision-Making in the Design of Sustainable High-Performance Buildings

The design of sustainable high-performance buildings entails dealing with numerous decisions associated with the inclusion and assessment of design objectives and criteria made by multiple decision-makers (or design stakeholders). A more in-depth study of the decision-making fundamentals will, therefore, be effective and practical in this regard. Based on this underlying hypothesis, as a first attempt towards investigating the decision-making structures in the (early) design of sustainable high-performance buildings, and in addition to the empirical application of normative decision-making models, this paper presents the results of two rounds of assessment surveys through conducting semi-structured interviews with practitioners and professionals in Denmark on (a) when and with whom a decision is made, and (b) to what extent a decision can be made autocratically or participatorily. The research study is intended to enable practitioners and researchers to recognize the importance of decision-making characteristics in addressing highly complex sustainability criteria in the (early) design of high-performance buildings. The outcome ensures a systematic approach to involve the right decision-makers at the right time and with suitable decision-making styles. With its strong ability to formalize problems faced by sustainability requirements, the outcome can potentially become a research avenue in future building design contexts

Bioclimatic Architecture Strategies in Denmark: A Review of Current and Future Directions

Due to climate change, the rise in global temperature causes an increased need for cooling to satisfy occupants’ thermal comfort. Application of architecture passive design strategies, so-called bioclimatic architecture strategies, based on the local climate to forego active cooling measures to decrease the conventional heating need and ensure thermal comfort are, thus, becoming highly relevant and vitally important. In an effort to adapt and promote passive architecture design strategies in the new design or renovation of building projects, this literature review fills the gap by identifying suitable bioclimatic architecture strategies in the Danish setting. The literature review adopts the PRISMA flowchart (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses), and the outcome is supplemented by screening 25 actual bioclimatic architecture-based building design projects in Denmark. The study shows that a wide range of passive strategies are being researched and practiced in Denmark, whereby the focus for passive heating strategies lies on solar gains, thermal insulation and thermal mass. Among passive cooling strategies, natural ventilation and solar shading are the main strategies investigated. Based on the analysis, it is expected that the use and research of those measures will continue, whereby the passive cooling measures will be of particular future interest in light of increasing outdoor temperatures

Bioclimatic Architecture Strategies in Denmark: A Review of Current and Future Directions

Due to climate change, the rise in global temperature causes an increased need for cooling to satisfy occupants’ thermal comfort. Application of architecture passive design strategies, so-called bioclimatic architecture strategies, based on the local climate to forego active cooling measures to decrease the conventional heating need and ensure thermal comfort are, thus, becoming highly relevant and vitally important. In an effort to adapt and promote passive architecture design strategies in the new design or renovation of building projects, this literature review fills the gap by identifying suitable bioclimatic architecture strategies in the Danish setting. The literature review adopts the PRISMA flowchart (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses), and the outcome is supplemented by screening 25 actual bioclimatic architecture-based building design projects in Denmark. The study shows that a wide range of passive strategies are being researched and practiced in Denmark, whereby the focus for passive heating strategies lies on solar gains, thermal insulation and thermal mass. Among passive cooling strategies, natural ventilation and solar shading are the main strategies investigated. Based on the analysis, it is expected that the use and research of those measures will continue, whereby the passive cooling measures will be of particular future interest in light of increasing outdoor temperatures

Towards the development of a Decision Support System (DSS) for building renovation: Domain Mapping Matrix (DMM) for sustainability renovation criteria and renovation approaches

Future building renovation concerns more holistic perspectives related to the sustainability seen in a wider range of objectives/criteria facilitated by the renovation scenarios. In this regard, based on the studies upon existing sustainability evaluation and assessment tools carried out in previous research works, a characteristic diagram including a value map for evaluating a holistic sustainable retrofitting was developed. Further, in present paper, by reviewing the relevant literature, looking into recent European renovation research projects, the Danish SIGMA database, and investigation of a real case, a comprehensive list of renovation approaches (i.e. insulation technologies, windows replacement etc.) were classified in 26 categories. Using empirical information, this paper expands the Domain Mapping Matrix (DMM) between the recently developed criteria (18 criteria including 118 sub-criteria) and renovation approaches (26 categories including 139 alternatives). The aim is to consider how is the dependency between renovation approaches while they meet different criteria or sub-criteria, and vice versa, regarding to the selection of the criteria versus application of some possible renovation approaches. Developing Decision Support Systems (DSS) for generation of sustainable building renovation scenarios is ultimately an intricate, challenging task. The increasing complexity of decision problems regarding to the fulfilment of sustainability objectives/criteria, the growing number of subjects involved and keen competition between conflicting costs and interests make decisions-making difficult. Developing a DMM enhances the required insight for the development of an operational system for architecture of decision-makings. It has a strong effect to deal with existing complexity regarding to the large number of renovation approaches and various sustainability objectives/criteria. Added to this, the DMM can be used for understanding and tracking of the value (or added value) regarding to the other criteria (i.e. spatial quality) while the focus is on optimization of some common criteria i.e., improvement of energy efficiency or reduction of investment cost

BIM-Enabled Virtual Reality (VR) for Sustainability Life Cycle and Cost Assessment

Virtual Reality (VR) is receiving ever-increasing attention and is utilized by many construction companies in their current practices. This paper aims at a critical investigation of the impact of VR technology on how sustainability and cost are understood and perceived by the users in building design projects, which could lead to improving and supporting the actual building design processes. The research study focused on evaluating design alternatives using Building Information Modeling (BIM)-enabled VR technology integrated with cost and sustainability life cycle assessment (LCA) software. In doing so, the paper begins with reviewing the relevant literature in the mentioned areas. Thereafter, it adopts an experimental-qualitative-quantitative method to test the research hypothesis and analyze the effects of 360-degree VR on the users (66 participants), while distinguishing between users who have a relevant background in building/construction engineering (i.e., architect engineers and civil engineers), and those who have not (i.e., owners and clients). It is observed that despite their background, the user participants positively embrace the ideas and aspirations of sustainability, and that there is some evidence of respondents preferring the economy over sustainability. Likewise, the participants are not making an effort to measure the emissions of their design options rather than focus on the building’s economic aspects