Material data in greenBIM
Project Idea Metadata
- Project Idea Name: Material data in greenBIM
- Date: 12/21/2021 11:46:06 AM
- Administrators:
Project Idea Description
Challenge Description
Abbreviations
AECO – Architectural, Engineering, Construction, and Operations
BIM – Building Information Modelling
GHG – Greenhouse Gas
What problem would you like to solve?
The Architectural, Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AECO) industry is responsible for 40% of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions worldwide. These emissions are 60% due to embodied energy, or the energy needed for the production of building materials, and 40% due to operational energy or the energy needed for certain processes within buildings, like heating and cooling. We would like to minimize both aspects by considering them already in the design architectural phase of buildings. In that sense, the main problem we would like to address is:
Minimize carbon levels in the building industry.
Who are the customers, and how will they profit from a solution?
Our customers are architects and planners, working in the design phase of projects. By developing our solution further we would give them more tools to enable them to consider environmental aspects in their designs.
How does your challenge affect energy savings or CO2 emissions?
The building sector has a significant potential to minimize the building materials demand and improve the energy efficiency of buildings, and therefore, reduce GHG emissions. The greatest opportunity for optimizing the embodied and operational energy of buildings is in the early design stages. However, in most planning processes, energy analysis is conducted by external specialists, who are not directly involved in the design process. Moreover, the analysis is done shortly before construction when major changes to the design have a high-cost impact. The integration of energy performance analysis in the early design stages is therefore strongly desirable but requires suitable tools able to quickly generate results that can help the planner optimize the building design.
Digitalization can help make use of this potential and hence minimize carbon levels throughout the entire building’s life cycle. One way to do that is through the integration of embodied and operational energy optimization practices into the building process by employing Building Information Modelling (BIM). BIM is a 3D model-based process and technology by which a structure of information obtained by different stakeholders is created and a multidisciplinary collaboration amongst them is achieved. BIM can reduce the effort needed to carry out energy-related calculations, and therefore, facilitate their incorporation into the building process while enabling architects to perform them. Moreover, using BIM to conduct energy analysis is expected to reduce GHG emissions in buildings by 20% in the current building practice. Facilitating architects to implement energy analysis in their design practices can be expected to increase this percentage.
Current status and previous activities
Who are the existing persons/companies in your team, and what is their role?
- Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz (FHNW), Institut Nachhaltigkeit und Energie am Bau (INEB) – The Institute for Sustainability and Energy in Buildings (INEB) at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) is the holder of the greenBIM program. INEB has established itself over the past 25 years as one of the leading Swiss institutes in applied energy research. INEB is active in the field of efficient use of energy and the use of renewable energies in construction. In training and further education, research, and in projects with practical partners, it deals with the efficient use of energy, the use of renewable energies, sustainable planning, and building, resources for efficient and circular building and topics related to healthy building such as the Indoor air quality. Furthermore, INEB strongly works with the Institute of Digital Building (IDIBAU, FHNW), on topics, related to digitalization in the building industry. In that regard, the greenBIM program has strong support from sustainability and digital buildings specialists in FHNW.
- Anita Naneva – Anita is a scientific associate at INEB and IDIBAU and the project manager of greenBIM. She is a BIM and sustainable construction specialist. As such, she is responsible for the concept creation and implementation of different topics in greenBIM. Anita is an M.Sc. architect and M.Sc. ETH Integrated Building Systems graduate. She has always been involved in topics, related to sustainability and digitalization. Besides FHNW, she works in part-time Halter AG and as an external expert in the European Commission.
- Barbara Sintzel – Barbara is the head of INEB and program coordinator of greenBIM. Barbara is a specialist in sustainable construction, represents the subject in juries of architecture competitions, and accompanies sustainable construction projects from the start of planning through to commissioning. Barbara is a graduate Natw. ETH and MBA business administration ZHW. She has headed INEB since January 2021. Before that, she was managing director of the ecobau association for 14 years, where she headed the building department and the sustainable building course.
What has been tried before? What was not successful? What have you learned?
