article · Ain Shams Engineering Journal
Integrating building information modelling with life cycle assessment helps evaluate the environmental impacts, costs, and construction times of different residential building structural systems. Assessing reinforced concrete solid slab, steel, and composite structural options across their full life cycles reveals which components and stages contribute most to overall environmental burdens. Among the evaluated life cycle stages, the building operation stage creates the highest environmental impact. Across structural systems, the steel system generates the greatest impact. In terms of components and materials, slabs and beams alongside reinforced concrete carry the highest environmental weight. Combining digital building models with life cycle assessment workflows enables project teams to prioritise interventions, highlighting that mitigating environmental impacts relies heavily on improving building operations, refining structural element design, and carefully choosing construction materials.
The construction and operation of buildings consume significant resources and generate substantial emissions. Using digital modelling tools alongside environmental assessments gives construction planners clear comparative evidence on cost, time, and carbon impact. This allows developers to target the most damaging phases and materials, guiding choices towards designs that lower the long-term environmental footprint of residential housing.
This applied assessment workflow directly targets structural engineers, architects, and construction managers seeking to evaluate environmental and economic trade-offs during early residential design. The findings demonstrate an applied methodology tested on specific structural systems and materials. While the integrated assessment process can be adopted immediately using standard industry modelling tools, broad market implementation depends on construction firms routinely integrating life cycle impact databases into their existing project workflows.
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This study pinpoints the benefit of integrating Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Building information modelling (BIM) for different design scenarios of a residential building’s structural system; (1) reinforced concrete solid slab system, (2) steel and (3) composite structural system. The environmental impacts for each scenario are evaluated, providing insights into the contribution of (1) building life cycle stages, (2) structural systems and (3) building materials. Construction cost and time were also assessed and compared for each. The results show how LCA-BIM integration can streamline the environmental stewardship and prioritize action; showing that the building operation stage, the steel structural system, slabs and beams as well as reinforced concrete have the highest environmental impact, respectively. Hence, this calls for acting on building operation as well as the proper design of building elements and selection of building materials to reduce the associated environmental burden resulting from the building process.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.asej.2022.101802
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