Building Information Modeling for Environmental Impact Assessment in Early Design Phases: A Literature Review

The building sector is the largest consumer of energy in industrial countries. Saving energy in new buildings or building renovations can thus lead to significant global environmental impacts. In this endeavor, building information modeling (BIM) and building energy modeling (BEM) are two important tools to make the transition to net-zero energy buildings (NZEB). So far, little attention has been devoted, in the literature, to discuss the connection between BIM, BEM, and Life-cycle assessment (LCA), which is the main topic of this article. A literature review of 157 journal articles and conference proceedings published between 1990 and 2020 is presented. This review outlines knowledge gaps concerning BIM, BEM, and environmental impact assessment. It suggests that defining the process with the right technology (at the right time) would result in a more integrated design process (IDP) and bridge current gaps. The most efficient way to improve process and technology is related to the competences of the architects, engineers and constructors (AEC). The review also indicates that the IDP in the early design phases (EDP) is in need of improvement for architects and engineers, where a better connection between design phases, specific levels of development (LOD) and BIM tools is needed. Competences, process and technology are the three main themes addressed in the review. Their relation to design phases and LOD is discussed. The aim is to propose possible solutions to the current hinders in BIM-to-BEM (BIM2BEM) and BIM-for-LCA (BIM4LCA) integration.