FHNW INEB has developed the greenBIM program.
greenBIM develops BIM tools for embodied and operational energy analysis in buildings. The following solutions exist until now:
- Revit solution for embodied energy – finalized;
- ArchiCAD solution for embodied energy – finalized;
- Revit solution for operational energy, specifically heating demand in buildings – in a test phase.
The different greenBIM solutions have been distributed to more than 250 architects and planners in Switzerland, complementary. All solutions enable architects to work in their common environments, by providing a plug-in directly in BIM architectural software programs. Architects and planners can analyze their design in a very initial phase, by acknowledging the building geometry. The greenBIM solutions simplify the implementation of energy analysis in a digital form, and as such do not require architects and planners to possess additional skills to apply them. Still, if needed, FHNW has implemented lectures about greenBIM in their educational program. greenBIM is also part of SIA courses and consultation and training about it are available free of charge.
greenBIM is currently developed for Building Phase 2 of the building process in Switzerland, considering a simplified geometrical design (walls, slabs, roofs). The current state enables architects to bring additional information in BIM models in terms of embodied and operational energy criteria. This information is added to existing building components, part of the building model. Once this information is provided, calculations, implementing benchmarks for both embodied energy and operational energy (heating demand) are done and respectively optimization of the design is enabled.
Resources needed
What are you planning on working on throughout the booster (e.g., developing the business model, building an initial prototype, material for prototyping etc.)? What will you deliver at the end of the booster?
The next foreseen step of the development of greenBIM is to provide architects with the ability to design building components on their own (moving from building phase 2 to building phase 3 in the building process in Switzerland). Through the CBI Booster, a prototype for this next step will be developed and delivered.
The current version of greenBIM provides information about building components. In each building component, information regarding a group of materials is considered, e.g. concrete+steel+plaster. greenBIM simplifies this information and brings it to each building component, part of the digital model. In that way, architects and planners can consider different material-based types of walls, slabs, roofs, etc in a very initial phase of their projects, while they are acknowledging the building form and function. This simplification is very helpful for the initial design phase of the project, however, when the building design moves to the next building phase, the planners would need more functionalities to develop their building components.
For that reason, the next foreseen functionality in greenBIM is to analyze the materials, that are part of BIM models, and to further enrich them with information. Since not all materials are usually created in BIM models (e.g. concrete is usually created without the steel in it), material packages need to be formed. In that way, architects and planners would be able to create different building components, while further considering environmental criteria and minimizing their carbon impacts.
The initial prototype would include an analysis of BIM material structures for walls and their relation in material packages.
What are your planned work packages?
- WP1 - Analysis architectural practices
- WP 2 - Analysis of existing tools
- WP 3 - Analysis and enrichment of material-based database
- WP 4 - Analysis material packages
- WP 5 - Implementation
- WP 6 - Testing
Work packages 1 and 2 consider the need for an analysis of the current architectural practices and existing tools.
Work packages 3 and 4 are organized around analyzing material-based information to be brought into greenBIM, taking into account the different topics it needs to serve. The idea would be to consider the Swiss KBOB database, which provides information about GHG emissions of building materials. Additional functionality in greenBIM would be created, allowing for the materials, part of the BIM model, to be extracted and enriched with KBOB information. Furthermore, a concept for comparing this information with data about heating and cooling demand would be developed. Certain material packages need to be formed since not all materials are usually designed in digital models.
After these two steps are done, implementation and testing are considered.
What are you expecting from the booster (e.g., looking for specific partners, expert support etc.)?
The CBI Booster can be very helpful with connection to architects, helping to understand how they usually work and organize their planning environment. The Booster can also be helpful to assist the concept for enriching the material database and the material packages it needs to be associated with. Finally testing, together with architects, would be of great assistance, following the lean startup methodology.
greenBIM enables architects and planners to consider energy analysis in their designs.
Currently, greenBIM provides information about predefined building components directly into BIM.
We would like to further give architects the opportunity to design building components on their own.
Through the CBI Booster, a prototype for this next step will be developed and delivered.