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The calculation of buildings’ carbon footprint (CFP) is an important basis for formulating energy-saving and emission-reduction plans for building. As an important building type, there is currently no model that considers the time factor to accurately calculate the CFP of hospital building throughout their life cycle. This paper aims to establish a CFP calculation model that covers the life cycle of hospital building and considers time factor.

On the basis of field and literature research, the basic framework is built using dynamic life cycle assessment (DLCA), and the gray prediction model is used to predict the future value. Finally, a CFP model covering the whole life cycle has been constructed and applied to a hospital building in China.

The results applied to the case show that the CO₂ emission in the operation stage of the hospital building is much higher than that in other stages, and the total CO₂ emission in the dynamic and static analysis operation stage accounts for 83.66% and 79.03%, respectively; the difference of annual average emission of CO₂ reached 28.33%. The research results show that DLCA is more accurate than traditional static life cycle assessment (LCA) when measuring long-term objects such as carbon emissions in the whole life cycle of hospital building.

This research established a carbon emission calculation model that covers the life cycle of hospital building and considered time factor, which enriches the research on carbon emission of hospital building, a special and extensive public building, and dynamically quantifies the resource consumption of hospital building in the life cycle. This paper provided a certain reference for the green design, energy saving, emission reduction and efficient use of hospital building, obviously, the limitation is that this model is only applicable to hospital building.

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the current applications of BIM, the integration of related technologies and the tendencies and challenges systematically.

Using quantitative and qualitative bibliometric statistical methods, the current mode of interaction between BIM and other related technologies is summarized.

This paper identified 24 different BIM applications in the life cycle. From two perspectives, the implementation status of BIM applications and integrated technologies are respectively studied. The future industry development framework is drawn comprehensively. We summarized the challenges of BIM applications from the perspectives of management, technology and promotion, and confirmed that most of the challenges come from the two driving factors of promotion and management.

The technical challenges reviewed in this paper are from the collected literature we have extracted, which is only a part of the practical challenges and not comprehensive enough.

We summarized the current mode of interactive use of BIM and sorted out the challenges faced by BIM applications to provide reference for the risks and challenges faced by the future industry.

There is little literature to integrate BIM applications and to establish BIM related challenges and risk frameworks. In this paper, we provide a review of the current implementation level of BIM and the risks and challenges of stakeholders through three aspects of management, technology and promotion.

Whole building life cycle assessment (WBLCA) is a key methodology to reduce the environmental impacts in the building sector. Research studies usually face challenges in presenting comprehensive LCA results due to the complexity of assessments at the building level. There is a dearth of methods for the systematic evaluation and optimization of the WBLCA performance at the design stage. The study aims to develop a design optimization framework based on the proposed WBLCA method to evaluate and improve the environmental performance at the building level.

The WBLCA development method is proposed with detailed processes based on the EN 15978 standard. The environmental product declaration (EPD) methods were adopted to ensure the WBLCA is comprehensive and reliable. Building information modeling (BIM) was used to ensure the building materials and assembly contributions are accurate and provide dynamic material updates for the design optimization framework. Furthermore, the interactive BIM-LCA calculation processes were demonstrated for measuring the environmental impacts of design upgrades. The TOPSIS-based LCA results normalization was selected to conduct the comparisons of various building design upgrades.

The case study conducted for a residential building showed that the material embodied impacts and the operational energy use impacts are the two critical factors that contribute 60–90% of the total environmental impacts and resource uses. Concrete and wood are the main material types accounting for an average of 65% of the material embodied impacts. The air and water heating for the house are the main energy factors, as these account for over 80% of the operational energy use. Based on the original WBLCA results, two scenarios were established to improve building performance through the design optimization framework.

The LCA results show that the two upgraded building designs create an average of 5% reduction compared with the original building design and improving the thermal performance of the house with more insulation materials does not always reduce the WBLCA results. The proposed WBLCA method can be used to compare the building-level environmental performances with the similar building types. The proposed framework can be used to support building designers to effectively improve the WBLCA performance.

The purpose of this paper is to present an analysis of common parameters in existing tools that provide guidance to carry out Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment (WBLCA) and proposes a new taxonomy, a catalogue of parameters, for the definition of the goal and scope (G&S) in WBLCA.

