Construction – MARQ eec

BIM and Sustainable Construction

Today, the word “sustainable” is used to mean so many things, but when excessive usage is removed and the core meaning of sustainability is observed, its value becomes apparent.

Sustainable construction aims to meet today’s needs for housing, work environments, and infrastructure without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs in times to come. It incorporates elements of economic efficiency, environmental performance, and social responsibility, and contributes most when architectural quality is included.

Therefore, this term goes beyond installing energy-efficient mechanical systems; it is a philosophy that affects all aspects of the design and construction phases, as well as the ongoing maintenance and operation of the building into the future.

The initial phase of sustainable construction involves issues such as building design and management; materials performance; construction technology and processes; building energy and resource efficiency. The importance of sustainable construction in the long term is important, as a building must be designed and constructed with the foundations of energy efficiency throughout the life cycle of the building.

What is the role of BIM in sustainable construction?

Building information modeling (BIM) is now part of the design and construction industry, and it makes sense that it can play a key role in achieving sustainable building goals. But how do the two relate?

Here are three ways in which they relate:

Increased transparency during the design phase.
Increased efficiency during the design and construction phases.
Greater control during the operations phase.

Increased transparency during the design phase

The use of BIM on a project, from design, allows for a transparent process, confirming that design data is aggregated into a shared model, and every stakeholder on a project can quickly and easily access a complete summary in real-time.

This transparency allows contractors, engineers, suppliers, and more to bring their knowledge and expertise to the overall construction and operation of the building from the beginning making the project more sustainable in the design phase before the money is spent on materials or supplies.

This ensures that the most environmentally responsible materials and methods are used during construction, it also saves time and money by avoiding rework and schedule delays during construction through better upfront planning.

Increased efficiency during the design and construction phases

The use of BIM results in 3D virtual prototypes that can be easily shared and used for real-time collaboration and simulation to test both construction logic and sequence.

From estimating and takeoff to design and ongoing project management, each step of the design and construction workflow is reviewed and improved as BIM technology is integrated.

Each step in the process where BIM saves time, improves efficiency, enhances the design, and reduces errors provides a measurable opportunity to minimize the lifetime environmental impact of the building.

Greater control during the operations phase

Thanks to the high level of detail and ease of sharing 3D models created with BIM, a wealth of information and operational data can be transmitted to the building owner and manager, enhancing their ability to run the building to its fullest potential.

This benefit of BIM fits perfectly with the philosophy of sustainable building, which goes beyond design and construction and extends to the long-term maintenance and use of the entire structure.

There may be other ways in which BIM technology and methodology can help improve the sustainability of construction projects.

Impact of BIM on the construction industry

Many people know that BIM is the acronym for Building Information Modeling, but few understand the scope of this methodology and technology in construction project management, especially the benefits it offers to the industry.

BIM is a complex procedure that includes interaction with information from different stages of the development of a construction project, along with cooperation and general management.

The results of BIM is an informative model of a construction project that includes all the information about how it was built, the history of the decisions that were made, at what stages, and other important information.

Therefore, BIM is more than an extension of traditional 3D modeling software, it is a unified information resource that spans from project conceptualization to regular maintenance or the end of the project life cycle.

In other words, Building Information Modeling is the evolution of the construction industry, which has changed the design, construction, and management of projects to make them easier and more convenient to manage.

Construction companies using BIM find it easier to schedule their work, manage material, estimate costs and take care of overall project operations, and for this to work successfully requires a detailed evaluation process, followed by an effective and timely decision-making process to ensure the best results.

There are different people involved in the construction and formulation of a construction plan, and missing information can cost the entire project, BIM facilitates the exchange of communication and streamlines the process for contractors and project managers to achieve their goals.

This tool has proven to be effective for both large-scale and smaller-scale construction projects and has delivered excellent results.

Thanks to BIM all stakeholders involved in the project have access to the master model, this improves the decision-making process, also companies can have a better cost estimation by analyzing the model and the project can be visualized before building it. Also at construction sites, the risk factor is decreased and the cost can be reduced to make sure that everything is carried out as planned.

The time for BIM adoption has passed. Now is the time to explore the multiple dimensions of BIM and expand its scope to cover the entire construction lifecycle. It is practiced and implemented at every step of the value chain, BIM can provide significant opportunities for the construction industry to elevate the quality of the industry’s products to a much higher and more sophisticated level.

By Ingrid Luna

Measuring the “Health” of Buildings

The pandemic has forced us to rethink countless aspects of our lives, including the buildings we spend our days inhabiting. Social distancing requirements and efforts to reduce virus transmission in indoor environments demand that “healthy buildings” be a top priority for the real estate industry. But what constitutes a healthy building, and what are the differences between various building types? And what is the best way to quantify, track and compare the relative health of buildings? Offices spaces, hotels and even residential properties will want to find ways to differentiate themselves and quickly communicate their health and safety attributes to their respective occupants and consumers.