Sustainable Insfrastructure – Page 2

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.

The importance of sustainable building design

The increase in population in the world in recent years has caused the search for alternatives in the construction and functional improvement of different buildings, to ensure that natural resources such as water, land, forests, and minerals are not depleted.

The concept of sustainable construction arises to reduce the impact on the environment by promoting environmentally responsible building practices, improving energy and resource efficiency, and designing building plans to reduce the carbon footprint and establish a sustainable environment.

According to recent research, the operation of buildings consumes about 40% of the total global energy, and one option to mitigate this damage is sustainable architecture, which involves the entire life cycle of a building, taking into account environmental qualities, functional qualities, social and cultural factors, economic factors and future value.

Ecological architecture is based on the local natural environment, using the basic principles of ecology, technology, building science, and modern scientific and technological means to organize the relationship between buildings and other related factors rationally.

The construction theory of ecological buildings and ecological cities presented in recent years is based on the principles of natural ecology, exploring the relationship between people, buildings, and nature and creating the most comfortable, reasonable, and sustainable environment for human beings.

Consequently, ecological architecture is the development direction of architectural design in the 21st century. This type of architecture is also called a green building or sustainable building, as it involves a wide range of aspects, is the intersection of multiple disciplines and types of work, and is a comprehensive systematic project that requires the attention and participation of the whole society.

Thus, sustainability is a crucial solution for the construction industry and economic efficiency, protection and restore ecosystems, and improve human welfare, as it aims to: minimize the loss of materials and energy; reuse and recyclability of materials; human satisfaction; minimal environmental impact and incorporation of alternative energy sources.

The building sustainability involves a complex structure of interrelationships between built, natural, and social systems, requiring different priorities at each stage of a building’s life cycle. These can be continuously improved.

Consequently, the design of sustainable buildings is important because the achievement of sustainability goals depends to a large extent on it, especially the reduction of material and energy loss throughout the life cycle of a building, taking into account all social and economic factors, as well as the incorporation of alternative energy sources.

Sustainable building design can be defined as a building in which the structure and processes are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout the life cycle of the building. That includes everything from design and construction, maintenance and renovation, to demolition.

Why is sustainable building design relevant?

Most of a building’s carbon footprint comes from its energy. Heating alone accounts for 10% of a country’s carbon footprint. Moving to sustainable architecture brings numerous benefits, not only for the environment but also economic and social, such as greater ecology and a reduction in energy use.

Other benefits include:

Protection of natural ecosystems and environmental biodiversity.
Improved air and water quality.
Competitive advantage, giving architects the opportunity to win business based on their sustainability commitments.
Improved living conditions, health, and comfort of building occupants.

Finally, sustainable building design helps to strike a balance between the environment and the construction industry, which overexploits natural resources and is a way to counteract the environmental impact.

By Ingrid Luna

Importance of sustainable buildings for society

The construction industry and buildings directly or indirectly impact the environment, society, and the economy, and are known as the 3Ps (people, planet, and pocketbook). Then, the sustainable design seeks to balance the needs of these areas by using an integrated approach to create design solutions in buildings and take care of people’s health.

The main objective of sustainable design is to reduce or avoid the depletion of resources such as energy, water, land, and raw materials, to prevent environmental degradation caused by different buildings throughout their life cycle, and to create livable, comfortable, safe, and productive environments for those who inhabit them.

Buildings use resources (energy, water, raw materials, etc.), generate waste (construction, occupancy, and demolition), emit potentially harmful air emissions, and fundamentally change the function of the land and the ability of that land to absorb and capture water in the soil, so we need to start developing more sustainable buildings that are environmentally friendly.

On the other hand, building owners, designers, and constructors face unique challenges in meeting the demands for new and renovated facilities that are accessible, safe, healthy, and productive, while minimizing negative impacts on society, the environment, and the economy.

Prior to the coronavirus, the population was already living in disadvantaged housing, such as houses affected by indoor climate risks, such as humidity, lack of natural light, excessive noise, or cold, with negative repercussions on people’s health and well-being.

And with the advent of the pandemic and confinement, demonstrated the importance of making indoor spaces safer, reducing the spread of disease, and creating spaces that allow people to develop physically and mentally.

WHO studies have shown that governments should invest in improving housing and energy efficiency, as they directly impact health, improve living conditions and reduce climate impact, and the consequences can be direct savings in medical care, improved health, and improved productivity.

On the other hand, recent studies have documented that not only humid conditions and lack of natural light impact people’s lives, but also having a poor indoor climate impacts well-being and life satisfaction.

The design of sustainable buildings should not only reduce their environmental footprint, but also have a positive impact on the health and well-being of the population to ensure life satisfaction.

Today, sustainability, building design, and health can go hand in hand, as the planning of a building must consider all scenarios to which the building will be exposed. In addition, construction should focus on energy and water independence, renewable resources, local materials, resource storage, community support, and prevention of environmental effects that comply with building codes while being energy efficient and resistant to natural disasters.

While it is true that the concept of sustainable buildings changes over time, there are six principles:

Optimize site potential: Creating sustainable buildings begins with proper site selection, including consideration of reusing or rehabilitating existing buildings or using a brownfield, gray field, or previously developed site. The location, orientation, and landscaping of buildings affect local ecosystems, transportation methods, and energy use. Therefore, care must be taken to ensure that the site is not harmful to its natural surroundings.
Optimizing energy use: With the increasing demand for fossil fuel resources and growing concerns about energy security and independence. The impacts of global climate change becoming more evident, finding ways to reduce energy loads, increase efficiency, and use alternative energy sources is critical. And improve the energy performance of existing buildings to increase a building’s energy independence.
Water protection and conservation: In many parts of the world, fresh water is an increasingly scarce resource. Any building project fundamentally changes the ecological and hydrological function of inbuilt land, a sustainable building should seek to minimize the impervious cover created through practices that can reduce those impacts while using water efficiently and reusing or recycling water for on-site use. The effort to bring potable water to our domestic taps consumes enormous energy resources in pumping, transport, and treatment. It must be ensured at all times that water is available to local residents throughout the construction process.
Optimization of building space and use of materials: Today, sustainable construction projects must achieve integrated and intelligent use of materials that maximizes their value, as the consumption of natural resources will continue to increase and the demand for additional goods and services will continue to put pressure on available resources.

Improve indoor environmental quality: The indoor environmental quality of a building has a significant impact on the health, comfort, and productivity of the occupants. Among other attributes, a sustainable building maximizes natural lighting, has adequate ventilation and humidity control, optimizes acoustic performance, and avoids the use of materials with high Volatile Organic Compound emissions.
Optimize operational and maintenance practices: Consideration of building operation and maintenance issues during the preliminary design phase of a facility will help improve working environments, increase productivity, reduce energy and resource costs, and prevent system failures.

Finally, sustainable building design should mitigate the impact of climate change, and should also have a positive impact on people’s health.

By Ingrid Luna

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