A content analysis approach is used to identify, code and analyze parameters in existing WBLCA tools. Finally, a catalogue of parameters is organized into a new taxonomy.

In total, 650 distinct parameter names related to the definition of G&S from 16 WBLCAs tools available in North America, Europe and Australia are identified. Building on the analysis of existing taxonomies, a new taxonomy of 54 parameters is proposed in order to describe the G&S of WBLCA.

The analysis of parameters in WBLCA tools does not include Green Building Rating Systems and is only limited to tools available in English.

This research is crucial in life cycle assessment (LCA) method harmonization and to serve as a stepping stone to the identification and categorization of parameters that could contribute to WBLCA comparison necessary to meet current global carbon goals.

The proposed taxonomy enables architecture, engineering and construction practitioners to contribute to current WBLCA practice.

A study of common parameters in existing tools contributes to identifying the type of data that is required to describe buildings and contribute to build a standardized framework for LCA reporting, which would facilitate consistency across future studies and can serve as a checklist for practitioners when conducting the G&S stage of WBLCA.

This paper searches for integration methods proposed by different authors that assess the life cycle of a building using models of building information modeling (BIM) and it also compares and discusses them.

Systematic literature review (SLR) is selected as the main research method of the present paper, aiming to collect and critically analyze multiple research studies. This paper is not only limited to studies where the whole life cycle has been assessed but also includes other papers which only integrated BIM to analyze carbon footprint, embodied carbon dioxide (CO₂) or energy consumption.

Taking into account the countries that have published articles about the subject, it is possible to deduce that it has been studied in all of the continents, except Africa. In comparison with other continents, Asia and Europe have developed more studies. Furthermore, 76% of the 34 selected articles were published in journals and only 24% in conferences proceedings, and the number of papers that relates life cycle assessment (LCA) methods using BIM has grown from 2013 to 2015, proving that the current theme is relevant. Several aspects of this literature review show the need to develop automated processes for LCA of buildings during the project's development phase. There is already a tendency to compare LCA results for buildings applied to BIM models, contributing to decision-making related to alternate projects, selection of materials, suppliers and components from an environmental perspective.

In the current global scenario, it is the notorious negative impact on the environment over the years caused by the architecture, engineering and construction industry (AEC). The integration of BIM–LCA can reduce time and improve the application of environmental analysis. Moreover, the proper application of a LCA method to evaluate the environmental impacts of the project can be hindered due to lack of information in the database about the materials or due to failures in the interoperability between BIM software and the LCA tool.

In light of climate change, the design and construction of buildings needs to shift from conventional to lower-carbon practices to maximise carbon reduction. Over the past few years, the zero carbon buildings (ZCBs) approach has been promoted worldwide as an effective way to reduce environmental impacts and mitigate climate change. Although zero-carbon policies, technologies, processes and products are widely available in the construction market, construction stakeholders play an important part in adopting relevant strategies to implement ZCBs successfully. This study investigates the knowledge of construction stakeholders involved in the design and construction of buildings regarding zero carbon initiatives in New Zealand.

The research was conducted using a literature review and an online questionnaire survey with various New Zealand's construction stakeholders.

The findings indicate a low level of knowledge regarding the design and construction of ZCBs. To successfully deliver ZCBs, the study suggests that construction stakeholders must have their self-awareness increased, especially in improving knowledge of whole-of-life embodied carbon reduction. The governments and construction sectors should devote more effort to establishing training programmes and knowledge-sharing platforms to improve stakeholder knowledge in carbon literacy, building assessment methods, energy modelling and life cycle assessment.

The research implications may assist the real-world uptake of the ZCBs approach by offering academics and practitioners an insight into the ZCBs knowledge gaps.

A robust method in environmental load assessment of buildings is urgently required to reduce the environmental burden of the construction industry. While the industry utilizes the life cycle assessment (LCA) method to assess environmental impacts of detailed designs, the implementation of changes at that late stage of development is often expensive and undesirable. On the other hand, during the early design stages, the LCA method is severely limited by the lack of information available, e.g., uncertainty about final materials to be used. This research study investigates how building information modeling (BIM) can facilitate LCA analysis at an early design stage.

A literature review is conducted to establish a framework for BIM and LCA integration, which creates the foundation for the development of a new BIM-based LCA tool. The tool is empirically evaluated on a large case study of a residential building in Denmark.

