A state-of-the-art review of built environment information modelling (BeIM)

Elements that constitute the built environment are vast and so are the independent systems developed to model its various aspects. Many of these systems have been developed under various assumptions and approaches to execute functions that are distinct, complementary or sometimes similar. Also, these systems are ever increasing in number and often assume similar nomenclatures and acronyms thereby exacerbating the challenges of understanding their peculiar functions, definitions and differences. The current societal demand to improve sustainability performance through collaboration, whole-systems and through-life thinking, is driving the need to integrate independent systems associated with different aspects and scales of the built environment to deliver smart solutions and services that improve the wellbeing of citizens. The contemporary object-oriented digitization of real world elements appears to provide a leeway for amalgamating modelling systems of various domains in the built environment which we termed as built environment information modelling (BeIM). These domains included Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Urban Planning and Design. Applications such as Building Information Modelling, Geographic Information Systems and 3D City Modelling systems are now being integrated for city modelling purposes. The various works directed at integrating these systems are examined revealing that current research efforts on integration fall into three categories: (1) data/file conversion systems, (2) semantic mapping systems and (3) the hybrid of both. The review outcome suggests that a good knowledge of these domains and how their respective systems operate is vital to pursuing holistic systems integration in the built environment

A framework for the utilization of Building Management System data in Building Information Models to bridge gaps between building design and operation

Research on digitizing the various aspects of a typical building project has been on the increase since the advent of Building Information Modelling (BIM). Most efforts build on information technology capabilities already achieved in the various professional domains associated with different stages of the building life cycle. It is predicted that BIM will help to drastically reduce errors, fast-track project delivery time and save implementation costs. As such BIM is now being utilized in the various professional domains and project stages. However, research suggests that the building operation and management stage is being left behind despite the abundance of data collected using building management systems (BMS) of varying degrees of sophistication. It is therefore important to consider exploring BIM applications that encompasses the building operation phase. This will enhance the evaluation of building performance in use and provide feedback to the design stage which could help eliminate design-related performance issues. A framework for utilizing feedback loops frombuilding energy consumption to inform and improve design and facility management in a BIM environment is therefore proposed. A prototype illustrating the framework is implemented in. NET framework interfacedwith a BIM-enabled tool and tested in the refinement of a pre-designed school using data from the operations phase of another school delivered previously. We conclude that the framework developed in this research can contribute to bridging existing gaps between the design, construction and operation phases of a building's life-cycle

Structural sustainability appraisal in BIM

The provision of Application Programming Interface (API) in BIM-enable tools can contribute to facilitating BIM-related research. APIs are useful links for running plug-ins and external programmes but they are yet to be fully exploited in expanding the BIM scope. The modelling of n-Dimensional (nD) building performance measures can potentially benefit from BIM extension through API implementations. Sustainability is one such measure associated with buildings. For the structural engineer, recent design criteria have put great emphasis on the sustainability credentials as part of the traditional criteria of structural integrity, constructability and cost. This paper examines the utilization of API in BIM extension and presents a demonstration of an API application to embed sustainability issues into the appraisal process of structural conceptual design options in BIM. It concludes that API implementations are useful in expanding the BIM scope. Also, the approach including process modelling, algorithms and object-based instantiations demonstrated in the API implementation can be applicable to other nD building performance measures as may be relevant to the various professional platforms in the construction domain

Information Modelling and Sharing in the CO-CIS Project

Complex information structures are generated and exchanged during the life cycle of large projects. The key to realising improved collaboration amongst the several disciplines involved is in the integration of such structures. Object-orientation has emerged as an appropriate approach for handling the complexity inherent in construction domains. This paper presents a pure object-oriented Integrated Building Project Model (IBPM). The model is a definition of objects and relationships that pertain to the three different construction-related disciplines of architecture, structural engineering and project management. It provides the basis by which software applications can share objects and a means of achieving integration. From the IBPM, the notion of Intelligent Object Classes (IOCs) is introduced, leading to the COllaborative Construction Integrated System (CO-CIS), the development of which is described in terms of its generic conceptual architecture. The exploitation of the architecture in a prototype implementation of the IBPM and IOCs is demonstrated by the generation of construction schedules through the integration of CAD and project management packages.

Integration of design and construction through shared objects in the CO-CIS project

This paper presents an Integrated Building Project Model (IBPM) which provides the basis on which software applications can share objects and shows how integration is achieved at the conceptual level. It is used to develop a pure object-oriented database server which acts as a central object repository, and facilitates the sharing of objects between multiple applications. The IBPM provided the basis for the development of the COllaborative Construction Integrated System (CO-CIS) based on the principles of client/server computing and utilising dynamic common object sharing in real-time between CAD and  project management packages. The work demonstrates the capabilities of pure object technologies and should encourage industry to adopt the approach and facilitate the development of the common information standards

Towards a holistic modelling framework for embodied carbon and waste in the building lifecycle

As the building industry proceeds in the direction of low impact buildings, research attention is being drawn towards the reduction of carbon dioxide emission and waste. Starting from design and construction to operation and demolition, various building materials are used throughout the whole building lifecycle involving significant energy consumption and waste generation. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is emerging as a tool that can support holistic design-decision making for reducing embodied carbon and waste production in the building lifecycle. This study aims to establish a framework for assessing embodied carbon and waste underpinned by BIM technology. On the basis of current research review, the framework is considered to include functional modules for embodied carbon computation. There are a module for waste estimation, a knowledge-base of construction and demolition methods, a repository of building components information, and an inventory of construction materials’ energy and carbon. Through both static 3D model visualisation and dynamic modelling supported by the framework, embodied energy (carbon), waste and associated costs can be analysed in the boundary of cradle-to-gate, construction, operation, and demolition. The proposed holistic modelling framework provides a possibility to analyse embodied carbon and waste from different building lifecycle perspectives including associated costs. It brings together existing segmented embodied carbon and waste estimation into a unified model, so that interactions between various parameters through the different building lifecycle phases can be better understood. Thus, it can improve design-decision support for optimal low impact building development. The applicability of this framework is anticipated being developed and tested on industrial projects in the near future