Climate change is one of the most serious issues of the modern world. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is surpassing levels that haven’t occurred for millions of years. Global temperatures have risen one and a half degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times. Storms are being worsened by the excess moisture in the atmosphere caused by the heating. As a species, we need to reduce our carbon emission levels in order to get a grasp on this issue.
Building information modeling, or BIM, is one tool that can help. BIM brings different disciplines in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry together in collaborative ways to make projects run more efficiently and cost-effectively. The streamlining BIM grants to projects can help reduce the environmental impacts of the AEC industry. Read on to learn more.
More Accurate Analysis of Carbon Production
It’s been estimated that approximately 40% of global carbon emissions are linked to the construction industry. This is problematic for architects, engineers, and graduates of building information modeling programs that aspire to plan innovative and eco-friendly structures. Luckily, BIM practices have the potential to reduce carbon emissions through every stage of the building process and minimize the whole life carbon emissions of structures. BIM brings the potential to model, measure, and accurately plan carbon emissions to meet sustainable and environmentally savvy targets.
The increased availability of digital databases containing environmental impact information on different materials and processes allows project teams to prospectively analyze data related to energy consumption, resource use, and resilience. Using BIM, the environmental impacts of a project can be modelled and fully considered at its inception, before construction begins. All implications for sustainability can be understood, specified, and modelled. This leads to a model of proactive asset management, rather than reactive considerations of the environment. The proactive planning associated with BIM leads to an increased exchange of accurate information for better collaboration, resulting in better engagement with planning policies and stakeholders.
Climate Change Waste Reduction and Obsolescence
Building information modeling systems have the potential to bring about 20% of savings on cost and time over the life of a construction project. Importantly for those with environmental principles, BIM can also decrease waste by 20% too. This radical reduction in waste helps to bring down the overall project’s carbon footprint through less raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, and the need for disposal. Professionals can learn BIM and make their team’s material ordering more accurate, reducing the unnecessary waste through over-ordering. BIM can also detect future conflicts at early stages and synchronize design, leading to less waste and re-work through clash reduction.
BIM can address the issue of structure obsolescence. Though it is more common for BIM systems to be used on new projects, there’s potential for it to be used retrospectively on older buildings. There, the thorough, detailed planning possible with BIM can allow for refurbishments, retrofitting, and renovating to improve quality and energy efficiency in older buildings.
BIM can be used to plan structures uniquely suited to their local environment
Learn BIM and Plan Environmentally-Suited Structures
BIM can be used to help counter climate change through waste and carbon reduction. It can also be used to create structures that are suited to their distinct environment. BIM can be used to ingeniously model architecture while considering energy consumption and resilience to a changing climate.
Graduates of building information modeling courses can use BIM to expertly integrate considerations of resilience to extreme temperatures and storms, stormwater and floodplains management, and adaptation to sea-level rise. This type of structure modeling is sometimes called vernacular architecture, or construction that is sensitive to local climate and materials. Tools like BIM are making it easier and more accurate to implement, which can come with many benefits.