Case study results show that the new tool facilitates decision-making in an integrated design process, providing reliable LCA results on an early stage model, while avoiding intermediate manual input by the end user in contrast to other commercial LCA tools.

A first prototype of a BIM-based tool is demonstrated, which allows professionals, small architectural companies, students and researchers to calculate the environmental loads of the building in the early design stage in an automated, transparent and time-saving manner.

Building information modelling (BIM) is increasingly being adopted during construction projects. Design and construction practices are adjusting to the new system. BIM is intended to support the entire project life-cycle: the design and construction phases, and also facility management (FM). However, BIM-enabled FM remains in its infancy and has not yet reached its full potential. The purpose of this paper is to identify major aspects of BIM in order to derive a fully BIM-enabled FM process.

In total, 207 papers were classified into main and subordinate research areas for quantitative analysis. These findings were then used to conceptualise a BIM-enabled FM framework grounded by innovation diffusion theory for adoption, and for determining the path of future research.

Through an extensive literature review, the paper summarises many benefits and challenges. Major aspects of BIM are identified in order to describe a BIM-enabled FM implementation process grounded by innovation diffusion theory. The major research areas of the proposed framework include: planning and guidelines; value realisation; internal leadership and knowledge; procurement; FM; specific application areas; data capture techniques; data integration; knowledge management; and legal and policy impact. Each element is detailed and is supported by literature. Finally, gaps are highlighted for investigation in future research.

This paper systematically classifies and evaluates the existing research, thus contributing to the achievement of the ultimate vision of BIM-enabled FM. The proposed framework informs facility managers, and the BIM-enabled FM implementation process. Further, the holistic survey identifies gaps in the body of knowledge, revealing avenues for future research.

This study describes how maintenance capability should be created during the design and construction phases of construction projects. Purpose of the abstract to define the elements for creating the maintenance capability and the process to be used in construction life cycle projects for buildings.

An inductive and qualitative research method was used to construct the proposed process based on the literature and 18 interviews in two large construction companies.

The results indicate that the maintenance phase is usually overlooked during the design and construction phases, and capabilities are not systematically built. In particular, processes are lacking in data management, causing severe problems in maintenance.

This study presents a process including key requirements and activities for creating maintenance capability in conjunction with the design and construction phases, which is novel to the literature. The validated process can be adapted based on the needs of the construction company.

Energy analysis (EA) within a building information modelling (BIM) enables consistent data integration in central repositories and eases information exchange, reducing rework. However, data loss during information exchange from different BIM uses or disciplines is frequent. Therefore, a holistic approach for different BIM uses enables a coherent life cycle information flow. The life cycle information flow drives the reduction of data loss and model rework and enhances the seamless reuse of information. The latter requires a specification of the EA key performance indicators (KPIs) and integrating those in the process.

The paper presents a set of KPIs extracted from the developed EA process maps and interviews with expert stakeholders. These KPIs stem from the literature review and link to the benefits of EA through industry expert review. The study includes (1) development and validation of EA process maps adjusted to requirements from different stakeholders. (2) KPIs aligned with the EA process map, (3) identification of the drivers that can facilitate life cycle information exchange and (4) opportunities and obstacles for EA within BIM-enabled projects.

This paper depicts a viable alternative for EA process maps and KPIs in a BIM-enabled AEC design industry. The findings of this paper showcase the need for an EA within BIM with these KPIs integrated for a more effective process conforming to the current Open BIM Alliance guidance and contributing towards sustainable life cycle information flow.

The limitation of the research is the challenge of generalising the developed EA process maps; however, it can be adjusted to fit defined organisational use. The findings deduced from the developed EA process map only show KPIs to have the ability to facilitate adequate information flow during EA.

The AEC industry will benefit from the findings of this primary research as the industry will be able to contrast its process maps and KPIs to those developed in the paper.

This paper benefits the societal values in EA for the built environment in the design stages. The subsequent life cycle information flow will help achieve a consistent information set and decarbonised built environment.

The paper offers a practical overview of process maps and KPIs to embed EA into BIM, reducing the information loss and rework needed in the practice of this integration. The applicability of the solution is contrasted by consultation with experts and literature.