Building circular economy: a case study designed and built following a BIM-based life cycle assessment approach

Abstract

The awareness of the environmental impact of buildings during their entire whole life cycle has seen a growing interest in recent years. In fact, as buildings become more energy-efficient, life cycle impacts become increasingly important. Investors in the building sector are becoming aware of the direct and indirect benefits of a design process that enables the control of the impact of the building, ensuring the higher quality, intrinsic value of materials under a circular economy point of view. The durability is, together with reusability and recyclability, one of the main characteristics of construction materials. In this framework, the purpose of this paper is to describe a BIM-based approach to life cycle assessment (LCA) from the initial stages of the design of the Socrates Building in Viladecans. For this scope, a digital model in the TCQi GMA software was created to assist in the evaluation, optimization, and comparison of different design and construction alternatives. An integrated project delivery contract was adopted. These aspects altogether showed the potential of increasing the real estate value and the profitability of the building. This paper discusses problems that emerged during the digital project management, assessing criticalities and opportunities.